MUScoop
MUScoop => Hangin' at the Al => Topic started by: CrackedSidewalksSays on February 06, 2008, 08:45:25 AM
-
Half Full or Half Empty?
There certainly does seem to be far more of the Half-Empty types around lately. In truth, neither answer is completely right and neither answer is completely wrong, although one of those viewpoints is certainly more recent and more vivid. Let's move onto the numbers and address the silver linings and the clouds of our most recent game.
Four Factors Review
(http://bp1.blogger.com/_Xpuy4viivhI/R6krvSh1yWI/AAAAAAAAAIM/CuJmMNvnO64/s400/MU+Vs.+Ville+game+2.png)
(http://bp1.blogger.com/_Xpuy4viivhI/R6krvSh1yWI/AAAAAAAAAIM/CuJmMNvnO64/s1600-h/MU+Vs.+Ville+game+2.png)Half-Full? Marquette won on three of the Four Factors, including on Offensive Rebounding for the second game in a row.
Half-Empty? This was our second worst effective Field Goal Percentage of the year. The worst was our first game against Louisville. It was our third worst Offensive Efficiency outing.
Season Projections based on Offensive and Defensive Ratings
Half-Full? Pomeroy (http://kenpom.com/sked.php?team=Marquette&t=p) projects us with a season record of 23-7 (12-6 in the Big East)
Half-Empty? Based on our Big East Conference averages (Team ORtg 102.5 ; Team DRtg 100.7), we project to a conference record of 9.8 - 8.2. Looking at how we've been playing the last five games (Team ORtg 101.9 ; Team DRtg 101.9), we project to a conference record of 9-9. That would mean losing six times out of the next nine games.
Individual Ratings
(http://bp3.blogger.com/_Xpuy4viivhI/R6kr3yh1yXI/AAAAAAAAAIU/lvZmLSw15KU/s400/MU+Vs.+Ville+game+2-+Individual.png)
(http://bp3.blogger.com/_Xpuy4viivhI/R6kr3yh1yXI/AAAAAAAAAIU/lvZmLSw15KU/s1600-h/MU+Vs.+Ville+game+2-+Individual.png)
Half Full? We got net positive games from Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, and Ousmane Barro. Matthews appears to be really coming into form during conference play. Plus, Maurice Acker was the net points leader for the team and fan fave Scott Christopherson continues to provide a net positive impact in limited minutes.
Half-Empty? Yet again, Louisville managed to shut down Lazar Hayward. Hayward has had only four games with a net negative impact, for a total of -10.7 points. Almost all of those negative net points (-10.1) have come against Louisville. Our top two three point shooters, Cubillan and Fitzgerald, were negative net contributors. Fitz and Burke had offensive ratings of zero! Plus, James continues to endure his slump.
Monday's game was another rough one, and these are really starting to wear on the fan base. It's getting harder to look for the Half-Full folks around, but perhaps things will turn around on Saturday. Saturday really could be the critical point of the season.
-------------------------
In other news, Jonah Keri (from the New York Sun and ESPN.com) recently published an interesting article on Inconsistent Teams (http://www.nysun.com/article/70680?page_no=1). One of his featured teams was Marquette, who ranks at the bottom of Pomeroy's inconsistency rankings, saying:
Don't be surprised if you see one or more of these three make the Elite Eight — or all three bow out in the first weekend of the big dance.
Mr. Keri also thought well enough to consider Marquette as a potential Final Four Team (http://www.nysun.com/article/66187?page_no=1) way back in early November. Let's not let that ruin his credibility, though. Maybe he's just a Half-Full kind of person...
What do you think?
Talk about it here on MUScoop - - half full or half empty (http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=6135.0).
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2008/02/half-full-or-half-empty.html
-
12-6 in the Big East? Doubt it.
-
12-6 in the Big East? Doubt it.
guess that would make you a Half Empty person... ;)
-
I'm in for half empty. No way 12-6.
-
I still think 12-6 is possible, and 11-7 at worst is likely. Georgetown and Pitt do not present the same nightmare match-up that UL does. I am confident we will get the defense turned around. James should continue to get healthy. I think winning our remaining home games and 3-2 on the road is very possible.
-
12-6 is a little bit of a stretch but we should finish 11-7. We still get to play St. John's and Rutgers. No games are guarantees but we should beat them so that gets us to 8 wins. That leaves us with 6 games: Villanova, Pitt, Seton Hall, ND, Syracuse and Georgetown. Anyone who thinks we finish with a conference record of below 10-8 (that would mean only winning 1 out of 6) is not half empty, they are comletely empty, good night and see you next year empty. Based on the entire season of play, I just don't see that happening.
-
Based on the entire season of play, I just don't see that happening.
See, that's where you have no place on this board. Don't you know you're supposed to drastically overreact to the last game?
-
I think it was Calhoun who said he targets the three teams he plays home in home with. He believes you have to go at least 4-2 in those games. We are at 2-2, with the last two on the road. If we get to 4-2 in those games we will be in great shape. Those two games are our next two, so we will know soon where these season is going.
-
I honestly didn't vote in the poll. Not sure which way I go right now. I saw the poll was 19-18 at last look, so it appears I'm not far off as being on the fence.
-
Poll added.