Coaching

[MU82]

The once great Tyler Polley went 1-7 from deep against St. John's, with most of those being unguarded.

Noticed that, too. And I also noticed that Adam Kunkel is 1-for-15 from 3 since he hit that circus shot to beat us. Jimmy Nichols, who made a few against us including one from behind the backboard while falling out of bounds, is a career 28% 3-point shooter.

Then again, Zegarowski went 0-for-7 against us, helping us pull off the upset. He was significantly outplayed by none other than Greg Elliott.

Gotta love sports!

One reason many of us love sports is because unpredictable stuff happens all the time. It's why I don't ever watch reality TV -- the only real reality TV is live sports.

[BM1090]

Noticed that, too. And I also noticed that Adam Kunkel is 1-for-15 from 3 since he hit that circus shot to beat us. Jimmy Nichols, who made a few against us including one from behind the backboard while falling out of bounds, is a career 28% 3-point shooter.

Then again, Zegarowski went 0-for-7 against us, helping us pull off the upset. He was significantly outplayed by none other than Greg Elliott.

Gotta love sports!

One reason many of us love sports is because unpredictable stuff happens all the time. It's why I don't ever watch reality TV -- the only real reality TV is live sports.

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

[MU82]

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

Ugh.

[naginiF]

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

And yet X posted a 'W' over the great Bradley Braves this year. Doesn't that make them awesome, or we need to target Steele as our next coach, or something?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Right, weird stuff happens which is why you evaluate the body of work. And Wojos,  after 6.5 sessons, is still meh.

I'm glad we won, but having a 2 game winning "streak" against middling BE teams that has us on the outside of the bubble looking in isnt exactly what I thought I'd b getting excited about in the middle of year 7.

If we get to 4 or 5 in a row, then we can start to talk of cabbages and kings.

Sigh. Not every post is about Wojo.

I find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "meh." I'm in that camp myself. I also find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "He's not the guy, I want him fired." I may be there myself depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

I do find fault with, or maybe "am amused by" is the better terminology, those who put a ton of emphasis on single game performances.

[1SE]

Sigh. Not every post is about Wojo.

I find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "meh." I'm in that camp myself. I also find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "He's not the guy, I want him fired." I may be there myself depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

I do find fault with, or maybe "am amused by" is the better terminology, those who put a ton of emphasis on single game performances.

Right, we agree, that was my point.

It's far better that we beat SJU than we lost to SJU, but it didn't move my needle much on how the season is going.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Right, we agree, that was my point.

It's far better that we beat SJU than we lost to SJU, but it didn't move my needle much on how the season is going.

Agreed on how it's gone, but the win did move the needle a bit for me on how it will go. At St. John's was the "Bottom 4" game that I thought we had the greatest chance of losing. Preseason, I had them pegged as a loss. Now that we've won, I more confident that we can go 7-1 or even 8-0 against the Bottom 4 which will be necessary to make the tourney.

[MU82]

Agreed on how it's gone, but the win did move the needle a bit for how it will go. At St. John's was the "Bottom 4" game that I thought we had the greatest chance of losing. Preseason, I had them pegged as a loss. Now that we've won, I more confident that we can go 7-1 or even 8-0 against the Bottom 4 which will be necessary to make the tourney.

Hopeless optimist that I am, I'm still thinking 10-0 vs the bottom 5!

[Viper]

He's called me that a couple of times, which leads me to believe he has no idea what the word means.

haha. I'm good with some banter.

[Lennys Tap]

Also if you can build a lead without a player, shouldn't you be able to keep that lead without that player?

Huh?

It's been pointed out (correctly) by several Scoopers that teams at full strength blow leads all the time. It's the nature of the game, especially since the shot clock and thr three point line were established. And if a team is playing without its best player it stands to reason that blowing a lead would happen with even greater frequency.

[fjm]

Huh?

UConn built a 16 point lead (or something) without bouknight.

Shouldn't they be able to keep that lead against SJU without bouknight?

Someone was saying it was expected UConn would lose because they didn't have their star player. But they also built quite a lead without that star player.

So why is it ok to use it (not having said star player) as an excuse for blowing the lead?

[MU82]

Maybe Ben Howland would have been the right choice for MU, after all.

In Mississippi State's lopsided home loss to archrival Mississippi, Howland's team failed to handle the Ole Miss 2-3 zone.

As a bonus, "They really just came out and played harder than us," MSU guard DJ Stewart said.

[tower912]

Huh?

It's been pointed out (correctly) by several Scoopers that teams at full strength blow leads all the time. It's the nature of the game, especially since the shot clock and thr three point line were established. And if a team is playing without its best player it stands to reason that blowing a lead would happen with even greater frequency.

I think the point is that leads get blown all the time.   It happened under Buzz, it happened under Crean, it happens.   Not so much under Deane because MU never got big leads playing that slow.   

[willie warrior]

YOU want Brian Wardle?! lol!

Better coach than the current mediocrity

[wadesworld]

Better coach than the current mediocrity

Outside of the Marquette fanbase, Wardle is not even on the radar for a high major coaching job.  There are numerous mid-major coaches who are much more qualified than Brian Wardle to coach at a Big East level.

[Uncle Rico]

Better coach than the current mediocrity

You wouldn't want him if he graduated from any other school. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

You wouldn't want him know who he is if he graduated from any other school.

[Lennys Tap]

I think the point is that leads get blown all the time.   It happened under Buzz, it happened under Crean, it happens.   Not so much under Deane because MU never got big leads playing that slow.

Of course it happens all the time. That's one point. Another is it's even more likely to happen if you're missing your best player. Or even more likely if you're missing your two best players. Etc., etc., etc. Obvious, to be sure - though I guess not to some.

[GooooMarquette]

The once great Tyler Polley went 1-7 from deep against St. John's, with most of those being unguarded.

I want dis guy to show up next time we play 'em.

[GooooMarquette]

Maybe Ben Howland would have been the right choice for MU, after all.

In Mississippi State's lopsided home loss to archrival Mississippi, Howland's team failed to handle the Ole Miss 2-3 zone.

As a bonus, "They really just came out and played harder than us," MSU guard DJ Stewart said.

MSU was probably just more tired than Ole Miss.

[willie warrior]

So you called Crean "The Used Car Salesman", Buzz "The Lonesome Cowboy", and Wojo "The Golden PowerPoint Boy" and you wanted them all fired. Fine, but your choice to set us straight is "Pied Piper" Wardle?

You have your opinion wrong. Never called Crean a used car salesman
Never called Wojo the Golden PowerPoint boy. I have referenced his PowerPoint because many have rumored that got him the job. Along with his Duke pedigree. Wojo has only been mediocre at best. And you know it.

[MU82]

MSU was probably just more tired than Ole Miss.

Made me smile, something I've done a lot of today.

[Newsdreams]

Creighton must suck