Hey--It's Only a Game

[willie warrior]

And we are all passengers on the sea of life.

The sun will come up tomorrow.

It's only one loss.

We will learn from our mistakes.

There are many things in life more important than sports.

Winning isn'y verything--it's the only thing. (had to get Lombardi in there)

[chren21]

I dont feel well at all.  Losing sucks.  Losing like this is borderline unbearable.

[NickelDimer]

I'll literally be sick eveytime I think about this game for days.

[lab_warrior]

For every cliche, there, willie, I might take a shot of Jameson or something.  

[Shaka Shart]

GRAB THE PITCHFORKS AND THE TORCHES.

But seriously, to get through the day, I constantly ease the feeling into my mind that this game was assumed to be a loss beforehand in our projections. Its the only way I get the sickly pain of my ever growing ulcer.

[RawdogDX]

It's only a game.  And so is the next one and the one after that.  If we go to the NIT that won't give me cholera.  If we miss the NIT it won't cause the collapse of America and the uprise of communism.  blah blah. 

Why even be a fan? 

[ATWizJr]

+1.  They keeping score? I want to win.

[mileskishnish72]

I don't want to hear that it's just a game. MU B-ball is something I'm invested in and follow avidly. There have been too many GD games like this in the last 4-5 years. I'm getting sick of it. I have been forced to come to the conclusion that since we have more athletic, high-ranked players than in years past, the problem is coaching. Buzz is a great recruiter, gets the kids to buy in, gets them to work their asses off, but is NOT a good game coach. And yes, I know, given the time frame above, that this is his 3rd year.

[El Duderino]

I had to DVR the game. Thankfully my buddy called and said to delete the game, do not watch it he said or it'll ruin your mood for the rest of the day.

I deleted it after he told me what happened

[brewcity77]

I had to DVR the game. Thankfully my buddy called and said to delete the game, do not watch it he said or it'll ruin your mood for the rest of the day.

I deleted it after he told me what happened

I envy you.

[Mr. Nielsen]

And we are all passengers on the sea of life.

The sun will come up tomorrow.

It's only one loss.

We will learn from our mistakes.

There are many things in life more important than sports.

Winning isn'y verything--it's the only thing. (had to get Lombardi in there)

Your right! I'll feel better in a win over DePaul and at Notre Dame next week.

[Jacks DC]

Why do you think we will learn from our mistakes?  I fully expect us to have another very close, heartbreaking loss in the final minute due to mistakes at crunch time very soon.  Sorry, seen it so many times I can't count them.

[Boone]

Exactly. We're 2-5 in games decided by 5 points or less. There's no evidence to suggest that this team learns from losses -- just that they invent new ways to piss away winnable games.

[brewcity77]

Exactly. We're 2-5 in games decided by 5 points or less. There's no evidence to suggest that this team learns from losses -- just that they invent new ways to piss away winnable games.

And we were in those same games last year. Butler, DJO, Buycks, they all were here for FSU, West Virginia, DePaul, Notre Dame, and Washington when we had leads that should have been enough to ensure a win and ended up as 3-point or less losses.

I realize some of these guys are new, but we should have learned this lesson a year ago. And most important, Buzz was here for all of those. He definitely should have learned that lesson and found ways to counteract this kind of throwaway.

[Boone]

Good point, brewcity77. Sometimes I think Buzz's repeated declaration that  every big game will come down to 1-2 possessions becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for this team. It's as if we don't ever expect to win by much, so when we are in position to do so, we're so unaccustomed to it that we don't have the mindset to handle it.

[GGGG]

Exactly. We're 2-5 in games decided by 5 points or less. There's no evidence to suggest that this team learns from losses -- just that they invent new ways to piss away winnable games.

Oh please dont tell me that we are going to find ways more painful than this.

[warriors1965]

Do we just have to accept the fact that Buzz Williams is a poor coach at end-of-game situations?  Or maybe just poor at X's and O's in general?  He sure can get them to hustle on most occasions, but if the game is close, the advantage is clearly with the opposing coach.  And don't fool yourself, coaching does matter.

It sure seems like after every timeout, if MU has the ball, then they either turn the ball over, have a shot-clock violation, or are forced to heave up a prayer. 

If they're on defense, the opponent gets a great look at the basket.

I'm not sure Buzz isn't better suited to be an assistant.  Or he needs better assistants. 

[Daniel]

The thing is, this is the first game this year where our guys got rattled.  AND we had the lead - a big lead - and they still got rattled.  They were far less rattled in all of our other losses, and close wins.

Unreal.  Team and coaching loss.

[mug644]

Good point, brewcity77. Sometimes I think Buzz's repeated declaration that  every big game will come down to 1-2 possessions becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for this team. It's as if we don't ever expect to win by much, so when we are in position to do so, we're so unaccustomed to it that we don't have the mindset to handle it.

Ever since attending MU (and being at the infamous loss to #1 NC with Al doing the game on NBC during my sophomore year), I've felt like we are way too likely to play down or up to our opponent. It would be interesting to look more deeply into it, as I'm sure my emotion about it skews my memories.

Still, Boone's point is a good one. I immediately thought that we are young team and got flustered by the thought that "are we really about to pound Louisville at their own place?" They balked and gave it away (and Louisville earned it; both needed to happen to have the game end as it did). But, there were plenty of close losses last year, with many of the same guys, yet Buzz continues to say we are learning from the tight losses.

[Boone]

mug644, we're from the same MU era (I was a junior in '86 and recall all too well how we gave the NC game away...couldn't attend the game but my housemates and I were so livid afterward that we tossed a couch off our balcony).

The script that plays out for MU games over the years is so dog eared and predictable. I fully expect us to let DePaul hang around for much longer than they should this Tues.

[mug644]

mug644, we're from the same MU era (I was a junior in '86 and recall all too well how we gave the NC game away...couldn't attend the game but my housemates and I were so livid afterward that we tossed a couch off our balcony).

The script that plays out for MU games over the years is so dog eared and predictable. I fully expect us to let DePaul hang around for much longer than they should this Tues.

Or, hopefully, the team will come out angry (a bit like what seemed to happen against ND after playing so poorly at Pitt) and absolutely throttle Depaul, with no let up. But I worry that may not be the case, that's for sure.

[mugrad2006]

Guess BS is gone, no need for my post anymore.