SOTG-Hall

[DoggyDaddy]

Blue led the charge that made the difference in the game.

[GGGG]

What was Junior doing out there?--pretty bad.

Not in the second half.  I believe he had five assists and zero turnovers.

[GGGG]

How can anyone not like someone who screwed over wisconsin to come to mu. Crowder was solid but blue was a game changer tonight

OK...so hairyworthen isn't godzilla's niece....

[MUDPT]

Alternate Win Score
Crowder- 0.31
Blue- 0.27
DJO- 0.09
Cadougan- 0.04
J Wilson- 0.003
D Wilson- -0.07
Mayo- -0.1
Anderson- -0.5
Jones- -0.5

[Henry Sugar]

Value Add %
Crowder - 9% (7% for a season is All American)
Blue - 2.6% (3% for a season is Top 200 player)

Net points
Crowder - 6.7
Blue - 3.3

ORtg
Crowder - 135
Blue - 102

DRtg (remember that lower is better)
Crowder - 73
Blue - 84

Honestly, I originally thought Blue as well because of his role in the surge.  But the missed free throws and turnovers skew the numbers (and my vote) in favor of Jae. 

[jsglow]

Vander.  Simply his best game as an Eagle.  His performance was the key to the game.

[robmufan]

I am going with Vander.  I know people want to nitpick a couple missed freethrows...but there was a couple times he seemed to be all over the place.

You could say the same for Jae, he was quite off early but no one picks on him for it.  Blue had a good game and it seems people just can't come to terms with it!

[dwaderoy2004]

yes, which is why vander is getting 85% of the votes.  the vander apologists are just as bad as the vander haters at times...

[strotty]

Value Add %
Crowder - 9% (7% for a season is All American)
Blue - 2.6% (3% for a season is Top 200 player)

Net points
Crowder - 6.7
Blue - 3.3

ORtg
Crowder - 135
Blue - 102

DRtg (remember that lower is better)
Crowder - 73
Blue - 84

Honestly, I originally thought Blue as well because of his role in the surge.  But the missed free throws and turnovers skew the numbers (and my vote) in favor of Jae. 

Hooray for the eye test! 

[Henry Sugar]

Hooray for the eye test!  availability bias! 

fixed

[RawdogDX]

Happy to have Blue get another one to make it 6 players with multiples.  That's some nice options.

But if this were the most valuable player of the game, it's clearly Crowder.

In a game marred by turnovers both ways, Crowder was the only player of the 18 who played who never turned the ball over.

After they dominated the offensive glass at the opening, Jae single handedly shuts them down with TWELVE defensive boards.  8 of 9 from the line vs. 1 of 4, and the ESPN headline starts with Crowder.

But again, no problem with Blue.  To go 7 of 10 including a clutch trey, and the 5 offensive boards showed a passion for not being denied at the offensive end that we really need, and with his normally great defense, glad to give it to him.

i would say this is probably the best back-to-back games an MY player (Crowder) has ever played WITHOUT getting the coveted Stud of the Game award either time :-)

True, but the text starts with 4 paragraphs on Blue.  And since the title was written by an editor who didn't watch the game and the recap was written by one who did...

[GGGG]

Value Add %
Crowder - 9% (7% for a season is All American)
Blue - 2.6% (3% for a season is Top 200 player)

Net points
Crowder - 6.7
Blue - 3.3

ORtg
Crowder - 135
Blue - 102

DRtg (remember that lower is better)
Crowder - 73
Blue - 84

Honestly, I originally thought Blue as well because of his role in the surge.  But the missed free throws and turnovers skew the numbers (and my vote) in favor of Jae. 

Before I start I will say that I voted for Jae for the reasons above.

But there is a lot about basketball (and sports in general) that you really cant capture with statistical analysis.  In the span of about 1:30, starting when we were down 4, Blue completed the alley-oop, a three and another lay-up.  Throw in a SHU basket and a Jamil block, and we are up one.  The crowd went from morbid to alive and the game turned.

He provided the spark that got the game turned around.  Obviously that is what everyone is reacting to here.  But he had a damn nice statistical game too.

[Henry Sugar]

Before I start I will say that I voted for Jae for the reasons above.

But there is a lot about basketball (and sports in general) that you really cant capture with statistical analysis.  In the span of about 1:30, starting when we were down 4, Blue completed the alley-oop, a three and another lay-up.  Throw in a SHU basket and a Jamil block, and we are up one.  The crowd went from morbid to alive and the game turned.

He provided the spark that got the game turned around.  Obviously that is what everyone is reacting to here.  But he had a damn nice statistical game too.

Totally agree with all of the above. 

I also agree with Pudner's commentary.  The answer is Jae, but Blue isn't a poor choice.  Like I said... I thought it would clearly be Blue and was surprised that Jae's numbers were so strong.  It's a lot harder to stand up and clap for 12 defensive rebounds, no turnovers, and 8-9 from the free throw line.

[tower912]

I voted for Jae.   However, Blue had my vote until the over the back on his own missed free throw and the heat-check 3 attempt.     I completely understand why Blue is getting the love today.   He played a hell of a game and really helped turn the momentum.    Those two late glitches switched me over to Jae.   

[jeffreyweee]

Why is it that Jay always misses his first 2-3 3PT attempts? Wasn't it last year that he hit his first 3 in 12 consecutive games? He always lights up the 2nd half but if his shot isn't going almost ALL of his points come from assists as opposed to creating his own shot. For that reason I always find it hard to vote for him, as opposed to a guy like Junior or Vander who sets up all of his points.

[GGGG]

Why is it that Jay always misses his first 2-3 3PT attempts? Wasn't it last year that he hit his first 3 in 12 consecutive games? He always lights up the 2nd half but if his shot isn't going almost ALL of his points come from assists as opposed to creating his own shot. For that reason I always find it hard to vote for him, as opposed to a guy like Junior or Vander who sets up all of his points.

Vander made 7 shots last night.  5 were assisted. 
Jae made 6 shots.  5 were assisted.

Not much difference...

[MUMac]

I voted for Jae.   However, Blue had my vote until the over the back on his own missed free throw and the heat-check 3 attempt.     I completely understand why Blue is getting the love today.   He played a hell of a game and really helped turn the momentum.    Those two late glitches switched me over to Jae.   

That was not a heat check 3 attempt.  The shot clock was winding down and both DJO and Crowder were moving away from the ball, on the other side of the court.  His choice was a 3 or drive.  Junior was the only other person on his side of the court.  With 3 MU players on the long side, I thought he made the right decision.  If he misses, you would expect a long rebound and 3 players were there to get the ball.

The over the back was a combination of aggressive play and frustration.  Not a good combination.

I would cite Blue strictly for his play in the run where MU took over the game.  Until that point, MU was trading baskets.

But, if you want to talk about ill advised shots, the three 3's that Crowder took and missed in the early minutes were a contributing factor to the slow start.  Both had moments where they shined and moments when they did not.  My vote would go to Blue strictly for the 7 point run that changed the game and got the crowd involved.

[BrewCity83]

Vander, because his contributions to the win were so far above his averages.  Jae had a great game, but we're already counting on that from him.

[rocky_warrior]

The stats guys nearly convinced me to make it Jae, but with a whopping 232 of the 275 votes, blue wins with a landslide of support.

[Badgerhater]

Vander did his damage in 29 minutes.  Jae did his in 38. 

We all need to be thankful for the tough decisions on this topic in recent games.  May it continue.