Marra's last 3 perfect example of why we have trouble defending the 3

[avalanche]

Defensive shortcomings
1.  you must watch your man and ball-we turn our backs on the ball
2.  if you are guarding a stand up shooter like Marra-you would think you should stay on him after he hit his 2nd open three.  He is not a threat to drive
3.  it is evident that the players are not coached on defensive foot work or closeouts and rotations. Depending on the shooter's ability to hit the three ,proper recovery back to your man  should be part of a defensive game plan
4.  it is evident that the players are coached that it is better to play matador defense rather than take the charge or give a hard foul.
5.as everyone has said our guards are poor on ball defenders-then they should play looser on top of the front court-I don't see a lot of steals by playing the opposing point up top

Overall our defense makes me sick.  Buzz needs a defensive coach like Bobby Knight to teach these kids to play defense

my two cents

[Henry Sugar]

Sure, why not.  I like my odds with ND and Wisconsin.

I agree with you though, that defenses in the 50's are not "solid", at least not when compared to most high-major teams.  I was just trying to point out that there are some very good teams in that range, definitely capable of reaching the sweet 16 and beyond, as was the case with MU. 

Matchups and upsets can play a very large part in how far teams advance this time of year.  Hopefully all of these teams will be in the same region...that would almost assure me of victory!

You win the first part of our friendly wager.

Five teams with a defense ranked worse than 50 made the Sweet Sixteen.
MU - 55
Arizona - 71
VCU - 111
Butler - 74
UW - 61

I hope to also be wrong next Saturday.

[dwaderoy2004]

Very kind of you to post Henry, as I had forgotten.  With Wisconsin playing Butler in the sweet 16, I am assured of winning this wager and all of the glory that comes along with it...

[rocky_warrior]

Very kind of you to post Henry, as I had forgotten.  With Wisconsin playing Butler in the sweet 16, I am assured of winning this wager and all of the glory that comes along with it...

Ouch - your right, no way for HS to win unless the winner of those team's D is so awesome during the game that it brings their entire season average up, but not likely.

[Henry Sugar]

Well, Marquette's defense jumped from #71 to #55 over two games...

In case anyone else is interested...

2011
Sweet Sixteen - Five teams listed below.  Average defensive ranking (35)

2010
Sweet Sixteen - two teams.  Cornell (117) and St. Marys (88).  Average defensive ranking (29)
Elite Eight - zero.  Average defensive ranking (16)

2009
Sweet Sixteen - one team.  Arizona (142).  Average defensive ranking (23)
Elite Eight - zero.  Average defensive ranking (16)

2008
Sweet Sixteen - one team.  Western Kentucky (69).  Average defensive ranking (21)
Elite Eight - zero.  Average defensive ranking (17)

2007
Sweet Sixteen - three teams.  Oregon (51), Vanderbilt (54), Tenn (56) Average defensive ranking (24)
Elite Eight - one team (Oregon)  Average defensive ranking (15)