It's been so long since we lost, I had forgotten how much fun this board is after a loss. It is interesting how the same event gets interpreted. Cadougan haters put the loss on Junior. Buzz haters blame Buzz. People who don't like DJO blame his defense and decision making. Crean haters are looking for ways to blame Crean. Otule lovers blame his absence. There has to be someone to blame. IMO, the whole team, other than Jae, played lousy. It looked like the same kind of collective sucking that was affecting LSU's FT shooting for the first 35 minutes. Sometimes there isn't a tangible reason and the team just plays bad.
I thought DJO was okay (definite negatives, but balanced with positives) and I also thought Davante was okay (and I do seem to be the biggest "Davante Hater" ;D ).
There's plenty of blame to go around on this one, only natural that it all comes out. The shooting from every guard not named DJO, the turnovers from everyone named DJO, the inability of Jamil Wilson to play effectively against their bigs, the wide-open threes (even if they forced up god-ugly shots to make them), the lack of getting to the line, the complete void of a physical presence inside, the allowance of complete physical play mixed with some ticky-tack fouls (and really questionable charge decisions), the inability to get rebounds on missed free throws (of which there were plenty)...yeah, lots of blame. Just hope we win the next two so some sense of order is restored by January.
Quote from: tower912 on December 20, 2011, 05:34:49 AM
Crean haters are looking for ways to blame Crean.
Look, I am not trying to start something, but if Crean had been able to land a decent big from time to time.....
DJO hit a big three near the end of the game.
You've got to put this loss squarely on the shoulders of LSU's defense. They really shut down all of the driving lanes tonight. Hopefully Cadougan and Gardner work on inlet passes a little more (because there was one in particular that got me out of my seat) and someone besides Crowder starts getting hot from outside so we can start busting these zones easier.
Not much you can do against a solid defense when you're barely moving the ball on O and you're not hitting from outside. It's a good lesson for a loss like this to come early in the season :)
Quote from: MUCam on December 20, 2011, 07:07:21 AM
Look, I am not trying to start something, but if Crean had been able to land a decent big from time to time.....
This team would not have lost were we still the Warriors.
One could blame the loss on any number of things (no Otule, Coach Williams' inability to bring a team to a consistent playing edge, and all the other bits noted by MU bloggers). But when thinking back, to this Warrior fan, over the course of the game, their guards beat our guards, and we lost.
Quote from: Henry Sugar on December 20, 2011, 08:17:53 AM
This team would not have lost were we still the Warriors.
In fact, if we were still Warriors, wearing bumblebees - we'd be unbeatable!
I have no idea why you titled this thread Rohrshach test.
Quote from: Hards_Alumni on December 20, 2011, 09:13:09 AM
I have no idea why you titled this thread Rohrshach test.
+1 I spent a few seconds trying to get the relationship of the title, but quickly gave up.
As for MU, if you're long and can match our quickness, we are going to have problems with you even if you are not the most skilled team in the world. Same old story. I'd love to have a couple of those big mobile 6-9 athletic guys who can throw down follow dunks and block shots and gobble up rebounds. Love the guys we have, but we never seem to have those and it's tough to get where we want to go without them.
Quote from: Hards_Alumni on December 20, 2011, 09:13:09 AMI have no idea why you titled this thread Rohrshach test.
Because everyone is looking at this game, or ink blot, and seeing something different. Some see poor decision making by DJO, some see the loss of Otule, some see poor finishing by Blue and Mayo, etc.
Quote from: brewcity77 on December 20, 2011, 09:31:01 AM
Because everyone is looking at this game, or ink blot, and seeing something different. Some see poor decision making by DJO, some see the loss of Otule, some see poor finishing by Blue and Mayo, etc.
Makes a lot of sense now, thanks.
They beat us at our own game. Good guard play and intense defense. This is a good learning game and a blip. We would have still won if they didn't shoot it as well as they did. Not easy to win on the road, and this just shows that is true.
Quote from: CTWarrior on December 20, 2011, 09:28:35 AM
+1 I spent a few seconds trying to get the relationship of the title, but quickly gave up.
As for MU, if you're long and can match our quickness, we are going to have problems with you even if you are the most skilled team in the world. Same old story. I'd love to have a couple of those big mobile 6-9 athletic guys who can throw down follow dunks and block shots and gobble up rebounds. Love the guys we have, but we never seem to have those and it's tough to get where we want to go without them.
Exactly what I was thinking. It seems like every good team in the country has several guys who are 6'9" - 6'11" and can play. We usually have one, and he's a slow developing, total project. Same story over and over, year after year. It gets frustrating.
Not as close as it sounds - not many teams are going to miss over a dozen free throws against us. There are several areas that need improvement.
The reality is, when shots don't fall everything looks bad. Same goes for when the other team shoots inordinately high % from the field. I doubt our defense was so much worse than their prior opponents. One of those nights, but it is easy to over react and nitpick everything looking for reasons we aren't good at this or that.
Clearly, if MU still had football, we would have won this game.
Quote from: brewcity77 on December 20, 2011, 09:31:01 AM
Because everyone is looking at this game, or ink blot, and seeing something different. Some see poor decision making by DJO, some see the loss of Otule, some see poor finishing by Blue and Mayo, etc.
Get it now. Excellent point and ashamed of myself for not getting it.
Quote from: tower912 on December 20, 2011, 05:34:49 AM
It's been so long since we lost, I had forgotten how much fun this board is after a loss. It is interesting how the same event gets interpreted. Cadougan haters put the loss on Junior. Buzz haters blame Buzz. People who don't like DJO blame his defense and decision making. Crean haters are looking for ways to blame Crean. Otule lovers blame his absence. There has to be someone to blame. IMO, the whole team, other than Jae, played lousy. It looked like the same kind of collective sucking that was affecting LSU's FT shooting for the first 35 minutes. Sometimes there isn't a tangible reason and the team just plays bad.
Tower, your point is well taken. Games (and life) are filled with randomness and sometimes things don't go your way. Affixing blame for every unhappy outcome has become an integral part of our national fabric and that attitude is certainly alive and well here. Maybe we should sue Buzz or DJO for alienation of affection and seek remunerations for the "pain and suffering" caused by last night's loss.
If the name of the school was the University of Indiana, and we wore red uniforms, and still had Tom Crean as coach, we would have won last night.
.....Because we would have been playing a cupcake at home, rather than a BCS school on the road.
Quote from: LittleMurs on December 20, 2011, 11:52:55 AM
If the name of the school was the University of Indiana, and we wore red uniforms, and still had Tom Crean as coach, we would have won last night.
But wouldn't we all have killed ourselves by now?
Quote from: LittleMurs on December 20, 2011, 11:52:55 AM
If the name of the school was the University of Indiana, and we wore red uniforms, and still had Tom Crean as coach, we would have won last night.
Indiana University. #details. ;)
Did we ever hang up a "10-0 Start" banner up? If not, I can confidently tell you that is why we lost.
I do not see anybody given Buzz credit for his halftime adjustment. In the first half LSU was going inside at will. In the second half we came out and took that away for the most part, but LSU hit a few threes that really hurt us.
I love their aggressiveness, but it seems this team has a tough time recognizing situations. Like trying to drive to the hoop on a 1 on 3 situation instead of pulling the ball out and running a play. Or and this is my favorite....leaving their feet with the ball and having no plan. Too many wasted possessions in a close game spell disaster.
They should be beyond that.