1. That was the best 5 minutes of basketball from an MU player this year.
2. Gardner/Burton was the worst defensive combo I have seen all year.
3. Jamil was almost as impressive in the first half as Todd in the second half.
4. This team goes as far as Jamil, Todd, and Davante take it.
5. Derricks off the ball defense was insanely good.
6. Jake and Jamil both made stupid fouls that seniors can't make
7. Deonte just doesn't care. He is going out there attacking.
8. Otule, Burton, Thomas, Mayo, Derrick. C'mon, who had that line up in their betting pool for best of the night?
9. I was astounded at how lethargic the team seemed for the first 25 minutes or so.
10. Must make late free throws.
Nice win considering the start, but doesn't change outlook of this team. This was the easiest game we had left on the schedule and it was a struggle to win it. Layup drill early in the second half for Butler until Otule came in.
Mayo was great, Jamil was very good, except for stupid fouls (particularly #4).
You're saying #7 is a good thing right?
Regarding #2, for people who wonder why Buzz plays Otule, last night was a perfect example. That little press that MU put on was getting sliced with Davante as a last line of defense. Otule was on the floor during the run because he was clogging up the middle defensively. I think he had one block, but altered a lot of shots. He also does a great job of sealing off defenders, which was vital in getting Mayo to the basket.
Quote from: CTWarrior on February 05, 2014, 07:47:10 AM
Nice win considering the start, but doesn't change outlook of this team. This was the easiest game we had left on the schedule and it was a struggle to win it. Layup drill early in the second half for Butler until Otule came in.
Mayo was great, Jamil was very good, except for stupid fouls (particularly #4).
yea the more I think about this season and the games, the more I think that Otule actually needs to be playing more. As fans we tend to fall in love with the offensive side of the ball and forget that there is so much more in a basketball game. I am frankly sick of Gardner's awful defense. Otule should be playing 20 minutes a game and he probably should be playing it when we have our worst defenders on the court. Offensively he does a real good job sealing his man. I also don't mind Thomas playing decent amount of minutes but Mayo needs to play extensive minutes and probably start.
1. DG's defense might the worst he has played this year. How many layups, dunks, and and-1s did Butler have?
2. Anyone that doesn't understrand DW's contributions after watching last night doesn't understand basketball. He was zero offensive threat during the run when positioned on the wing, yet his defense made up for that by a factor of 10.
3. Liked seeing Mayo effectively running the point during the run
4. Before we annoint Todd just yet, let's see his next 2-3 games. He is as wildly inconsistent of a player as anyone on this team as his 0 point, 4 TO, 2 foul stat line just the game before can attest.
5. To echo something Buzz said a few games back, image how good Deonte will be when he can tell the difference between a good shot and bad shot
6. Why is Jamil bad at free throws??
Quote from: The Sultan of Syncopation on February 05, 2014, 07:54:44 AM
Regarding #2, for people who wonder why Buzz plays Otule, last night was a perfect example. That little press that MU put on was getting sliced with Davante as a last line of defense. Otule was on the floor during the run because he was clogging up the middle defensively. I think he had one block, but altered a lot of shots. He also does a great job of sealing off defenders, which was vital in getting Mayo to the basket.
Yeah, I haven't read anything in any thread from the Otule-bashers. This guy has given his heart and soul to the program and he has obvious value within his defined role. He even has gotten a little better outside of his defined role (those little baby hooks and his drop-step move have improved markedly).
He doesn't make the amazing catch and finish that Davante did -- watching the replay several times, that might have been the single best individual play all season. And obviously Otule doesn't have the all-around offensive game. But Otule can impact a game positively in ways Davante can't.
All in all, they complement each other nicely and I think Buzz's feel for when and how to use the two has been one of his strengths these last two years.
Quote from: TSmith34 on February 05, 2014, 07:56:24 AM
1. DG's defense might the worst he has played this year. How many layups, dunks, and and-1s did Butler have?
2. Anyone that doesn't understrand DW's contributions after watching last night doesn't understand basketball. He was zero offensive threat during the run when positioned on the wing, yet his defense made up for that by a factor of 10.
He also assisted on four of Mayo's baskets in the second half.
Nice comeback, great effort by Jamil in the first and Mayo down the stretch.
Problem is that I also remind myself this was Butler, this was at home. Its good to win, a win is a win...all the cliches you want to throw out there....for a game we had to win and the amount of difficulty shows, in my view, where we are and what we have been all year long.
My two cents. Should beat Seton Hall and likely win at home after that, but that may triggers some fool's gold expectations. We'll see, maybe for real, but last night's struggles seem to capture the entire year quite well in my mind.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 05, 2014, 08:55:03 AM
Nice comeback, great effort by Jamil in the first and Mayo down the stretch.
Problem is that I also remind myself this was Butler, this was at home. Its good to win, a win is a win...all the cliches you want to throw out there....for a game we had to win and the amount of difficulty shows, in my view, where we are and what we have been all year long.
My two cents. Should beat Seton Hall and likely win at home after that, but that may triggers some fool's gold expectations. We'll see, maybe for real, but last night's struggles seem to capture the entire year quite well in my mind.
+1
We might be in for a nice little stretch here. But I fear the house of cards will come tumbling down shortly after...
If we actually do win @Hall, home vs. Xavier, that next Creighton game at home will be HUGE. We will be 7-5 with a chance for our first signature win vs. a Top 25 opponent. If, by some miracle, we win that, and we are 16-10 (8-5), MAYBE we can begin bubble talk?
Either way, great win last night.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on February 05, 2014, 08:59:13 AM
+1
We might be in for a nice little stretch here. But the house of cards will come tumbling down shortly after...
If we actually do win @Hall, home vs. Xavier, that next Creighton game at home will be HUGE. We will be 7-5 with a chance for our first signature win vs. a Top 25 opponent. If, by some miracle, we win that, and we are 16-10 (8-5), MAYBE we can begin bubble talk?
Either way, great win last night.
This year's at-large bids are pretty poor. Lots of toss-ups this season. If UW can keep tanking and MU can keep winning, I mean. I don't know, guys. Crazier things have happened.
On to Butler thoughts:
- Burton scares/thrills the hell out of me every time he's on the court. He's a chucker with no fear. Once that's controlled a little...look out
- DW played solid
- The seniors need to step up still. This 4-foul crap by Jamil and Jake has to end.
- Jamil and Davante still mentally float through large portions of their games
- Davante's should change his name to avante, cuz there ain't no D there
- Mayo should be playing 25 mpg at the 2
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on February 05, 2014, 09:05:43 AM
- Davante's should change his name to avante, cuz there ain't no D there
Well played
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on February 05, 2014, 09:05:43 AM
This year's at-large bids are pretty poor. Lots of toss-ups this season. If UW can keep tanking and MU can keep winning, I mean. I don't know, guys. Crazier things have happened.
UW won last night handily on the road
Some of the so called "experts" right now are predicting Big East may only be a 3 bid league. They might not be wrong. Providence took it on the chin last night at home. G'Town and MU on the way outside looking in. Xavier not playing well right now either.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 05, 2014, 08:55:03 AM
Nice comeback, great effort by Jamil in the first and Mayo down the stretch.
Problem is that I also remind myself this was Butler, this was at home. Its good to win, a win is a win...all the cliches you want to throw out there....for a game we had to win and the amount of difficulty shows, in my view, where we are and what we have been all year long.
My two cents. Should beat Seton Hall and likely win at home after that, but that may triggers some fool's gold expectations. We'll see, maybe for real, but last night's struggles seem to capture the entire year quite well in my mind.
Always the wet blanket!
Marquette beat a team that they should beat, especially at home. Sure, it was an exciting game and MU played probably their best stretch of basketball on both ends of the court, but this team is still wildly inconsistent. If they came out flat at SHU and lost by 15, I wouldn't be surprised and if they came out and blew the doors off of SHU, I wouldn't be surprised.
Regardless, nice win last night and 4 of the next 5 are very winnable as well. Creighton will obviously be tough, but they're beatable. It hasn't been a pretty season but 9-6 in the BE wouldn't look too bad at month's end.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 05, 2014, 09:15:12 AM
UW won last night handily on the road
Some of the so called "experts" right now are predicting Big East may only be a 3 bid league. They might not be wrong. Providence took it on the chin last night at home. G'Town and MU on the way outside looking in. Xavier not playing well right now either.
I think either X or Prov gets in, depending on who finishes stronger. I think it will be X.
Quote from: The Sultan of Syncopation on February 05, 2014, 08:03:51 AM
He also assisted on four of Mayo's baskets in the second half.
Derrick was really good defensively last night, which helped offset his 4 turnovers. Got Mayo the ball in a good place on a clear 2 on 1 transition hoop, as well as a couple basic passes for 3 point shots.
Mayo was brilliant...hopefully Buzz will finally stop with the games and let him run for 30+ minutes per game.
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on February 05, 2014, 09:05:43 AM
This year's at-large bids are pretty poor. Lots of toss-ups this season. If UW can keep tanking and MU can keep winning, I mean. I don't know, guys. Crazier things have happened.
I think MU has to beat Creighton and Villanova both to get in. Their RPI is just so bad right now, I think beating those two is the only way to start climbing and passup those other bubble teams.
Quote from: The Sultan of Syncopation on February 05, 2014, 07:54:44 AM
Regarding #2, for people who wonder why Buzz plays Otule, last night was a perfect example. That little press that MU put on was getting sliced with Davante as a last line of defense. Otule was on the floor during the run because he was clogging up the middle defensively. I think he had one block, but altered a lot of shots. He also does a great job of sealing off defenders, which was vital in getting Mayo to the basket.
Could not agree more.
Quote from: LAZER on February 05, 2014, 09:41:27 AM
I think MU has to beat Creighton and Villanova both to get in. Their RPI is just so bad right now, I think beating those two is the only way to start climbing and passup those other bubble teams.
I think we could lose @Nova, but we literally have to win out the rest of the regular season. That's 20-11 (12-6). Then we need 2 wins at the BET. I think if we do that we sneak in as an at-large.
However you slice it, I think we only have room for one more loss the rest of the regular season, and even doing that still leaves us with work to do in New York. That's not a good place to be with 8 games left.
I would not get to excited about this victory unless he does change the starting line-up, 23 points in the first half does not get it done, 0-0 the first four minutes, lucky they were not down 8-10 points by that time. Lets see if Todd can do something on the road first, before you all anoint him as the next potential star. He is about as inconsistent as it comes, it might be because of how Buzz uses him, he should play 30 minutes next week. MU should beat Seton Hall, but they have gone there before and layed an egg.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 05, 2014, 08:55:03 AM
Nice comeback, great effort by Jamil in the first and Mayo down the stretch.
Problem is that I also remind myself this was Butler, this was at home. Its good to win, a win is a win...all the cliches you want to throw out there....for a game we had to win and the amount of difficulty shows, in my view, where we are and what we have been all year long.
My two cents. Should beat Seton Hall and likely win at home after that, but that may triggers some fool's gold expectations. We'll see, maybe for real, but last night's struggles seem to capture the entire year quite well in my mind.
Regrettably I agree with everything in your post.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on February 05, 2014, 09:52:15 AM
I think we could lose @Nova, but we literally have to win out the rest of the regular season. That's 20-11 (12-6). Then we need 2 wins at the BET. I think if we do that we sneak in as an at-large.
However you slice it, I think we only have room for one more loss the rest of the regular season, and even doing that still leaves us with work to do in New York.
Yeah, I think 20-11 is the regular season mark MU needs to get in. 2 BET wins on top of that would actually probably give them a little bit of a cushion.
D Will played great defensively--he got beat 2x on a back door cut for a layup. Insanely good would not allow that to happen.
We Still have problems in bounding the ball. This amazes me. Over and back, wasted TOs, turnovers,etc. this has been an issue for years. That press break is a simple 5th grade press break that can be figured out by any coach in the country.
Quote from: We R Final Four on February 05, 2014, 10:27:14 AM
D Will played great defensively--he got beat 2x on a back door cut for a layup. Insanely good would not allow that to happen.
We Still have problems in bounding the ball. This amazes me. Over and back, wasted TOs, turnovers,etc. this has been an issue for years. That press break is a simple 5th grade press break that can be figured out by any coach in the country.
What it shows is lack of quickness from the guards that MU has. No one has that really quick twitch.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on February 05, 2014, 09:15:12 AM
UW won last night handily on the road
Some of the so called "experts" right now are predicting Big East may only be a 3 bid league. They might not be wrong. Providence took it on the chin last night at home. G'Town and MU on the way outside looking in. Xavier not playing well right now either.
I thought all along it would be probably 3 and maybe 4 teams in. I argued with several people here who were predicting 5 or even 6 teams likely (6 will NEVER happen in this league).
Quote from: brandx on February 05, 2014, 11:21:51 AM
I thought all along it would be probably 3 and maybe 4 teams in. I argued with several people here who were predicting 5 or even 6 teams likely (6 will NEVER happen in this league).
Definitely not 6, I felt really good about 4 but right now that is looking pretty iffy...still lots of golf left for some programs. St. John's might end up crashing a lot of dreams in this league down the stretch.
Quote from: brandx on February 05, 2014, 11:21:51 AM
I thought all along it would be probably 3 and maybe 4 teams in. I argued with several people here who were predicting 5 or even 6 teams likely (6 will NEVER happen in this league).
Nova and Creighton will be in but there are currently 5 other teams (MU, PC, X, Gtown, StJ) with a chance. There will likely be 2 at most from that group, but it'll be interesting to see if any of them can get hot down the stretch and play their way in. Each of those teams still has Creighton and Nova on their schedules so opportunities for an RPI boost are there.
Quote from: MU82 on February 05, 2014, 08:02:12 AM
Yeah, I haven't read anything in any thread from the Otule-bashers. This guy has given his heart and soul to the program and he has obvious value within his defined role. He even has gotten a little better outside of his defined role (those little baby hooks and his drop-step move have improved markedly).
All in all, they complement each other nicely and I think Buzz's feel for when and how to use the two has been one of his strengths these last two years.
Most of the bashers this year only read a stat line. Altering shots and taking up space so others get easy rebounds is important, but no stat line filler, so the bashers don't count it.
Quote from: brandx on February 05, 2014, 11:21:51 AM
I thought all along it would be probably 3 and maybe 4 teams in. I argued with several people here who were predicting 5 or even 6 teams likely (6 will NEVER happen in this league).
Definitely not this year but never say never, especially if the 6th is the auto qualifier with 5 at larges. Could definitely happen another year.
Quote from: MerrittsMustache on February 05, 2014, 09:15:37 AM
Marquette beat a team that they should beat, especially at home. Sure, it was an exciting game and MU played probably If they came out flat at SHU and lost by 15, I wouldn't be surprised and if they came out and blew the doors off of SHU, I wouldn't be surprised.
Whoa! If MU blows the doors off anyone in this conference I'll be pleasantly surprised
Quote from: brandx on February 05, 2014, 11:21:51 AM
I thought all along it would be probably 3 and maybe 4 teams in. I argued with several people here who were predicting 5 or even 6 teams likely (6 will NEVER happen in this league).
Creighton and Nova are locks. I think Xavier will end up in. But for argument sakes lets say instead of having the horrible out of conference tournament (3 losses) they beat Iowa in OT and then followed it up with another win in holiday tournament. Xavier in.
Assume that MU and Georgetown didn't have dissapointing years (for MU we win at ASU, against Bucky and SD St...all close game). We'd be easily in....that's already 5 and wouldn't have been a strange year, actually just living up to expectations for each team.
Providence may be in they'll likely be a bubble team. That would put a 6th team on the bubble.
So if MU and Georgetown would have lived up to expectations, we would have had a legit chance at 6 this year.
Our conference is a lot stronger this year than people give us credit for. Butler who is 2-8 in conference, took Ok. St to the wire (lost by 2) and lost in OT to LSU. Both may very well be tournament teams. They also beat WSU, Vandy, Notre Dame and Purdue out of conference, none great, but shows our bottom is about the equivalent of the middle in the PAC12, SEC, ACC and B10.