So does Buzz try to run tomorrow or slow it up

[ChicosBailBonds]

I don't think Mizzou will play zone, it's not in their makeup.  That means a hellacious pace which will be intended to slow our team down.

Does Buzz try to slow it down or risk wearing the team out? 

We looked dog tired yesterday against a S L O W team which has me wondering what he'll do tomorrow.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Burke not play that much tomorrow and even some spot appearances by Fulce. 

I also think Buzz will go with some 4 guard sets at times, as crazy as that sounds. 

[bradforster]

I see a slow, deliberate pace.  This is no longer a team that can sprint up and down the floor.  Too much energy is expended on the defensive end to play a "track meet" type game.  This has been a half court squad the last six games. 

[Pakuni]

I see a slow, deliberate pace.  This is no longer a team that can sprint up and down the floor.  Too much energy is expended on the defensive end to play a "track meet" type game.  This has been a half court squad the last six games. 

Correct.
Buzz has said that since DJ's injury, he's tried to change MU from a team that wanted  90+ offensive possessions per game to one that prefers to keep that number in the 60s.
I see no reason to believe he'll change that strategy against Mizzou.

[mu_hilltopper]

Though .. how has that slower pace worked for us?  Sure seems like our offensive output drops like a stone, not because of fewer chances, but that one of our assets, speed, is negated.

It was killing me to see MU get a rebound, then slowly take it up court, while way slower USU was then able to set up their defense.   Yes, it minimizes pace and possessions .. but it takes away one of our advantages, too.

[Pakuni]

Though .. how has that slower pace worked for us?  Sure seems like our offensive output drops like a stone, not because of fewer chances, but that one of our assets, speed, is negated.

It was killing me to see MU get a rebound, then slowly take it up court, while way slower USU was then able to set up their defense.   Yes, it minimizes pace and possessions .. but it takes away one of our advantages, too.

That's a fair point.
Buzz's stated position on this (from yesterday's pregame radio show, if I recall correctly) was that Mo Acker/David Cubillan aren't nearly as good as DJ when it comes to making quick decisions and creating good opportunities early in the shot clock and/or in transition. Trying to force them to do so would lead to too many wasted possessions. At least that's his take on the situation.
Speed is great, but speed + bad decisionmaking = turnovers and blown opportunities (see: Jerel McNeal leading a break).

IMO, MU's declining (declined?) offensive output has much more to do with who's on the floor than how they're being used.

[gjreda]

Though .. how has that slower pace worked for us?  Sure seems like our offensive output drops like a stone, not because of fewer chances, but that one of our assets, speed, is negated.

It was killing me to see MU get a rebound, then slowly take it up court, while way slower USU was then able to set up their defense.   Yes, it minimizes pace and possessions .. but it takes away one of our advantages, too.

I'm with 'topper on this one.  We've been a running team for the past several years.  Don't try to change your style because one of your stars is down.  The backups have been running the same style of play regardless.  Let's not mess with success.  If we lose, it was at least playing our game.

We haven't exactly been a good defensive team lately either, so we might as well try to get more offensive opportunities.

[Daniel]

I feel w/o DJ our defense is ok, not great.  So, to win, we need to crank up the offense; so whatever plan allows us to get more possessions and more offensive sets is what we need.  And I dio hope we see some more bench players tomorrow out of need to give our starters a blow (not becasue of fouls - please!).

OK - GO MARQUETTE!!!

[CAINMUTINY]

Let the offense come to us and throw in some 1-3-1 zone to really f*ck with Mizzou's offense.....

[Big Papi]

We can't run with Mizzou with only 7 players and Buzz is not going to play guys he hasn't played all year.

We will take quick layups otherwise we will play a slowed down game where we try to get good shots.

[NavinRJohnson]

From an offensive perspective, put me on the side that says the best thing we can do is take care of the basketball and make Mizzou defend in the half court.

Defense and rebounding will win this game.

[79Warrior]

Though .. how has that slower pace worked for us?  Sure seems like our offensive output drops like a stone, not because of fewer chances, but that one of our assets, speed, is negated.

It was killing me to see MU get a rebound, then slowly take it up court, while way slower USU was then able to set up their defense.   Yes, it minimizes pace and possessions .. but it takes away one of our advantages, too.

Agree. It forces us to rely on the half court game and outside shots. considering how porly we have been shooting, that could be a big problem. DJ going down took away our transition game, which was so effective.

[Friends call me Shaka]

Using Buzz logic, when Missouri goes over 70 they have only lost 3 times this year(xavier,KansasState, and Texas AM). When they score under 65 they are 1-3. The only team they scored under 65 was Kansas.

My guess is that Buzz will try to take the air out of the ball a bit

[MUDPT]

I would expect for a stats guy that Buzz would slow it down.  Missouri's big weakness is on the defensive glass, the more opportunities there, the better.  Cornell had 14 offensive rebounds yesterday.  Expect big days for Lazar, Jimmy, and Wes.

[muPARTY]

this team isn't built to run a slow down type offense, regardless who's running point.  a slowing it down would require really 2 thing:  a true perimeter and/or a reliable post threat.  Marquette doesn't have either.

as it's been pointed out, how have they faired in these recent games when they slowed it down?  part of the reason they won fri was because they went away from the outside shot and to their strength, driving and running.

a running offense gets this short bench tired?  yep, but tomorrow's the time you tell them to gut check, and prepare to always be moving.  win they play again and on a couple days rest.

[77ncaachamps]

Though I would think that this team would be suffering from fatigue from this season, I think they're rested enough to run with Mizzou.

Luckily for Buzz (and us), TV timeouts run rampant in the NCAAs so they serve as TOs in themselves.

The only drawback of running...it's at a high altitude.

Something that may negate that...both schools are not from high altitude locations.

[MU_Warrior44]

Interesting about the losing record for Missouri on games under 70 points. But along those same lines, what's Marquette's record in those same type of games? I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think the slow games are our weakness now too.

[ecompt]

I think we'll slow it down too and try to keep the game in the 60s, though I think our best half since DJ went out was the second half against Nova, when we pushed it a little. I don't think we're deep enough to get in a track meet.

[StillWarriors]

Based on Buzz's comments I don't think he has any desire to get in a track meet. He doesn't have confidence in the current group offensively in transition to make good decisions-too many turnovers and empty possessions. He isn't going to try to outscore people b/c his comments suggest he doesn't think we can win that way.

I agree with those who say our offense seems better in a up tempo game, but I think Buzz's plan will be to limit the number of possessions to keep it close and hope we can score just enough. Going to be tough to try to keep the wraps on Missou though. Maybe we'll get behind and have to run some. I hope; we look way too stagnant in the half court O most of the time. If nothing else, hopefully MU learned in the last few minutes the other day to go to the hole rather than pass is it around and launch one. For a while the other day it was hard to tell what we were trying to accomplish on offense, which hasn't been the case much under Buzz to his credit.

[Friends call me Shaka]

Mizzo record in games : (their pts scored)

90+      9 -0
80-90   9-1
70-80    7-2
60-70    4-3


MU record in games
90+    6-0
80-90  5-2
70-80  10-4
60-70  3-1
under 60-  1-2  (guess our 1 victory)

So keep Mizzo close to 60 and we score 90 and we are good .....actually, I think we need to be at 63-60

[NavinRJohnson]

Keep 'em under 70, and I'd say we win. This game is about defense (including rebounds). We have no chance to just outscore them.

It may just be the Beefeater and olives, but my gut is telling me Marquette wins this game somewhat comfortably. Not to say its gonna be a runaway, but I think the last 3-5 minutes could be academic. I expect to see the relentless, tenacious team (especially defensively) we have all come to appreciate this year and Mizzou is gonna get frus-tra-ted.