[PaintTouches]History says 3-point shooting will end Marquette early

[Pakuni]

Yes, tradeoffs with everything.  DG and JW took advantage of that in the Cuse game.  I would still zone MU.  Partly to slow the game down, partly to get us confused and throw the ball around where we are prone to potential turnovers, and partly to preserve energy on the defensive end.  The downside is you give up a lot of rebounds when you do this.  The strategy will be interesting to see unfold.

I'm not sure we'll see it Thursday. From all accounts I've seen, Davidson plays man defense 95 percent of the time. I'd be real surprised if they try to fundamentally change who they are - especially when they're already defensively suspect and a mediocre rebounding team.
But you never know.

[Jay Bee]

Have to look at eFG%, defense, other areas, etc. Yes, Louisville was bad from 3 last year, but they also had the best defense in the nation.  MU doesn't

But.. MU's offense is actually very good this year.

Plenty of crappy 3-point shooting teams have done well in the tourney... Two years ago when UNC ended MU's season, they were a 'poor' 3FG shooting team..

I would think being a bad 3-point shooting Cinderella would be tough as the trey can be an equalizer.. but,.. overall MU's 3-point shooting isn't a fact that dooms them. A bit of a statistical stretch made in the article.

Also.. might be some bad data in there? Does that chart say 2003 Marquette had a 31.8% 3FG?

[MuMark]

"I frankly am amazed that we won 12 BE games and 23 overall shooting 30% from behind the arc while allowing our opponents to make 61 more treys than we did for the season."

You must be even more amazed that we won 14 BE games not 12......

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm not sure we'll see it Thursday. From all accounts I've seen, Davidson plays man defense 95 percent of the time. I'd be real surprised if they try to fundamentally change who they are - especially when they're already defensively suspect and a mediocre rebounding team.
But you never know.

Agree, especially this time of year.  Teams generally play to their comfort zones and what brought them to the dance.  I was surprised that more teams during the season didn't mix more zone in there. 

[muwarrior69]

Well, all I can say we better practice shooting 3s!

[Silkk the Shaka]

Did you see what MU was able to do against Cuse's zone?
That's why.
MU doesn't have stereotypical "zone busters" but guys like Davante and Jamil can really take advantage of those spaces in the middle of a zone.

Don't forget Steve Taylor!  He's perfect for the FT line role vs. a 2/3 and has had some real nice plays from that position in some key spots this year.  Come to think of it, is there ANYTHING Steve Taylor can't do?  Maybe guard a 1 or 2 or assume the Marcus Jackson point forward role, but that's about all I can think of.  I think I'm in love...  wait what were we talking about?

[Pakuni]

Don't forget Steve Taylor!  He's perfect for the FT line role vs. a 2/3 and has had some real nice plays from that position in some key spots this year.  Come to think of it, is there ANYTHING Steve Taylor can't do?  Maybe guard a 1 or 2 or assume the Marcus Jackson point forward role, but that's about all I can think of.  I think I'm in love...  wait what were we talking about?

I remember hearing something about this Steve Taylor person of whom you speak, but can't be completely certain of his existence.

[RJax55]

Come to think of it, is there ANYTHING Steve Taylor can't do?  Maybe guard a 1 or 2 or assume the Marcus Jackson point forward role, but that's about all I can think of.  I think I'm in love...  wait what were we talking about?

Yes, a couple of things... Providing help defense, on-ball defense, knowing what defense MU is in off an in-bounds. I understand the praise for him, but I can't overlook the negatives.

For most part, he's been a step slow in providing help defense (although improving). Furthermore, he's had number of mental breakdowns (in limited minutes) where he is in the wrong defense off an in-bounds. This has led directly to the opponent flashing open for an uncontested dunk. Its breakdowns like this that limit his minutes.

With that said, I do think he should play more. 15 minutes a game make senses. The article Paint Touches had recently on individual defensive stats was pretty eye-opening, and showed why Steve hasn't seen a large increase in minutes.

[Lennys Tap]

Most coaches take players and jam them into a system. Buzz sees what he has and "builds a new house" each year to take advantage of his players strengths. In year two, the only two things we did well offensively was protect the ball and shoot the three, so we penetrated with an eye to kick it out, not to finish. This year we take the mid range shot or try to finish at the rim rather than kicking the ball out, taking two things we're not so good at (passing and shooting from deep) out of the equation. Buzz has won with midgets and bigs, shooters and attackers, etc. If he get a roster without major holes, look out.

[MU82]

"I frankly am amazed that we won 12 BE games and 23 overall shooting 30% from behind the arc while allowing our opponents to make 61 more treys than we did for the season."

You must be even more amazed that we won 14 BE games not 12......

D'oh!! I'm sure that was my first mistake of 2013 and will be my last, too!

(I've cheated and gone back and fixed it.)

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Well, seems like a bad 3-pt shooting team is due then.

Law of large numbers!!

[DaCoach]

If you look at our losses this year, our problem hasn't been the 3s.We've been shredded by turnovers from an aggressive defense. Davidson doesn't bring that game. In fact, their defense creates few turnovers and they allow penetration, which is our best offensive threat.

Look for us to limit their open 3s and beat them with a club when we penetrate. We'll be on the line early and often. Double digit win against a team that coasted in a lower level league.

[statnik]

The hole in Strotty's theory is if three point shooting % were so important to this team, how did MU end up with a three seed?

Answer: they were overseeded (not by a lot, mind you, but enough).  They would've made life a lot easier on themselves this year if they could hit threes, games would not have been as close.

[MUHoopsFan2]

If you look at our losses this year, our problem hasn't been the 3s.We've been shredded by turnovers from an aggressive defense. Davidson doesn't bring that game. In fact, their defense creates few turnovers and they allow penetration, which is our best offensive threat.

Look for us to limit their open 3s and beat them with a club when we penetrate. We'll be on the line early and often. Double digit win against a team that coasted in a lower level league.

WRONG....its the 3's....trust me. When 3's fall it helps every other part of their game. You could not be any more wrong.

For some teams you miss shots and it effects every other facet. The turnovers come with running that silly wheel...instead of taking their man off the dribble and hitting that pull up shot.

I think they overpass too much and need to play quicker...but that is just me. They need to pass maybe 3 times tops...and the shot should go up.

But I understand they have Bigs that need to get involved. But if they could hit that open 3 that would make the double and the triple teams non-existent on Devante and Chris.

[MUHoopsFan2]

Most coaches take players and jam them into a system. Buzz sees what he has and "builds a new house" each year to take advantage of his players strengths. In year two, the only two things we did well offensively was protect the ball and shoot the three, so we penetrated with an eye to kick it out, not to finish. This year we take the mid range shot or try to finish at the rim rather than kicking the ball out, taking two things we're not so good at (passing and shooting from deep) out of the equation. Buzz has won with midgets and bigs, shooters and attackers, etc. If he get a roster without major holes, look out.

Lenny's...what's your point?

Forget the regular season okay? That is over...It's a new day baby. Forget what Buzz and his team did in the regular season. That is irrelevant now. This is Tournament Play now and is totally different.

It's a 6 game showdown...or countdown to the Prize. 6 games! one....two....three...four.... This is what each of them came to MU for I bet...if you asked them. Baby steps and wearing diapers are over.

In this one and done format your weaknesses will be exposed as a team. No need getting oversensitive to critique here. You better make some more adjustments or improvements to enhance your holes or you are done.

This is for all the marbles...and it is wide open. Re-ADJUST and re-focus and play to win the best way you can.

[MUHoopsFan2]

Agree, especially this time of year.  Teams generally play to their comfort zones and what brought them to the dance.  I was surprised that more teams during the season didn't mix more zone in there. 

I disagree...I spent the last 5 posts explaining to you that you need to adapt.
What got you to the dance is unimportant. If you want to succeed here you need to adapt.
Come out of your comfort zone. I dont think there is one dominant team in this field where they are so good at one thing they can be status quo with it.

It is time for the step up kids to arise! I have some names I could throw at you and you have some names as to who you think they might be...well, they need to answer the bell!

It's time...