Goes without saying that the next game is the most important game, but the path of this season will start to take it's shape, starting tomorrow.
Polls and Bracket Predictions don't mean anything right now, but they can at least give you an idea of where you fit in. Right now Lunardi has Marquette as a Last Four Team In the Tournament as an 11 seed Play In Game. Doesn't mean anything, but it tells us that this team has a shot to make the Tournament and that is something I'm sure we are all happy with.
A loss isn't the end of anything, but beating UConn pushes us a little further in the right direction and gives us a little more breathing room for mistakes moving forward. For the next few weeks, each week will feel like a battle of its own. Find a way to survive each week! It is exciting to have meaningful basketball back and this is a major opportunity against UConn tomorrow. Go Marquette!
I also think were a Final Four Team. Great minds
/wet blanket alert
UConn is the type of team we struggle with. The things we do well, they generally do better. Except for offensive rebounds -we're awful and they're really good.
Tempo is all we got. Run them around and hope it works.
UCONN is an absolute nightmare matchup for us. I don't see anyway we keep this close.
Hope to be completely wrong tomorrow night.
If Sanogo is out I don't think it's a bad matchup. They struggle against pressure and are an inconsistent shooting team. If they are hot we'll have trouble but if they are bad to average we should be in the game with a chance to win.
Quote from: rocky_warrior on December 20, 2021, 08:40:50 PM
/wet blanket alert
UConn is the type of team we struggle with. The things we do well, they generally do better. Except for offensive rebounds -we're awful and they're really good.
Tempo is all we got. Run them around and hope it works.
I don't think tempo is all we got. We can cause problems for them. Their leading scorer and playmaker RJ Cole is shooting 37% from the field. We have shot blockers and bigs that create issues for anyone defensively. We will need to hit shots, but with the emergence of Greg it gives us a much better chance.
Hit open shots at a better rate and don't turn the ball over and we'll have our shot to win it. Hopefully the few guys who were around last year remember the 18 point halftime lead that we blew in Milwaukee last year against them and use it as motivation.
Quote from: BM1090 on December 20, 2021, 08:50:29 PM
If Sanogo is out I don't think it's a bad matchup. They struggle against pressure and are an inconsistent shooting team. If they are hot we'll have trouble but if they are bad to average we should be in the game with a chance to win.
Even if he plays it's far from a guarantee. He doesn't pass out of the post and will certainly be out of shape a bit after the long layoff. Even if he plays he will need his rest.
Never underestimate life on the road in the Big East.
Quote from: BM1090 on December 20, 2021, 08:50:29 PM
If Sanogo is out I don't think it's a bad matchup. They struggle against pressure and are an inconsistent shooting team. If they are hot we'll have trouble but if they are bad to average we should be in the game with a chance to win.
If Adama doesn't play, it will be like facing Illinois without Cockburn. UConn is complete top to bottom, but they really lack an alpha when he's not on the floor.
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on December 20, 2021, 08:55:44 PM
Their leading scorer and playmaker RJ Cole is shooting 37% from the field.
He's actually not a great 2 or 3pt threat. But he's pretty good at getting to the free throw line, and doing his damage from there. So, some home cooking? Maybe we have that for us too.
Quote from: rocky_warrior on December 20, 2021, 09:02:02 PM
He's actually not a great 2 or 3pt threat. But he's pretty good at getting to the free throw line, and doing his damage from there. So, some home cooking? Maybe we have that for us too.
I'm not worried about one guy with this team. It's the fact that they have a number of guys who can get going. Honestly if Sanogo plays it might slow the game down for us defensively in the half court to keep the game within reach late.
I picked UConn to win fairly easily, but I actually feel pretty good about this one(which could be a bad thing). We have the roster make up to mirror any punch they throw. We just gotta find a way to throw the last punch.
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on December 20, 2021, 09:07:58 PM
We have the roster make up to mirror any punch they throw. We just gotta find a way to throw the last punch.
I hope so! But see the /wet blanket alert :)
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on December 20, 2021, 08:55:44 PM
I don't think tempo is all we got. We can cause problems for them. Their leading scorer and playmaker RJ Cole is shooting 37% from the field. We have shot blockers and bigs that create issues for anyone defensively. We will need to hit shots, but with the emergence of Greg it gives us a much better chance.
Hit open shots at a better rate and don't turn the ball over and we'll have our shot to win it. Hopefully the few guys who were around last year remember the 18 point halftime lead that we blew in Milwaukee last year against them and use it as motivation.
Aside from me thinking that last year's loss will have absolutely nothing to do with tomorrow's game, I like the optimism you're showing and I do think we can win this one if we shoot well and they don't. Which probably will be a common theme this season, regardless of opponent.
Quote from: BM1090 on December 20, 2021, 08:50:29 PM
If Sanogo is out I don't think it's a bad matchup. They struggle against pressure and are an inconsistent shooting team. If they are hot we'll have trouble but if they are bad to average we should be in the game with a chance to win.
Per David Borges (Writer for UConn Men's Basketball)
"Adama Sanogo participated fully in practice today. Depending on how he feels tomorrow, could play "limited minutes" against Marquette tomorrow night."
Quote from: MU82 on December 20, 2021, 10:05:29 PM
Aside from me thinking that last year's loss will have absolutely nothing to do with tomorrow's game, I like the optimism you're showing and I do think we can win this one if we shoot well and they don't. Which probably will be a common theme this season, regardless of opponent.
If we score at least one more point than them we'll win
Quote from: Newsdreams on December 21, 2021, 05:15:16 AM
If we score at least one more point than them we'll win
That's a very simplistic statement. There are a lot of things that go into winning, such as rebounding. In my opinion, rebounding will be a key. We need to out-rebound them. If we grab at least one more rebound than them we'll out-rebound them!
It is fairly obvious that Jan and Feb dictate March. So the next few weeks will decide the fate of the following few weeks. Buckle up!
I expect the same splash we made when Marquette played UCONN for our entry in the Big East and Novak rained 3's.
These next few weeks will be the most important part of the season ... until the few weeks after that.
I just hope we're actually playing games in all these few weekses!
NCMUFan has a great memory. UConn was 11-0 and ranked # 2. Steve Novak scored 41 points and Marquette won 94-79
Quote from: oilcan on December 21, 2021, 11:37:13 AM
NCMUFan has a great memory. UConn was 11-0 and ranked # 2. Steve Novak scored 41 points and Marquette won 94-79
That games brought up like 100x a year on here, it's harder to forget about it if you follow this board.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on December 21, 2021, 11:41:23 AM
That games brought up like 100x a year on here, it's harder to forget about it if you follow this board.
Wait ... who's Steve Novak?
Quote from: MU82 on December 21, 2021, 02:36:22 PM
Wait ... who's Steve Novak?
Tall Andrew Rowsey but same defense.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on December 21, 2021, 02:40:18 PM
Tall Andrew Rowsey but same defense.
Novak at least tried to play D most of the time.
I enjoyed watching AR play offense, but he might be the worst defender I've ever seen at Marquette.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on December 21, 2021, 11:41:23 AM
That games brought up like 100x a year on here, it's harder to forget about it if you follow this board.
Rumor has it he made a game-winner against Notre Dane once.
Quote from: MU82 on December 21, 2021, 03:29:24 PM
Novak at least tried to play D most of the time.
I enjoyed watching AR play offense, but he might be the worst defender I've ever seen at Marquette.
Katin Reinhardt would like a word.
Burton as a freshman should be in that discussion.
Quote from: MU82 on December 21, 2021, 03:29:24 PM
Novak at least tried to play D most of the time.
I enjoyed watching AR play offense, but he might be the worst defender I've ever seen at Marquette.
I'm assuming you mean big minute player because nothing was funnier than watching Mbao go out there and have absolutely no idea what was going on.
Quote from: tower912 on December 21, 2021, 03:32:05 PM
Katin Reinhardt would like a word.
Katin and Rowsey would have been a heck of a backcourt trading points with opponents!
Quote from: Galway Eagle on December 21, 2021, 03:33:49 PM
I'm assuming you mean big minute player because nothing was funnier than watching Mbao go out there and have absolutely no idea what was going on.
Mbao guarding an inbounds pass at the end of a half/game was fun.
His name escapes me, but he could jump out of the building and although he was in the game only 2 minutes, managed to make ESPN highlight countdown a number of times. A Crean recruit. Blackwell?
Quote from: NCMUFan on December 21, 2021, 04:21:01 PM
His name escapes me, but he could jump out of the building and although he was in the game only 2 minutes, managed to make ESPN highlight countdown a number of times. A Crean recruit. Blackwell?
Trend Blackledge - he played in the TBT a few years back.
Quote from: 94Warrior on December 21, 2021, 04:33:42 PM
Trend Blackledge - he played in the TBT a few years back.
Speaking of...
https://mckbearcats.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/trend-blackledge/2544
and formerly
https://asugrizzlies.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/trend-blackledge/1998
But what???
QuoteBlackledge graduated from Division II Marquette University with a Bachelor's Degree in communications.
Wojo really did bring the program down!
Steve wasn't a good defender. He couldn't push butt. He was gangley. 6'10'' but only about 195. He was a geeky looking guy. Not as handsome as Travis. But he could shoot the crap out. Nice ball rotation on his shot. And in case you didn't know: he was a local kid.
Steve Novak grew up in Wisconsin. He grew up in a basketball gym since he could take his first steps. And he's been shooting baskets since the first time he could pick up a basketball and hoist it toward the rim. "It certainly helped that my dad [Michael] has been the coach at Brown Deer [Wis.] High," Novak said.
It also helped that Novak's dad squeezed in a half court in the family's backyard.
"The driveway had too much slope so we went out back," Novak said. "The building code would allow him to just about ... get the court in there. He painted in a foul line, and there was just enough space to put down that three-point line."
Through the years neither rain, nor snow, nor earthworms -- yes, earthworms -- have kept Novak off that court.
"One time after a monsoon I went out there, and there were earthworms all over the place," Novak said. "I felt like a janitor sweeping them all off into the grass. But it didn't keep me from taking my shots. A little messy because a few got on the basketball, but no big deal."
Novak played in a motion, high-scoring offense in high school. Florida, which emphasized three-point shooting and scoring, recruited him, as did Illinois. But Novak chose to play near home.
Such prowess began in his freshman season. He was 14-for-25 (56 percent) on three-point tries in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Two highlights were the three threes he had in a 77-74 victory over second-seeded Pittsburgh in the Midwest Regional, and the five he hit in an 83-69 victory over top seed and No.1-ranked Kentucky.
Marquette's Final Four appearance in 2003 was its first since winning the title in 1977. Dwyane Wade and guard Travis Diener were impressive offensive players then, but Novak was a force too. So confident were Wade, Diener and the rest of the Golden Eagles, they'd start back- peddling as soon as Novak shot a three.
When Marquette played Uconn in that game (2006) he was averaging 13.8 points per game. At the time, he had made 54 consecutive free throws, including 22 that season, dating back to the previous January. His free throw percentage (95.2) was well ahead of Butch Lee (84.8 percent) and Travis Diener (83.7). He finished his career at MU shooting 93% from the line. FYI- Markus Howard's career ft % was 88%.
Back in the day (2003-04) my friend Brandon Bell was a freshman pg at MU. #21 That year Crean put him in at the end of the game on the road against Louisville. The entire arena chanted "Charlie's better. Charlie's better." BB fans will know Charlie Bell. Spartan. Brandon missed a three pointer that would have won the game. Crean later asked Brandon to show a new recruit around campus and told him to find out what kind of guy he was. That guy was Wesley Matthews. That next year Brandon left Marquette. Matthews was the man.
Quote from: oilcan on December 21, 2021, 07:52:44 PM
Steve wasn't a good defender. He couldn't push butt. He was gangley. 6'10'' but only about 195. He was a geeky looking guy. Not as handsome as Travis.
NH?
Darryl being out was likely the difference.
Not the result this season needed. Another close loss.
Respect the fight, but from their perspective they should be mad, upset, angry, etc.
To get better you have to make losing these close games unacceptable.
Onto the next.