1. Longer at every position. As quick at most. Deep bench. Able to stay in front of MU without help. Able to bump Oso off his spot and completely taking away the drop step. So, stay home on the shorter smaller players, bet you can contest and disrupt at the rim, while not helping off of 3 point shooters. With bully ball on the offensive end. Well done.
2. UConn made lots of 3's. MU, ummm............. None in the first half by anybody not named.....
3. Ben Gold had himself a stretch. Probably could have played more.
4. Foul trouble aplenty. Yep, UConn got home cooking early. It is what it is. A complete non-factor when a team plays poorly.
5. 0 so, 0 Max, j0plin in the first half. Nothing else needs to be said. And it didn't really improve. Difficult to win if all 3 play this poorly.
6. Sean had himself a stretch. Glad he could get minutes to get the starters some rest.
7. I am pretty sure this isn't going to help the defensive ratings. Or the NET. Or the polls.
8. I am glad that Shaka got so mad at them he made them press full court. Forced them to compete. Shame he couldn't get them to rebound.
9. Nobody got seriously hurt. Except ego and pride.
10. MU got punched in the mouth. The question now is how to they bounce back on Saturday.
So, MU stinks up the joint and the trolls come out. Why on earth is anyone upset? The guy who had everybody wound up was only saying a negative to the extreme version of the same stuff that has been talked about in lots of threads. Other teams making adjustments, MU hasn't played as well the last couple of games.... tiptoeing around being afraid the team will be repeating history.
So, it is a fair point of discussion until it isn't. If MU wins the games it should, and beats Xavier in the toss up next Wednesday, the trolls go away. Pretty simple.
I think "UConn't stop the February fade, you can only hope to contain it" was the better choice.
Rebounding has to improve no matter what. Offense needs to develop a counter punch because the book is out. Oso simply is too small to not be able to shoot a lick. Omax gets a ton of cardio out there. Need Kolek to score with confidence like he's shown he can do.
KenPom has had them Top 10 all year and 6 currently. UCONN is good, very good. But awesome prediction from 6 weeks ago thinking they were good. Pat on the back for you Tower.
Not great but all things considered I'm not too upset about it - UCONN is a good team (thought I don't think nearly as good as we made them look). Hold serve in the games we need to and we're fine. However if this is a pattern developing...that's problematic
Teams have adjusted and figured out how best to play us. Now it's time for Shaka to adjust back. And we really need OMax to figure things out and get his groove back. Without him playing his best we aren't winning a game in the tournament.
Quote from: tower912 on February 07, 2023, 07:39:11 PM
1. Longer at every position. As quick at most. Deep bench. Able to stay in front of MU without help. Able to bump Oso off his spot and completely taking away the drop step. So, stay home on the shorter smaller players, bet you can contest and disrupt at the rim, while not helping off of 3 point shooters. With bully ball on the offensive end. Well done.
2. UConn made lots of 3's. MU, ummm............. None in the first half by anybody not named.....
3. Ben Gold had himself a stretch. Probably could have played more.
4. Foul trouble aplenty. Yep, UConn got home cooking early. It is what it is. A complete non-factor when a team plays poorly.
5. 0 so, 0 Max, j0plin in the first half. Nothing else needs to be said. And it didn't really improve. Difficult to win if all 3 play this poorly.
6. Sean had himself a stretch. Glad he could get minutes to get the starters some rest.
7. I am pretty sure this isn't going to help the defensive ratings. Or the NET. Or the polls.
8. I am glad that Shaka got so mad at them he made them press full court. Forced them to compete. Shame he couldn't get them to rebound.
9. Nobody got seriously hurt. Except ego and pride.
10. MU got punched in the mouth. The question now is how to they bounce back on Saturday.
So, MU stinks up the joint and the trolls come out. Why on earth is anyone upset? The guy who had everybody wound up was only saying a negative to the extreme version of the same stuff that has been talked about in lots of threads. Other teams making adjustments, MU hasn't played as well the last couple of games.... tiptoeing around being afraid the team will be repeating history.
So, it is a fair point of discussion until it isn't. If MU wins the games it should, and beats Xavier in the toss up next Wednesday, the trolls go away. Pretty simple.
Terrible performance. Burn the tape and move onto the next game and get a win
Team looks insanely slow. Bad legs and bad shooting.
Not sure I agree with the press down 20 given how slow and tired everyone looked to start the game
Not surprised by this one. Concern is we need both Oso and Omax to play at high levels and both have struggled in recent games and certainly in this one. My biggest concern is Oso seems to have lost confidence. Needs to come out strong on Saturday.
Positive Takeaways....
1.Sean Jones back and played pretty damn well
2. Won the final 30 minutes I believe
3. Gold showing more and more improvement.
That is all; flush it and get right in DC and prep for a monster next week.....
MU rah!!!!
An absolute piss poor effort on the boards.
Marquette got punched early and never recovered. We never handled their physicality, lost our poise, and were Helter Skelter all night. Regardless, we will bounce back.
Quote from: mugrad_89 on February 07, 2023, 07:46:15 PM
An absolute piss poor effort on the boards.
Absolutely brutal. Oso did not play with the proper force or intensity
Quote from: Elonsmusk on February 07, 2023, 07:42:10 PM
KenPom has had them Top 10 all year and 6 currently. UCONN is good, very good. But awesome prediction from 6 weeks ago thinking they were good. Pat on the back for you Tower.
I was worried they would blow MU out and MU would not have an answer 6 weeks ago. Without searching, I think I said something like MU couldn't win at UConn and just hoped no one got hurt.
This is the UConn that started 14-0 and was undefeated.
Quote from: JakeBarnes on February 07, 2023, 07:43:15 PM
Team looks insanely slow. Bad legs and bad shooting.
Not sure I agree with the press down 20 given how slow and tired everyone looked to start the game
I agree with your analysis.
Wake up call. I'm confident they'll respond.
I don't buy the "they're tired" stuff. They should be no more tired than every other team in the conference.
Quote from: MuggsyB on February 07, 2023, 07:48:36 PM
Absolutely brutal. Oso did not play with the proper force or intensity
I think our few game offensive regression is directly tied to Oso's play on that end - we need him sharp on that side to keep the flow going - lotta season left and confident in our guys ....
Quote from: CAGASS24 on February 07, 2023, 07:46:02 PM
Positive Takeaways....
1.Sean Jones back and played pretty damn well
2. Won the final 30 minutes I believe
3. Gold showing more and more improvement.
That is all; flush it and get right in DC and prep for a monster next week.....
MU rah!!!!
One more: the final score is the closest I think we got it in the second half. So there's that. It won't look as bad in 5 years as it really was.
Quote from: CAGASS24 on February 07, 2023, 07:53:18 PM
I think our few game offensive regression is directly tied to Oso's play on that end - we need him sharp on that side to keep the flow going - lotta season left and confident in our guys ....
We will bounce back. This was a dreadful performance but give UCONN credit.
Said this in 2018-2019 season after the loss to Villanova (on a different board), if this same team continues to show up, you may not see another MU victory this year. Took a lot of crap for it that team only beat St Johns.
Let's hope this same team does not show up.
Not surprised by the loss. UConn is legit team, needed the win and playing on the road. If they lost by 15 or whatever and played well it would be more troubling to me. They shot like 6th graders and no rebounding and should have lost by 40.
Happy to see Ben get in some quality minutes and see Sean back in action. They needed to play flawless tonight to win and that they played as a big ask.
I will let the mopes control the conversation tonight and for a few days. Going to watch the State of the Union and hear what I can learn about the balloon.
Hope the mopes and trolls enjoy their night. There will be better days ahead.
Quote from: PointWarrior on February 07, 2023, 07:55:25 PM
Said this in 2018-2019 season after the loss to Villanova (on a different board), if this same team continues to show up, you may not see another MU victory this year. Took a lot of crap for it that team only beat St Johns.
Let's hope this same team does not show up.
Shhhh..don't say this. You'll be called names, be accused or trolling, and have the triggered snowflake mob calling for your head.
Quote from: PointWarrior on February 07, 2023, 07:55:25 PM
Said this in 2018-2019 season after the loss to Villanova (on a different board), if this same team continues to show up, you may not see another MU victory this year. Took a lot of crap for it that team only beat St Johns.
Let's hope this same team does not show up.
You're enjoying this, hey Point?
Quote from: lostpassword on February 07, 2023, 07:54:03 PM
One more: the final score is the closest I think we got it in the second half. So there's that. It won't look as bad in 5 years as it really was.
Yep, that's what I was going with, we were down 16 at around the 10 minute mark in the first half and lost by less, so, as shitty as it looks, we basically got rained on for 5 minutes and then played fairly decently off at their place and won 3/4 of the game - not saying we would've won without the hot start shooting, mainly because of the 20 offensive rebounds and our poor shooting and assist results, but all things considered I thought they responded pretty well from that point forward
I honestly can't believe this is happening again. I really really didn't want to subscribe to the Feb Fade theory, but here we are. The offense has been atrocious the last three games. To go from #1 is offensive efficiency to what we see now is head scratching. Why all the iso ball? What happened to the movement, both ball and player? Are we the only team that can't adjust the second time through the Big East schedule? Omax is just out there getting cardio and Oso is doing only slightly more than that. Those guys were impactful in Dec/Jan.
Please use the Gtown game to snap out of it.
Ighadaro, OMax, and Kam went 19, 17, and 15 last month at Fiserv. They essentially were no shows today. Hard to win or compete against a quality team when three of your best players aren't themselves. You add the atrocious rebounding numbers and we never were remotely in this contest. Extremely disappointing.
This could have been worst defensive rebounding performance in watching in 60 years. UConn got 2 shots on just about every offensive play. Can not win that way. Offensively, could not make a shot. But please, stop this tired crap, I played everyday at there age all day, and came back the next day. I do not believe that excuse. MU does not have the talent to play one on one basketball.
Need more movement, to many players just stand around when Joplin or Omax try to back somebody down. Gold and Jones played well, nice to see.
27-8 second chance points advantage for UCONN
Quote from: MuggsyB on February 07, 2023, 07:55:05 PM
We will bounce back. This was a dreadful performance but give UCONN credit.
Need the Georgetown game this weekend.
Quote from: TFlegend on February 07, 2023, 07:58:34 PM
I honestly can't believe this is happening again. I really really didn't want to subscribe to the Feb Fade theory, but here we are. The offense has been atrocious the last three games. To go from #1 is offensive efficiency to what we see now is head scratching. Why all the iso ball? What happened to the movement, both ball and player? Are we the only team that can't adjust the second time through the Big East schedule? Omax is just out there getting cardio and Oso is doing only slightly more than that. Those guys were impactful in Dec/Jan.
Please use the Gtown game to snap out of it.
I can't believe there's so many dumb posts about the "February fade", either.
Quote from: PointWarrior on February 07, 2023, 07:55:25 PM
Said this in 2018-2019 season after the loss to Villanova (on a different board), if this same team continues to show up, you may not see another MU victory this year. Took a lot of crap for it that team only beat St Johns.
Let's hope this same team does not show up.
This team has nothing to do with the 2018-19 team.
1 Rebound for Ighodaro. That's tough to stomach.
Quote from: Vander Blue Man Group on February 07, 2023, 08:01:02 PM
I can't believe there's so many dumb posts about the "February fade", either.
I can't believe you're so fragile you respond to every single one of them. 😂
It wasn't the usual 50/50 ball issue, but just getting pummeled on the boards.
UCONN 48-23 total and 21 to 8 on offensive, almost absurd.
Oso with one rebound entire game.
A lot of Omax criticism, but don't forget the expert baller posters have said he is leaving early and will get drafted by an NBA team and be on a roster. OK.... The thing with Omax is he is either really good or he is really bad, there is not a middle comparison. Recently bad, with tonight being one of his worst. Guess the word is consistency and hopefully he can turn it around for the final run, this team needs him.
I was glad Sean Jones got extended minutes and showed he is more than capable as a backup and kudos to Stevie Mitchell, who played his heart out with hustle and determination. Some of his teammates should watch the tape and notice how hard a player works, even down 20 the whole game.
Off to D.C. and play one of worst teams in the country to get back on track.
Quote from: MuggsyB on February 07, 2023, 08:01:23 PM
1 Rebound for Ighadaro. That's tough to stomach.
Really needs to rebound with his arms.
Quote from: nyg on February 07, 2023, 08:02:04 PM
It wasn't the usual 50/50 ball issue, but just getting pummeled on the boards.
UCONN 48-23 total and 21 to 8 on offensive, almost absurd.
Oso with one rebound entire game.
A lot of Omax criticism, but don't forget the expert baller posters have said he is leaving early and will get drafted by an NBA team and be on a roster. OK.... The thing with Omax is he is either really good or he is really bad, there is not a middle comparison. Recently bad, with tonight being one of his worst. Guess the word is consistency and hopefully he can turn it around for the final run, this team needs him.
I was glad Sean Jones got extended minutes and showed he is more than capable as a backup and kudos to Stevie Mitchell, who played his heart out with hustle and determination. Some of his teammates should watch the tape and notice how hard a player works, even down 20 the whole game.
Off to D.C. and play one of worst teams in the country to get back on track.
If I was a NBA scout, I saw a few players on UConn that will play in the show, but for MU maybe Kolek but who could have been impressed with Omax, who showed nothing except long arms.
Rough loss but not a big surprise. Let's see how they bounce back. Seasons have ups and downs and now it's time for Shaka to right the ship.
Biggest concern is Oso only because of how important he's been to our success. He's a good kid and he'll adjust.
I was disappointed .
We will come back and hopefully have a strong game against Georgetown
When I saw the game was out of control early, I decided to do some long over do cleaning, got me some good will with The Missus. So not a totally bad evening .
NYG, I still think OMax plays in the league. Almost every game, we hear that scouts are looking at him.
He has been bad lately.
Just like many parts of MU, the Big East has a plan for him. He needs to adjust and improve.
Quote from: Herman Cain on February 07, 2023, 08:18:05 PM
I was disappointed .
We will come back and hopefully have a strong game against Georgetown
When I saw the game was out of control early, I decided to do some long over so cleaning, got me some good will with The Missus. So not a totally bad evening .
Brown chicken, brown cow.
Quote from: MUfan12 on February 07, 2023, 07:58:11 PM
You're enjoying this, hey Point?
Nope, hate this. joke wooshed over my head....
Quote from: PointWarrior on February 07, 2023, 08:22:58 PM
Nope, hate this. and your personal name use is even creepier...
Why do you hate this, Larry?
Quote from: TFlegend on February 07, 2023, 07:58:34 PM
I honestly can't believe this is happening again. I really really didn't want to subscribe to the Feb Fade theory, but here we are. The offense has been atrocious the last three games. To go from #1 is offensive efficiency to what we see now is head scratching. Why all the iso ball? What happened to the movement, both ball and player? Are we the only team that can't adjust the second time through the Big East schedule? Omax is just out there getting cardio and Oso is doing only slightly more than that. Those guys were impactful in Dec/Jan.
Please use the Gtown game to snap out of it.
It's 2 games into February. Step off the damn ledge
Quote from: BCHoopster on February 07, 2023, 08:11:40 PM
If I was a NBA scout, I saw a few players on UConn that will play in the show, but for MU maybe Kolek but who could have been impressed with Omax, who showed nothing except long arms.
Yup, but read the prior threads, especially the "MU in Association" one. Posters stated six current MU players will be on an NBA roster, but that's another topic. Like I mentioned, Omax is sort of the team X factor when he is playing well, but he just doesn't do it every night. Tonight he did not even make a field goal, fouled a guy on a three pointer and believe he airmailed an open three and Oso had one field goal, 3 points and one rebound. Not going to win many future games when both of these players put up statistics like that.
Get out of their slumps and move on to Georgetown.
Tower, not going to argue with Omax to NBA and be on a roster. That was discussed at length in other threads. We will see at end of year.
Quote from: ZiggysFryBoy on February 07, 2023, 08:25:04 PM
Why do you hate this, Larry?
Hate MU is on a trend playing like crap on offense, Ralph...
Quote from: JakeBarnes on February 07, 2023, 08:25:35 PM
It's 2 games into February. Step off the damn ledge
It's 3. And I don't take the Wojo BS into account, that was a different coach, different teams. What does concern me is we saw this last year with Shaka. Offense was great in Jan, grinds to a halt in Feb with an increase in iso ball, which we are not good at. Making shots will help, but I'd contend we are not getting the same quality of shots as the ones we were making in Dec/Jan. Do the advanced stats back that up? I'm genuinely asking.
One thing is for certain, I will be on the edge of my seat and watching intently on Saturday.
Unfortunately, only one result will be satisfactory the way the last few have gone, a win by 15+ on the road.
Play well Saturday, carry that into a win over Xavier, and tonight becomes forgotten.
Quote from: tower912 on February 07, 2023, 08:19:16 PM
NYG, I still think OMax plays in the league. Almost every game, we hear that scouts are looking at him.
He has been bad lately.
Just like many parts of MU, the Big East has a plan for him. He needs to adjust and improve.
He has a chance to play in the league but needs another year to improve his game. Needs to get in the gym this summer big time, he has showed improvement but needs more offensive skills to get a shot off.
Quote from: TFlegend on February 07, 2023, 08:34:50 PM
It's 3. And I don't take the Wojo BS into account, that was a different coach, different teams. What does concern me is we saw this last year with Shaka. Offense was great in Jan, grinds to a halt in Feb with an increase in iso ball, which we are not good at. Making shots will help, but I'd contend we are not getting the same quality of shots as the ones we were making in Dec/Jan. Do the advanced stats back that up? I'm genuinely asking.
8 February games last year:
83 points on 71 possessions
72 on 68
79 on 69
77 on 69
82 on 74
64 on 68
80 on 81
85 on 77
Don't ask about March
I'm curious what they allowed per possession in February last year. The offense slowed but the defense absolutely cratered.
11. We drove a sell out at the XL Center on a weeknight.
A deep dive was done and the biggest culprit last February and March was terrible transition defense.
Either Cracked Sidewalks or Anonymous Eagle.
Two of MU's 6 losses are to teams that were ranked #1 at some point.
Quote from: MUfan12 on February 07, 2023, 08:39:29 PM
I'm curious what they allowed per possession in February last year. The offense slowed but the defense absolutely cratered.
73 on 71
80 on 68
85 on 69
66 on 69
83 on 74
56 on 68
91 on 81
77 on 80
March Bonus:
73 on 70
95 on 75
6 of the final 10 games, teams had an effective fg% of 52% or higher. 4 games they won, it was 45% or lower. It wasn't the offense last year, it was the defense
Quote from: MuggsyB on February 07, 2023, 07:59:06 PM
Ighadaro, OMax, and Kam went 19, 17, and 15 last month at Fiserv.
Well, they were only 40 pts. off that tonight.
Could be just a stinker to a very good team. Could be for a second year Shaka got them to a peak too early. Let's let it play out. Losing to a team this talented (even the way we did) doesn't mean we can't continue this great season.
Marquette 18-1 in games decided by more than five points.
MU had won 10 of the last 11 coming into this game dating back to Dec 27, with the only loss being a close road game against a good Xavier team. I'll give them a pass tonight given outstanding recent performances (yes, even an 8 point win against Butler counts). Every team lays an egg every once in a while, even good teams. We will bounce back. Way too early for calls of a Feb fade.
Quote from: mugrad_89 on February 07, 2023, 07:46:15 PM
An absolute piss poor effort on the boards.
No doubt. Can't overreact to this game, but I do hope it isn't the model going forward to not have any bruisers on the roster to withstand physical teams.
Quote from: StillWarriors on February 07, 2023, 08:57:06 PM
No doubt. Can't overreact to this game, but I do hope it isn't the model going forward to not have any bruisers on the roster to withstand physical teams.
Yeah let's hope the team doesn't overreact either. We wouldn't want them trying to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Some days you're the statue.
Quote from: mileskishnish72 on February 07, 2023, 08:48:25 PM
Well, they were only 40 pts. off that tonight.
Could be just a stinker to a very good team. Could be for a second year Shaka got them to a peak too early. Let's let it play out. Losing to a team this talented (even the way we did) doesn't mean we can't continue this great season.
I don't think we played an intelligent basketball game. This goes beyond the obvious facts that UCONN destroyed us on the glass and shot the ball extremely well, especially from distance. We sped up to a fault because we were pressing to get shots before their defense was set.
It's not just the lack of points from three of our best players, they made poor decisions in both the half court and open space. Lots of ball-stopping, not moving the basketball with overdribbling, and not taking floaters and short range shots before Sanogo could challenge. Very poor use of the shot fake as well, rushed and erratic shot attempts, and a number of charmin soft basketball plays. Joplin had the same problems with these issues when he played today. MOVE THE FREAKING BASKETBALL. TyKo cannot be our only shot creator.
What's the maxim? Play with pace, don't hurry? We were a click and a half too fast tonight. Guys were out of control and lost in some odd and wayward place. The Oso fast break lay-up brick was a microcosm of the entire game. Stop, plant, dunk the goddamn basketball. The hunger, focus, and tenacity was not where it needed to be tonight at all.
All this said UCONN was really good . Had we played well we probably still would have lost. However, my disappointment is that we beat ourselves possession, after possession, after possession. We panicked to tell you the truth and it's the first time that has happened all season. We're a much better team than we saw tonight and I fully expect that this asssss-kicking will get our focus where it needs to be moving forward.
Quote from: MuggsyB on February 07, 2023, 09:37:28 PM
I don't think we played an intelligent basketball game. This goes beyond the obvious facts that UCONN destroyed us on the glass and shot the ball extremely well, especially from distance. We sped up to a fault because we were pressing to get shots before their defense was set.
It's not just the lack of points from three of our best players, they made poor decisions in both the half court and open space. Lots of ball-stopping, not moving the basketball with overdribbling, and not taking floaters and short range shots before Sanogo could challenge. Very poor use of the shot fake as well, rushed and erratic shot attempts, and a number of charmin soft basketball plays. Joplin had the same problems with these issues when he played today. MOVE THE FREAKING BASKETBALL. TyKo cannot be our only shot creator.
What's the maxim? Play with pace, don't hurry? We were a click and a half too fast tonight. Guys were out of control and lost in some odd and wayward place. The Oso fast break lay-up brick was a microcosm of the entire game. Stop, plant, dunk the goddamn basketball. The hunger, focus, and tenacity was not where it needed to be tonight at all.
All this said UCONN was really good tonight. Had we played well we probably still would have lost. However, my disappointment is that we beat ourselves possession, after possession, after possession. We panicked to tell you the truth and it's the first time that has happened all season. We're a much better team than we saw tonight and I fully expect that this asssss-kicking will get pur focus where it needs to be moving forward.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on February 07, 2023, 09:39:44 PM
We are flawed as are most teams. The rebounding is obviously a massive issue. It's okay to be an effective team by playing as a team and understanding your strengths and roles. Today we were completely out of sorts Scoop Snoop. Give UCONN credit but we lost our poise imo.
UCONN is big, strong and athletic. When they shoot it like they did tonight they'll beat anyone. That said, our front court was awful, especially Oso. When they play that poorly every Big East team can (and likely would) beat us.
One guy that has annoyed me since I watched UConn play X is Newton. And just as annoying tonight.
For a UConn player (who play typically tough) he gets the slightest contact and he acts like he has been shot by a high powered rifle. The game versus Xavier was comical. There is a great video of what they call "his greatest hits" of him just flailing all over the place.
Quote from: Vander Blue Man Group on February 07, 2023, 07:53:08 PM
Wake up call. I'm confident they'll respond.
I don't buy the "they're tired" stuff. They should be no more tired than every other team in the conference.
My concern in this regard is that MU is significantly younger than some other teams that have several 23-24 year old players. Those older players have much more experience dealing with the grind of a 4-5 month major college season. MU has very few players who have ever played as many minutes as they are being asked to cover this season.
It will be interesting to see how the team bounces back on Saturday.
I "knew" this game was going to go poorly halfway through the first possession. We got Sanogo to cough up the ball late in the shot clock. I saw it was heading towards Hawkins and thought "he's going to pick that up and then hit a last second three". Sure enough....A few minutes later he had 14 points.
I don't think we played as poorly as it appeared. UConn made some garbage shots. Allenye was 3 for his last 16 on the year and a sub 30% 3 point shooter on the season. He went 3/6 included a 1/3 court runner at the halftime buzzer. On the other end we got several open looks from 3 that didn't fall. We had three starters pick up two early fouls in the first half which threw us off.
Things I am concerned about, defensive rebounding and poor ball movement. After a few great rebounding games in a row (against not great rebounding teams), we had a dreadful performance on the glass. It wasn't even Clingan and Sanogo overpowering them for rebounds. You just have to accept those. There were multiple times when Newton or Jackson beat out three blue shirts for a board and most of them appeared to be lack of effort on our part.
The ball movement has gotten stagnant the last few games. Too much isolation and one on one. I don't think guys are stat hunting but coaches seem to be prepared for our attack. We need to hit our open threes to open up the driving lanes.
The most heartening thing about the game is that the team continued to fight even down 20+ with less than 5 minutes left. The most disheartening thing is that other than an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 17, we never mustered a run or counterpunch.
Looking at the box score, the difference in the game really was the three point line. We won the turnover battle by a lot. We were pretty much even in getting to the line. We outscored them inside the arc and shot a higher percentage inside the arc despite how badly they beat us on the offensive boards. The big difference is we had a crappy game shooting the three (5 for 21, 3 for 18 for all non-Kiwis) and UConn was on fire (12-23). That's not to dismiss this performance, that all can't be waved away as bad shooting game vs. hot shooting game, but it was certainly a factor.
UConn had insanely uncharacteristic shot making. Per Synergy, their expected points per shot was 0.95 and their actual was 1.19 which is UConn's biggest overperformance of the year. Marquette's expected was 0.94 and actual was 0.93, which is fine.
UConn couldn't miss early, got out to a 24-8 lead, and we played them even the rest of the way, but because we couldn't string enough stops to get it close to single digits, it was never close enough to feel at all comfortable. But seriously, some of the open looks we missed, some of the crazy, well-guarded prayers they made, sometimes it's just not your night.
This was first half Wisconsin with Hawkins playing the Chucky Hepburn role and no second half run to force overtime. It happens. On to Georgetown.
TAMU
The first possession set the tone for the game for me. They played good defense and almost forced a turnover prior to Hawkins hitting last second shot to beat the buzzer. He was off to the races and the rest is history.
One thing I hate, and I knew would happen, is hearing the media, including local media, referring to UConn as "pulling off the upset".
In my book a 4 point favorite winning is not an upset. The game was upsetting, but not an upset.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 05:09:53 AM
UConn had insanely uncharacteristic shot making. Per Synergy, their expected points per shot was 0.95 and their actual was 1.19 which is UConn's biggest overperformance of the year. Marquette's expected was 0.94 and actual was 0.93, which is fine.
UConn couldn't miss early, got out to a 24-8 lead, and we played them even the rest of the way, but because we couldn't string enough stops to get it close to single digits, it was never close enough to feel at all comfortable. But seriously, some of the open looks we missed, some of the crazy, well-guarded prayers they made, sometimes it's just not your night.
This was first half Wisconsin with Hawkins playing the Chucky Hepburn role and no second half run to force overtime. It happens. On to Georgetown.
The half court three at the buzzer pretty much summed up UConn's first half shooting. If that didn't go down, I think we'd have made it a game in the second half.
Quote from: wisblue on February 08, 2023, 05:52:13 AM
One thing I hate, and I knew would happen, is hearing the media, including local media, referring to UConn as "pulling off the upset".
In my book a 4 point favorite winning is not an upset. The game was upsetting, but not an upset.
I took that as a complement actually. When ever Marquette lost a game under Al in the 70s it was considered an upset. Nice to have a team that is doing so well that when they lose its an upset for a change.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 05:47:41 AM
TAMU
The first possession set the tone for the game for me. They played good defense and almost forced a turnover prior to Hawkins hitting last second shot to beat the buzzer. He was off to the races and the rest is history.
Yeah, that was kind of an 'Oh, crap. It is going to be that kind of night' moment.
Quote from: tower912 on February 08, 2023, 06:44:21 AM
Yeah, that was kind of an 'Oh, crap. It is going to be that kind of night' moment.
I knew it was over the moment the calendar turned to February. Ever since Columbus sailed the ocean blue, jesuits have faded around lent
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 05:47:41 AM
TAMU
The first possession set the tone for the game for me. They played good defense and almost forced a turnover prior to Hawkins hitting last second shot to beat the buzzer. He was off to the races and the rest is history.
We force a turnover there and we lose by 12 instead of 15.
Said it once, will say it again. Rebounding will be what ends this teams season. Just need to avoid draws with early match ups against teams with super talented and athletic bigs.
Quote from: Uncle Rico on February 08, 2023, 06:48:31 AM
I knew it was over the moment the calendar turned to February. Ever since Columbus sailed the ocean blue, jesuits have faded around lent
Beauty.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 05:09:53 AM
UConn had insanely uncharacteristic shot making. Per Synergy, their expected points per shot was 0.95 and their actual was 1.19 which is UConn's biggest overperformance of the year. Marquette's expected was 0.94 and actual was 0.93, which is fine.
UConn couldn't miss early, got out to a 24-8 lead, and we played them even the rest of the way, but because we couldn't string enough stops to get it close to single digits, it was never close enough to feel at all comfortable. But seriously, some of the open looks we missed, some of the crazy, well-guarded prayers they made, sometimes it's just not your night.
This was first half Wisconsin with Hawkins playing the Chucky Hepburn role and no second half run to force overtime. It happens. On to Georgetown.
I also thought the first half bore an uncanny resemblance to the UW game. Thanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.
Your post supports my take in the sense that the
primary problem was
not our starters' performances, but UCONN's near perfect game. That does not mean I give our guys a pass on the game. Exhibit A in support of my argument is Ben's performance. I absolutely loved how well he did, but let's not be naive. I think that Hurley barely mentioned him to his team, other than probably saying "don't worry about him. If he gets a few baskets, no big deal. Just clamp down on their starters."
Quote from: ZiggysFryBoy on February 07, 2023, 08:20:57 PM
Brown chicken, brown cow.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQ4qdlhurc
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on February 08, 2023, 07:07:55 AMThanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.
According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.
The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.
Quote from: JamilJaeJamailJrJuan on February 08, 2023, 07:00:28 AM
Said it once, will say it again. Rebounding will be what ends this teams season. Just need to avoid draws with early match ups against teams with super talented and athletic bigs.
We don't have to be a great rebounding team, but the effort has to be there. Last nite, it wasn't.
MU has 6 losses. 4 are road losses to ranked teams. Two of those were at some point #1.
Quote from: Scoop Snoop on February 08, 2023, 07:07:55 AM
I also thought the first half bore an uncanny resemblance to the UW game. Thanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.
Your post supports my take in the sense that the primary problem was not our starters' performances, but UCONN's near perfect game. That does not mean I give our guys a pass on the game. Exhibit A in support of my argument is Ben's performance. I absolutely loved how well he did, but let's not be naive. I think that Hurley barely mentioned him to his team, other than probably saying "don't worry about him. If he gets a few baskets, no big deal. Just clamp down on their starters."
Speaking of Ben. After drilling two three point shots he never got the ball back on 2-3 more wide open pick and pops. Maybe Kolek and our other guards aren't used to a big that can shoot. I was hoping they would go to the well a couple more times to see if it would continue ala Mike Kinsella in a couple of his games. But they chose to forgo giving it to a wide open three point shooter and instead take a contested two point shot.
Quote from: mugrad_89 on February 08, 2023, 08:23:07 AM
We don't have to be a great rebounding team, but the effort has to be there. Last nite, it wasn't.
This is a fair criticism
Quote from: tower912 on February 08, 2023, 08:41:26 AM
MU has 6 losses. 4 are road losses to ranked teams. Two of those were at some point #1.
UConn hasn't been ranked #1 this season. Only UNC, Houston, and Purdue have been at the top of either the AP or Coaches' polls. Not a major difference, but just to be accurate. :)
Did they peak at #2 behind Purdue? I thought they had #1 for a week.
Well, crap.
Beer before or after the game next Wednesday?
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 08:21:27 AM
According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.
The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.
You're right Brew but we had no fluidity in our offense and took difficult threes and shots. The ball stopped constantly and our only creator at all was TyKo. The lack of passing in open space from all of our guys, and moving the basketball, a.k.a. iso ball, was problematic the entire game. And as I stated yesterday Oso, OMax, and Kam had unusually bad games and made bad decisions. Poor discipline, poise, fundamentals, and execution on both ends of the floor. We will be fine but we simply cannot beat ourselves like we did yesterday moving forward.
I don't think we "beat ourselves" yesterday. UConn was clearly the better team.
Oh and having Sean back is definitely a plus. I'm several games this year he has changed the momentum of the game. He's not consistent game to game yet but he can be a spark off the bench. Glad he is back. The depth at guard is important.
Quote from: The Sultan of Semantics on February 08, 2023, 09:00:11 AM
I don't think we "beat ourselves" yesterday. UConn was clearly the better team.
Ehh, not by much. They made shots they usually don't get early and it made the entire game look more comfortable for them. They came in shooting 33.9% from three in conference play and hit 52.2% from deep. Many of those were late-shot clock desperation shots or well-guarded looks that still fell. UConn was certainly the more fortunate team, but put them in an empty gym and they probably aren't shooting it that well. Just one of those nights.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 08:21:27 AM
According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.
The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.
I thought our effort wasn't quite as high as the normal very high standards, so that's always disappointing. And Oso had another pretty poor game, which would be troubling if it continues. But I agree that this wouldn't have looked so bad (and maybe even would have looked OK) if UConn didn't make an inordinate number of difficult shots and if Marquette had hit some more open looks. I can remember 2 trey attempts by Ross, 1 by Sean, 1 by Kam and 2 by Stevie that almost couldn't have possibly been more wide open. And when that halfcourt shot went in, it confirmed that it wasn't gonna be our night. It happens, especially on the road.
We are having an amazing season. People need to not lose their shyte.
Quote from: MU82 on February 08, 2023, 09:09:44 AM
I thought our effort wasn't quite as high as the normal very high standards, so that's always disappointing. And Oso had another pretty poor game, which would be troubling if it continues. But I agree that this wouldn't have looked so bad (and maybe even would have looked OK) if UConn didn't make an inordinate number of difficult shots and if Marquette had hit some more open looks. I can remember 2 trey attempts by Ross, 1 by Sean, 1 by Kam and 2 by Stevie that almost couldn't have possibly been more wide open. And when that halfcourt shot went in, it confirmed that it wasn't gonna be our night. It happens, especially on the road.
We are having an amazing season. People need to not lose their shyte.
Agreed with all of this.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 08:21:27 AM
According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.
The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.
To add to this, UConn took their first 16 point lead with 12:33 left in the first half, meaning we won the last 32.5 minutes of the game by 1 (obviously the blowout score may have impacted how UConn played down the stretch but they did keep their starters in all night). In that first 7.5 minutes when UConn built their lead, they only had 1 offensive rebound. During that same stretch, they went 4/4 from three while we went 0/3. The ORs we gave up obviously kept us from getting back into the game but I think the real difference in the game was 3 point shooting.
Quote from: Shooter McGavin on February 08, 2023, 09:02:20 AM
Oh and having Sean back is definitely a plus. I'm several games this year he has changed the momentum of the game. He's not consistent game to game yet but he can be a spark off the bench. Glad he is back. The depth at guard is important.
Agreed. Love his energy and the spark he can provide.
Quote from: mugrad_89 on February 07, 2023, 07:46:15 PM
An absolute piss poor effort on the boards.
In the history of Pomeroy, 2nd highest (worst) OR% conference game in Marquette's history by an opponent. Third worst in ALL games in the Modern Age.
Quote from: MU82 on February 08, 2023, 09:09:44 AM
People need to not lose their shyte.
Imodium for all of scoop!
It's uncanny how much MU fans complain about tough, contested shots. Did UCONN make 2 desperation heaves last night? Yes. But they also had a large number of layup line dunks and shootaround perimeter jumpers that people who aren't even as talented as Ners could make without much concern. I always hear about how much better our defense is than the numbers show, we're just unlucky with last second, contested jumpers going down. I don't see it nearly as much as Scoop claims it happens. In fact, I see it happen more in MU's favor than it hurts MU. I think half of Joplin's field goals this year are at the buzzer, 28 feet out, falling away with a hand in his face. Or Kam's crazy up and under, footwork near the rim, kiss of the glass with some English on it over a 7 footer.
Also, the idea that "winning" the last 3/4 of the game is hilarious. Teams tend to take their foot off the gas when they're up 20 the entire game. But hey, let's celebrate!
Love the "expected score." Maybe we got good enough shot looks for it to be a close game. The problem is, we have 2 good shooters on the team. So maybe teams are okay with Stevie or OMax getting "good quality" shots. Maybe that's in the gameplan? Just a thought. And maybe we got UCONN to take some tough shots, but we also let them rebound literally almost all of their misses.
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on February 08, 2023, 09:20:56 AM
In the history of Pomeroy, 2nd highest (worst) OR% conference game in Marquette's history by an opponent. Third worst in ALL games in the Modern Age.
I lost count of how many times Marquette players were just standing there and not even trying to block out as a UConn player swooped in for the rebound - it was embarrassing.
MUGrad
If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 09:55:27 AM
MUGrad
If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.
Last paragraph is spot on. If he misses his first couple or he is getting torched on D get him out. If he makes two threes when everyone on the team can't hit the Ocean get him the ball when he's Wide Open. It's simple. This applies to other shooters who are hitting shots as well. It was insane how wide open he was several times and never got the ball.
It hasn't been just this game. It's been many others. Ben has not earned the trust of his teammates apparently.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 09:55:27 AM
MUGrad
If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.
Agree on Gold, Goose. He's been moving a lot better and the shot looks really good lately. I thought they should have been abusing that matchup once it started to work--probably would have opened the lane up for Tyler and the team if he hit a few more (especially if it drew Clingan or Sanogo to the perimeter). Really excited for him to realize his ceiling.
Shooter
I have no idea on this, but it appears the guys like Ben and it is not a personality issue. I think you are correct on not earning their trust or just a habit of missing him. To be fair, I would have missed him for 95% of the season if I was playing with him. IMO, last night gave a lot of tape for the guys to learn from.
That being said, I have sensed a touch of selfish offense the past couple of games and hope it is not a trend. Chase last night made several questionable plays and Joplin is Joplin. Time to clean some things up. One last point, I have also noticed Kolek getting frustrated with some of the guys on the court. The team has faced zero adversity this season and let's see how they respond.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 09:55:27 AM
MUGrad
If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.
Lost is the butt-kicking we received last night was a great adjustment by Shaka. As soon as Clingan came in the game, so did Ben. One drive for a layup and two made threes were the immediate result, and as others mentioned there could have been multiple other attempts where Ben was wide open. Really smart to take advantage defensively of the guy who really dominated us the last game. Of course, Sanogo had his way with us last night, as did pretty much the rest of UConn's lineup so all for naught.
Jake,
As you know I am a big believer in Gold, but one thing I really like about him is a bit chippy out there. Aside from Kolek, there really is no chippy type guys on the team and I think it is needed. I watch Gold closely and he likes to get his jabs in when given a chance. IMO, the team needs a bit more of that.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 09:55:27 AM
MUGrad
If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.
Excellent points Goose.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 09:55:27 AMIf I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.
Agree with all of this, but this part in particular. Heard lots of "burn the tape" comments after last night, but I think it was a really good game from a learning perspective. Show the team where the extra effort is needed as motivation, but also show them where some of the bounces went poorly so they don't get too dejected from what ended up a bad result. You always learn the most from failure, and I think this team can learn a lot and get better from the failed effort of last night.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 10:16:00 AM
Jake,
As you know I am a big believer in Gold, but one thing I really like about him is a bit chippy out there. Aside from Kolek, there really is no chippy type guys on the team and I think it is needed. I watch Gold closely and he likes to get his jabs in when given a chance. IMO, the team needs a bit more of that.
Spot on, he has a bit of an edge.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 10:16:00 AM
Jake,
As you know I am a big believer in Gold, but one thing I really like about him is a bit chippy out there. Aside from Kolek, there really is no chippy type guys on the team and I think it is needed. I watch Gold closely and he likes to get his jabs in when given a chance. IMO, the team needs a bit more of that.
I agree with this analysis
OMax was getting visibly frustrated, particularly in the defensive end and the rebounding. Shaka put on the press and put OMax at the point of it and suddenly OMax was flinging himself around with reckless abandon even with 4 fouls. I hope that serves as a brain cleanser for OMax.
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 10:13:48 AM
Shooter
I have no idea on this, but it appears the guys like Ben and it is not a personality issue. I think you are correct on not earning their trust or just a habit of missing him. To be fair, I would have missed him for 95% of the season if I was playing with him. IMO, last night gave a lot of tape for the guys to learn from.
That being said, I have sensed a touch of selfish offense the past couple of games and hope it is not a trend. Chase last night made several questionable plays and Joplin is Joplin. Time to clean some things up. One last point, I have also noticed Kolek getting frustrated with some of the guys on the court. The team has faced zero adversity this season and let's see how they respond.
Goose--you were not alone in the above observation. That is probably my only "chicken little" moment: I felt like the team started to move towards that last year around this time as well. The ball isn't moving as well since the mid 2H of the Butler game. It seems like the dribble is getting picked up too early and guys are too frustrated to look for an outlet. A lot of attempts at iso ball, rather than finding the open guy and crisp passing. It's a bit like an over-correction to the time when Shaka told Kolek to find his shot sometimes. Now everyone is driving into the lane into 3 people trying to force a layup. That said, Sean and Stevie were mostly good at picking their spots and recognizing what the defense gave them when it was there. And Ben as well with that really nice drive on Clingan. O-Max, Jop, Oso, and Tyler forgot about the guys rotating behind them. i'd actually like to see that as an emphasis more--Kam or a shooter making a nice cut on the line when Oso or Tyler are backing down a player in the lane.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 10:29:29 AM
Agree with all of this, but this part in particular. Heard lots of "burn the tape" comments after last night, but I think it was a really good game from a learning perspective. Show the team where the extra effort is needed as motivation, but also show them where some of the bounces went poorly so they don't get too dejected from what ended up a bad result. You always learn the most from failure, and I think this team can learn a lot and get better from the failed effort of last night.
Same mentality as book burners.
Learn, dammit! The old cliche' of history repeating itself is valid only when the lessons of history are ignored or brushed aside.
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 10:29:29 AM
Agree with all of this, but this part in particular. Heard lots of "burn the tape" comments after last night, but I think it was a really good game from a learning perspective. Show the team where the extra effort is needed as motivation, but also show them where some of the bounces went poorly so they don't get too dejected from what ended up a bad result. You always learn the most from failure, and I think this team can learn a lot and get better from the failed effort of last night.
Exactly! The burn the tape sentiment confuses me and goes against Shaka's principles. This is the type of thing you learn from. I think it'll be both technically constructive AND give them an opportunity to build the long term mindset needed to sustain their edge.
One specific area I'm wondering about, is if Oso is specifically coached in rebounding situations to always try to tip it out because he may be physically outmatched or is it instinctual for him? It seems like he never tries to pull down a rebound himself in heavy traffic. Seems like low hanging fruit to help improve rebounding, but happy to be educated if people disagree.
Jake
Last year two guys fell into a hero ball mindset, and I was OK with it because without them there would not have been a run and they were playing for the next year's payday. This year, I would sit ANY guy that goes hero, even if that means going on 4 on 5. IMO, it has not been hero ball, more of trying to make something happen out of frustration. The last two games were a struggle on offense, and I am going with guys trying to make something happen.
Going back to last year for one second, once I saw the hero ball become a trend it was obvious it was not a winning formula. I was far less disappointed because last year's team played way over their head and gave us some excitement. This team creates excitement by playing team ball.
Quote from: tower912 on February 08, 2023, 08:53:06 AM
Did they peak at #2 behind Purdue? I thought they had #1 for a week.
Well, crap.
Beer before or after the game next Wednesday?
Leaning toward after. 6:00 tips are tough for me to make without any extra stops :D
Quote from: Goose on February 08, 2023, 10:13:48 AM
Shooter
I have no idea on this, but it appears the guys like Ben and it is not a personality issue. I think you are correct on not earning their trust or just a habit of missing him. To be fair, I would have missed him for 95% of the season if I was playing with him. IMO, last night gave a lot of tape for the guys to learn from.
That being said, I have sensed a touch of selfish offense the past couple of games and hope it is not a trend. Chase last night made several questionable plays and Joplin is Joplin. Time to clean some things up. One last point, I have also noticed Kolek getting frustrated with some of the guys on the court. The team has faced zero adversity this season and let's see how they respond.
100%. And, I've noticed some hesitancy. Oso doesn't have a face-up game at this point, and has seemed to be reluctant at times to go to his go-to jump hooks around the rim. Passing-up east looks. Omax just a little ragged of late, and Mitchell and Ross have tended to dribble into no man's land too often. Kind of a oh....now what? But, all easy to clean-up. Get it done on Saturday in prep for X next week!
Anyone notice omax started the season having this face up erratic style that worked especially from the wings, but has moved to slow back them down and it's just not working?
Quote from: Herman Cain on February 07, 2023, 08:18:05 PM
I was disappointed .
We will come back and hopefully have a strong game against Georgetown
When I saw the game was out of control early, I decided to do some long over do cleaning, got me some good will with The Missus. So not a totally bad evening .
Very weak fan
Quote from: brewcity77 on February 08, 2023, 05:09:53 AM
UConn had insanely uncharacteristic shot making. Per Synergy, their expected points per shot was 0.95 and their actual was 1.19 which is UConn's biggest overperformance of the year. Marquette's expected was 0.94 and actual was 0.93, which is fine.
UConn couldn't miss early, got out to a 24-8 lead, and we played them even the rest of the way, but because we couldn't string enough stops to get it close to single digits, it was never close enough to feel at all comfortable. But seriously, some of the open looks we missed, some of the crazy, well-guarded prayers they made, sometimes it's just not your night.
This was first half Wisconsin with Hawkins playing the Chucky Hepburn role and no second half run to force overtime. It happens. On to Georgetown.
Look at game again, way too many late closeouts defending the three.