[Cracked Sidewalks] Defenseless Marquette falls at Villanova

[CrackedSidewalksSays]

Defenseless Marquette falls at Villanova

Written by: noreply@blogger.com (Tim Blair)

Marquette kept its moral victory streak alive last night with a 75-70 loss on the road to the 12th-ranked Villanova Wildcats.



After falling behind by nine points at halftime and as many as 14 in the second half, the Warriors rallied to close the gap late. Regardless, show me a moral victory and I'll show you a losing team.

When all was said and done, Marquette was overwhelmed by Villanova's size, patience on offense, and its own poor defense which led to a remarkable free throw rate advantage for the Wildcats.  Villanova connected on 29 of 33 free throws for the game while MU sank 13-14.  Along the way Marquette struggled with foul trouble, including Jae Crowder's critical fifth foul with 2:32 remaining and the Warriors trailing by six.

The real story, as it always is for this team, was Marquette's porous defense.  After a solid defensive performance in the first half where MU limited Wildcats to an eFG of just 43.3%, for the most part the Warriors' defensive effectiveness didn't make it out of the locker room after the break.

In the second half Marquette allowed an astonishing 1.23 points per possession (ppp) and an eFG% of 56%.  Factor in Villanova's second half free throw rate (FTR) of  1.33 and it's easy to see why MU could not get closer than three points in the game's final 1o minutes.   FTR is the ratio of free throw attempts to field goal attempts.

Still up for debate was a stretch in the second half where Buzz shook things up and went to a full court press.  Between the 10 minute mark and 4:58 mark in the second half, this defensive scheme forced four Villanova turnovers, 20% of the Wildcats' turnover total for the game. Perhaps more importantly the pressure led to easier buckets for MU.  Marquette whittled the Villanova lead from 14 points down to just three with five minutes to play, but was unable to overcome the deficit as the Wildcats lived at the line in the game's final  minutes.

While the second half defensive adjustment showed promise during this five-minute spurt, MU's inability to string together a series of stops remains a derailment factor for this team.    Ultimately the press was modestly encouraging but with MU's foul issues last night the benefits were somewhat mitigated to say the least. The overall defensive performance was still lacking.

Links Links Links

• AP recap
• Rosiak blogs on the loss
• Rosiak newspaper recap

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2011/02/defenseless-marquette-falls-at.html

[Henry Sugar]

Defenseless Marquette falls at Villanova

Written by: noreply@blogger.com (Tim Blair)

Still up for debate was a stretch in the second half where Buzz shook things up and went to a full court press.  Between the 10 minute mark and 4:58 mark in the second half, this defensive scheme forced four Villanova turnovers, 20% of the Wildcats' turnover total for the game. Perhaps more importantly the pressure led to easier buckets for MU.  Marquette whittled the Villanova lead from 14 points down to just three with five minutes to play, but was unable to overcome the deficit as the Wildcats lived at the line in the game's final  minutes.

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2011/02/defenseless-marquette-falls-at.html

I went through the Play by Play data from 9:52 in the game (MU down 14 - ~press begins) until 2:52 in the game (Crowder fouls out).  Here are the stats.

MU - 1.62 ppp; eFG of 68%; TO rate of 8%; OR% of 60%; FTR of 42%
VU - 1.01 ppp; eFG of 44%; TO rate of 31%; OR% of 50%; FTR of 67%

[GGGG]

Maybe that is the answer...to press a little more.  I hate to say this because it more often than not bites you in the butt, but I'm not exactly sure what else they can do.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I thought the press was a great in-game coaching decision.  MU was already getting broken down inside by Yarou and Pena in a slowed, half-court game--and with all the fouls anyway which limited our bigs' playing time and effectiveness--this helped neutralize our mismatch inside against us and forced a higher tempo game that extended their offense.  Wright was reeling in this segment of the game, switching defenses and subs to try to find the right combo.  Rosiak pointed out the key play was when Nova missed that trey but secured that long rebound--that ended our mo and then the game shifted to fouling and free throws. 

[NYWarrior]

I thought the press was a great in-game coaching decision.  MU was already getting broken down inside by Yarou and Pena in a slowed, half-court game--and with all the fouls anyway which limited our bigs' playing time and effectiveness--this helped neutralize our mismatch inside against us and forced a higher tempo game that extended their offense.  Wright was reeling in this segment of the game, switching defenses and subs to try to find the right combo.  Rosiak pointed out the key play was when Nova missed that trey but secured that long rebound--that ended our mo and then the game shifted to fouling and free throws. 

+1, esp on Buzz' in-game decision.  I'd also say that Butler's poor defensive play on Wayns was key at about the six minute mark...MU had cut the lead to 5, and JFB overplayed Wayns who just drove by him and laid it up.  A curious defensive move by Butler who had to know he could not keep Wayns in front of him,  and had no backside help (as per usual)

[NYWarrior]

I went through the Play by Play data from 9:52 in the game (MU down 14 - ~press begins) until 2:52 in the game (Crowder fouls out).  Here are the stats.

MU - 1.62 ppp; eFG of 68%; TO rate of 8%; OR% of 60%; FTR of 42%
VU - 1.01 ppp; eFG of 44%; TO rate of 31%; OR% of 50%; FTR of 67%

A team can't press effectively for 40 minutes (sorry, Nolan Richardson) but when it is used among changing defensive sets it can work. It did last night -- those figures are striking. Also, I thought MU showed more life in general while pressing and it clearly got the offense moving as well.  

If the press can work well for a stretch on the road against a team with very good veteran guards, it warrants further use. Especially for a program mired in a 3-year downward spiral of defensive efficiency.

[Henry Sugar]

VBTN recaps the MU game.  Worth checking out for the stats by half if you're interested in that stuff.

http://vbtn.blogspot.com/2011/02/marquette-university-post-game.html

[greyCat]

Hi guys. I had a brain freeze when I wrote the post game, because I wanted to answer Tim directly on his assertion that the defense failed...I think Marquette's "offense" failed, especially in the first half. Note in my stats by half (linked in the previous post) that the Warriors converted about 0.78 points per possession through the first 20 minutes. That was a killer. In Villanova games this season, if the 'Cats post a 0.89 or lower half (especially if it is the first half), they usually lose. Just not enough offense early to overcome the point deficit. Tim is correct that the second half was "defenseless", but the same could be said for both teams. Giving up 1.35 points per possession is fatal (which is what Villanova gave up to Marquette in the second half), but given the first half differential, the cushion was large enough to preserve the win.

I think if your guys stay healthy (and Crowder keeps his head in the game) Marquette will finish strong. I have not enjoyed the last two meetings in the Big East Tournament.
- greyCat

[NYWarrior]

hey greyCat thanks .... Agreed -- lousy 1H on O for MU, lousy D in 2H for MU.  But with a 9 point deficit to make up, a team needs stops & MU couldn't get enough of those. At least MU's offense returned to form in the game's final 20 mins.

[mviale]

Facts (sorry)
Half down 9 or 25-34.
Move gap to 3 and down 59-62 with 5 to go
Down 61-64 with 4 to go
Down 63-66 with 3 to go
Down 65-69 with 2 to go
Trade baskets and lose 70-75