The last 4 minutes today sucked, no sugar coating that. The last 45s were especially brutal.
Marquette has lost 4 of 6 after 7 game winning streak, that's the true data.
The seed is slipping, that's undeniable. The horrors of recent past February and Marches are creeping, hard to contain that.
There are definitely gripes, things to be concerned about. I won't dive deeper into todays game until later tonight or tomorrow but the clear main gripe is down the stretch. Shaka has a monkey on his back, Marquette has one on its, and it's not going away until March.
That said, the 4 losses were all roadies
@ Providence by 2
@ UConn by 8
@ Butler by 6
@ CU by 1
3 of the 4 are top 4 BE teams. The other is playing much better of late and difficult to beat at home (as Providence learned today).
You aren't supposed to roll into top 4 teams back yards and just come home with win after win, unless you're a title contender. Marquette had a chance to win all of those tough games on the road in the last 5-10 minutes, and that IMO says a lot more about the team overall than the 4 losses.
Get the heads right, rebound literally and figuratively and win the winnable games in front of you and end the season right.
It's possible, it's probable
We Are Marquette!
Agreed Doctor V. Clean up the little things and things should take care of themselves.
Yep - all character building for neutral court post season games.
The last time someone told a fan base to "relax" it was Aaron Rodgers, one of the biggest choke artists in modern NFL history. At least he grabs the trophies he truly cares about - the individual ones!
Quote from: bradforster on February 20, 2022, 06:23:22 PM
The last time someone told a fan base to "relax" it was Aaron Rodgers, one of the biggest choke artists in modern NFL history.
LOL. What?
By the way, we've been told the GTown double digit win was a bad one. Isn't it worse to completely puke a Quad 1 win right down your own leg?
As gut punching a loss today has been, watching Marquette Basketball remains one of my favorite experiences I continue to look forward to. We are in a slide but still miles better what everyone projected this year.
Cannot wait until our next game. This group still has makings of something special.
Quote from: Clarissa on February 20, 2022, 06:24:07 PM
LOL. What?
Yes, Rodgers is a choker. He has a single SB appearance (yep, a win) to show for numerous one seeds throughout his career. This last season's collapse was truly epic.
Quote from: bradforster on February 20, 2022, 06:30:26 PM
Yes, Rodgers is a choker. He has a single SB appearance (yep, a win) to show for numerous one seeds throughout his career. This last season's collapse was truly epic.
LOL. Sure. You really think that was primarily his fault? You said "one of the biggest chokers in modern NFL history." Which is a dumb statement.
Yes, because that's the nature of the NFL. The QB gets the glory and he's also saddled with the criticism when the team loses. It's the most important position in sports and guys are judged by rings. That's the way it works.
Quote from: bradforster on February 20, 2022, 06:43:04 PM
Yes, because that's the nature of the NFL. The QB gets the glory and he's also saddled with the criticism when the team loses. It's the most important position in sports and guys are judged by rings. That's the way it works.
That's the way YOU think it works. It's simplistic and lame.
Quote from: DoctorV on February 20, 2022, 06:01:13 PM
The last 4 minutes today sucked, no sugar coating that. The last 45s were especially brutal.
Marquette has lost 4 of 6 after 7 game winning streak, that's the true data.
The seed is slipping, that's undeniable. The horrors of recent past February and Marches are creeping, hard to contain that.
There are definitely gripes, things to be concerned about. I won't dive deeper into todays game until later tonight or tomorrow but the clear main gripe is down the stretch. Shaka has a monkey on his back, Marquette has one on its, and it's not going away until March.
That said, the 4 losses were all roadies
@ Providence by 2
@ UConn by 8
@ Butler by 6
@ CU by 1
3 of the 4 are top 4 BE teams. The other is playing much better of late and difficult to beat at home (as Providence learned today).
You aren't supposed to roll into top 4 teams back yards and just come home with win after win, unless you're a title contender. Marquette had a chance to win all of those tough games on the road in the last 5-10 minutes, and that IMO says a lot more about the team overall than the 4 losses.
Get the heads right, rebound literally and figuratively and win the winnable games in front of you and end the season right.
It's possible, it's probable
We Are Marquette!
You're my guy Dr. V but I respectfully disagree with you. Here's why and there a number of reasons:
1) FIrst and foremost our defense has quite frankly been bad the last several games. We could of course say Butler and Creighton made some threes out of their ass but the real problem is we were dominated by Golden and Kalbrenner. Totally dominated by two average players. Can't happen Dr. V., it just can't happen.
2) Our poise and execution down the stretch in many of these close games has been abysmal. Not average, or even bad, but a complete and utter dumpster fire. And no, this has nothing to do with experience . If Justin Lewis is a legitimate BEPOY he has to play with far better poise and the same can be said for Morsell and our entire team.
3) We tend to let things snowball and lose cohesion at various times during the course of games. In other words our fundamentals go to Hell and we completely lose focus of what we're trying to do each possession .
4) We continue to get bludgeoned at the FT line. It's freaking killing us Dr. V. We need to understand the importance of the foul game and figure out how to attack and at worst stay close in this stat.
5. Every team has one or two dud performances, I get that. Throwing away games is a completely different story and that was number 3.
We certainly can get our heads right and finish strong. This team is as talented as any in our conference. But Shaka and our guys really have to figure out our best line-up to close games and we must play with far greater poise and intelligence.
Uconn and Butler shot well from three. Vs. Providence Marquette couldn't make a three to save themselves. I accept those loses. They are variance inflicted.
Today's was inexcusable. It was coaching and defensive effort. Creighton made 22 of 35 shots inside the arc. Kam and Greg were turnstyles. Morsell didn't really play defense in the first half. Oso couldn't guard the rim. Kur couldn't stay in front of people. Lewis is slow footed, and struggled to help off ball.
A substitution of Kolek for Greg in the final 4 minutes of that game likely wins it for them.
Quote from: jfp61 on February 20, 2022, 07:12:48 PM
Uconn and Butler shot well from three. Vs. Providence Marquette couldn't make a three to save themselves. I accept those loses. They are variance inflicted.
Today's was inexcusable. It was coaching and defensive effort. Creighton made 22 of 35 shots inside the arc. Kam and Greg were turnstyles. Morsell didn't really play defense in the first half. Oso couldn't guard the rim. Kur couldn't stay in front of people. Lewis is slow footed, and struggled to help off ball.
A substitution of Kolek for Greg in the final 4 minutes of that game likely wins it for them.
Bad coaching decision at end of both halves giving Morsell the nod to be PG under pressure, same result a TO. Should have been TK.
The good thing is the losses were all close - so we could have win. Which is remarkable in year 9ne of Shaka and a team that has not played together.
So.... The future is good. And I for one was not thinking we'd have a chance for am ncaa bid this year. So all in all.....
But.... We still want to win,
Quote from: bradforster on February 20, 2022, 06:30:26 PM
Yes, Rodgers is a choker. He has a single SB appearance (yep, a win) to show for numerous one seeds throughout his career. This last season's collapse was truly epic.
i'm not a Rodgers fan, but hard to hang the SF loss on him. His o-line was Swiss cheese. Special teams sucked. Hence, ballgame. Anyway, back to MU and my ulcer!
I will not relax...
I was planning on going to NMD but tickets after fees for Saturdays game are no cheaper than $100 a piece.
Who the heck wants to pay that with how they have been playing.
Guess I'll watch from the couch 😂
Quote from: jfp61 on February 20, 2022, 07:12:48 PM
Uconn and Butler shot well from three. Vs. Providence Marquette couldn't make a three to save themselves. I accept those loses. They are variance inflicted.
Today's was inexcusable. It was coaching and defensive effort. Creighton made 22 of 35 shots inside the arc. Kam and Greg were turnstyles. Morsell didn't really play defense in the first half. Oso couldn't guard the rim. Kur couldn't stay in front of people. Lewis is slow footed, and struggled to help off ball.
A substitution of Kolek for Greg in the final 4 minutes of that game likely wins it for them.
Yes. And this is the key, key, point here. Our bigs in particular are not defending. We had two average at best 5's shred our entire freaking team. Our individual and help D inside has been late and they were all slow to react. If Kur and Oso are getting shredded, get them off the floor and slide Lewis to the 5 (assuming he isn't in foul trouble) In fact maybe try O-Max. Both guys are strong enough not to be bullied by whatever players.
Never un-relaxed. But your reminder is well done.
The high hedge with the bigs isn't doing anything but put them out of position at this point. Teams have adjusted.
Quote from: MUfan12 on February 20, 2022, 07:51:50 PM
The high hedge with the bigs isn't doing anything but put them out of position at this point. Teams have adjusted.
Yep. Kur can't get back to the rim to help. Nemhard burned us on a key possession.
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on February 20, 2022, 07:48:52 PM
I will not relax...
I was planning on going to NMD but tickets after fees for Saturdays game are no cheaper than $100 a piece.
Who the heck wants to pay that with how they have been playing.
Guess I'll watch from the couch 😂
A small baller that's who - check out tick pick. No fees
Quote from: DoctorV on February 20, 2022, 06:01:13 PM
The last 4 minutes today sucked, no sugar coating that. The last 45s were especially brutal.
Marquette has lost 4 of 6 after 7 game winning streak, that's the true data.
The seed is slipping, that's undeniable. The horrors of recent past February and Marches are creeping, hard to contain that.
There are definitely gripes, things to be concerned about. I won't dive deeper into todays game until later tonight or tomorrow but the clear main gripe is down the stretch. Shaka has a monkey on his back, Marquette has one on its, and it's not going away until March.
That said, the 4 losses were all roadies
@ Providence by 2
@ UConn by 8
@ Butler by 6
@ CU by 1
3 of the 4 are top 4 BE teams. The other is playing much better of late and difficult to beat at home (as Providence learned today).
You aren't supposed to roll into top 4 teams back yards and just come home with win after win, unless you're a title contender. Marquette had a chance to win all of those tough games on the road in the last 5-10 minutes, and that IMO says a lot more about the team overall than the 4 losses.
Get the heads right, rebound literally and figuratively and win the winnable games in front of you and end the season right.
It's possible, it's probable
We Are Marquette!
A loss is a loss just like a win is a win. Almost does not count.
Good thread. Way too many hot takes. I see many reasons to celebrate in our near future
Quote from: NickelDimer on February 20, 2022, 08:17:55 PM
Good thread. Way too many hot takes. I see many reasons to celebrate in our near future
Oh yes, I'm optimistic but this game like the previous Creighton game should had been won.
I get that the last four losses have been on the road in conference, and none is cause for alarm by itself. But I am a bit troubled by the pattern - that we lost all four, and that they were all the types of close games we were winning earlier.
We seem to have lost our ability to execute in tight late-game situations, and those are the exact kinds of situations you encounter in March....
I am far from being alarmed over the past stretch of games. I still believe there are few teams that would like to face us in the tourney. In addition, this team played an extremely tough stretch of games in January, and it is virtually impossible to play two plus months of high energy games. I would much rather have a bit of dip now and regroup for March.
I think in the beginning of the season, no one thought much of us heading to the ncaa tourney, we were mostly looking for improvement etc. Including the team probably.
Then we win 7 straight against good opponents, the experts are saying we are one of the hottest teams in the country , we get ranked...... and then mindsets change - including the teams. They start getting a bit more nervous after a loss - they are supposed to be hot. The play a bit more tentatively instead of how they were playing. I think this is a real possibility.
Need to get back to who we were in mid-season.
I agree with this and the ability to play with expectations. They grabbed the bull by the horns in January but are having trouble sustaining that as a quasi-favorite. Similar to how the pre-conference went, with some tight games against teams they should have whipped. It seems to me the team plays best with the underdog mentality, which is on Shaka to cultivate through whatever means necessary. All that said, they have been in every game which is a great sign to me even if they haven't finished some. Even playing "tighter" they aren't getting run off the floor.
MU's recent problems start and end in the paint. I have posted on the lack of a half court offense that is relying more and more on inefficient ISOs as things bog down. This isn't new and likely won't change much.
However, recently teams have learned just to attack the paint against us. The three worst defensive games of the season occurred in the last four games, with those three all being losses. Earlier in the year MU was winning those one and two possession games that we are now losing. Paint touches also have led to open threes.
Tired legs? Teams adjusting to how MU switches? Bad match-up line ups? February fade? Lack of rebounding? Pick your theory. Adjust to advance. This is what Shaka is paid to do. Let's see how the team responds.
In Aaron Rodgers' lone Super Bowl victory, that post season his defense created 11 turnovers and scored 3 TDs.
Also, Tom Bredy threw 3 picks at Lambeau last year in the NFC Title game and Regular Season Rodgers couldn't capitalize. Never the less, I still think he's one of the top 3-4 QBs to ever play in Green Bay.
Lens, this is true but if I'm a Packers fan I would say between Favre and Rodgers the team has greatly underachieved. Two of the greatest QB's of all time have two Super Bowl titles between them. How many games have the Packers lost in the playoffs when they were prohibitive favorites? There was zero excuse not to be in the big game this year. That loss to Jimmy G and company should sting for a long time - if anyone actually cares.
^^^^^^ I think these last two posts belong in the NM thread
Dr. B
Very insightful post. I could very well be wrong, but I think tired legs and mentally letting down a bit has hurt the team over the last couple of weeks. They played two tough games a week for the month of January and played them all like must win games and that takes a toll. I think the time off until NMB will do wonders for the team.
Quote from: Goose on February 21, 2022, 11:26:52 AM
I could very well be wrong, but I think tired legs and mentally letting down a bit has hurt the team over the last couple of weeks.
Uh-oh ... be prepared for Doc Dribble to mock you for years for using "tired legs" as an excuse.
Seriously, like you I remain optimistic. I look forward to NMD and then a fun March run.
I'm choosing to look at this through the brighest blue-and-gold glasses I can find. Better Greg step over the line now, so the whole team has it in the back of their minds, then to pull a Lazar Hayward in the NCAA tournament (a moment I'm still not over). Better for Morsell (and team) to have protecting the ball at the forefront of everything they do after losing control now, rather than the tournament.
Yeah, yeah, it would be WAY better if those guys made plays so they have the confidence, but I'm trying to be optimistic here!
One thing for sure: Nobody can accuse yesterday's FS1 analyst, Jess Settles, of having an anti-Marquette bias.
He said at least twice that he thought we could go to the Final Four, and he praised individual MU players all game long.
18-13 or 17-14 doesn't sound like a tournament team.
Marquette better find a way to win 2 of the final 3 before the BET to finish 19-11 or 20-10 before the BET.
Quote from: panda on February 20, 2022, 08:05:08 PM
A small baller that's who - check out tick pick. No fees
2 years ago NMD was against Butler and Marquette was ranked. Tickets for a family of 5 was around $270.
Right now 5 seats in Section 104 is $1149.20 😂😂😂
No thanks.
But I thought that attendance is way down.
Tickets in 104 are not the problem!
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on February 21, 2022, 12:51:55 PM
2 years ago NMD was against Butler and Marquette was ranked. Tickets for a family of 5 was around $270.
Right now 5 seats in Section 104 is $1149.20 😂😂😂
No thanks.
That's a few hundred clams more than my season ticket at center court. Who is selling those at that price? Uncle Luigi?
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on February 21, 2022, 02:49:54 PM
That's a few hundred clams more than my season ticket at center court. Who is selling those at that price? Uncle Luigi?
StubHub section 104. Same section we sat in 2 years ago at about $70-$75 a piece.
Quote from: GoldenEagles03 on February 21, 2022, 04:06:42 PM
StubHub section 104. Same section we sat in 2 years ago at about $70-$75 a piece.
That's crazy
If Marquette wins one more regular season game, they are locked in for the tournament. They may be locked in already (but let's not test that theory). You simply can't move that much this late in the season.
We will open the Big East tournament against either Creighton or Uconn. Both teams beat us twice. I am expecting a Wojo like performance in Big East tournament and NCAA tournament.
Quote from: bilsu on February 22, 2022, 08:20:51 AM
We will open the Big East tournament against either Creighton or Uconn. Both teams beat us twice. I am expecting a Wojo like performance in Big East tournament and NCAA tournament.
I see no reason to expect a third loss vs. Creighton. We had the first game in hand and blew our chances to win the second one. That does
not = a likely loss. Regarding UCONN- I do not want to see Marquette playing them a third time, but even then...a loss is not a foregone conclusion.
A "Wojo like performance"? If we finish in the BET and NCAAT with disappointing results, it will not a result of a clueless "coach" like Wojo.