MU-DePaul Observations

[AlumKCof93]

Some observations from the game -

1) Although the crowd booed every time we were whistled, we commit a lot of dumb fouls.  Hayward and McNeal, in particular, were the primary offenders.  I love Hayward, but he can't commit fouls 20 feet from the basket.  He's just too valuable.
2) I've been critical of Matthews in the past, but I think he is playing very well right now.  Every team needs someone to get the tough points, and I think Matthews is helping to get those for us now.
3) One of my pet peeves is when a person who shouldn't be taking 3's finally makes one, and then he takes another 3 early on in the next possession.  I wish Crean would sit McNeal when he does that.  He is not a 3-point shooter.
4) Great game by DJ.  Definitely the stud of the game.

[Daniel]

The nature of our very aggressive defense almost guarantees we are going to get called for fouls a lot.  But I think in the second half vs DePaul, there were a lot of little touchy fouls called that were not called the first half.  And the last one on Hayward was really iffy - almost "anticipated" byt the offical.

Agree on Hayward - too valuable to be getting fouls way out.  We need him - he is becoming a great player.

DJ?  Awesome game - his best overall - contributed in every stat, and controlled and ran the team

[Secret of the Ouse]

ya there is on reason for Hayward to be hip checking someone 30ft from the basket, refs will call that almost everytime even tough its a touchy foul, and there is no one who can come of the bench and match Hayward, we will need him down the stretch of the season

[MarquetteVol]

I agree about Wes. He was the unsung hero on Saturday night. He played great defense and really asserted himself at a few critical junctures. He's the guy who's doing the little things right now and it's making a huge difference.

[muwarrior87]

it seems like in a few games this season Wesley has been the one to get us going when we have a slow start. He did it again on Saturday with most of his points coming in the first half. Then once everyone else starts getting their shots to fall, he becomes the role player again.

[IAmMarquette]

it seems like in a few games this season Wesley has been the one to get us going when we have a slow start. He did it again on Saturday with most of his points coming in the first half. Then once everyone else starts getting their shots to fall, he becomes the role player again.

I agree that Wes was a key player on Saturday (and I was thrilled to see it. Wes is one of my favorite players on the team), but according to the recap he scored all of his points in the 2nd half.

"It was all confidence," said Marquette's Wesley Matthews, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Matthews has so much ability...probably more than James because of his size. He made some really spectacular plays against DePaul. I wish he had the aggressiveness of a McNeal. I think his play has really improved and it started with Louisville, although I did not see the UCONN game. It's nice to see.

If you think about it, he's our only starter that is legitimately sized for the position he plays.

[muwarrior87]

hmm, then it must have been early second half when it was still pretty close. I remember looking up at the jumbotron with around 15 minutes to go and thought he had 10 pts. might be mistaken though