We lost to a better team but still.....

[mattyv1908]

To anyone who looked at the box score this game ended exactly as the box score would represent.  A few thoughts despite what I thought was a good effort against a better team.

1.  Derrick Wilson - What happened to the guy who for the first five minutes looked like a conference first teamer?  He drove aggressively and made plays early and then went into an offensive shell.  I wanted him on the floor for the entire game but after his opening offensive burst he really struggled to make a difference.

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

3.  This was the best offensive start we've had all season but we fell behind because of Creighton's out of this world 3 point shooting.  Couldn't have asked for a worse outcome early.  I'd prefer a 2-6 deficit at the first TV timeout over what transpired.  Creighton couldn't miss and Marquette couldn't close out on a shooter early.

4.  Jake Thomas - Great start.  Not all his shots fell.  I thought he was aggressive early both from 3 and inside the arc.  Regardless of today I want him to keep shooting from all over the court.

5.  FREE THROW SHOOTING -  If we even hit 70% as a team this is a different game as to how it is played.  While nothing is in a vacuum, we missed at least 15 free throws (without looking at the box) and even ten of those falling significantly change the complexion of this game.

6.  Officiating - I hate to ever bring up the refs, but this was a poorly called game and I can use examples from both teams to prove my  point.  Jamil Wilson had a stretch of 3 fouls in 4-5 minutes.  His second against McDermont was an air foul.  His third was questionable.  Mayo's push off was terrible.  The most INCONSISTANT college game I've seen called all year.  I don't know how either team could figure out what was a foul and what wasn't.

I do think this was our best effort today (with the exception of foul shooting).  Had this team showed up against ASU, Wisconsin, SDSU, OSU, Butler (away) and Villanova (home) we would win all of those games.  Creighton is a good team.  I'll put them in my elite 8 now barring a terrible shooting night.  Looking forward we should beat Depaul Saturday.  Providence and Georgetown are very winnable games.  We now need to beat Villanova on the road (which is more achievable than winning tonight due to how we match up).  The wild card game is St. John's.  That game scares me.  I'd love for this team to pull off four straight but that team is a match up nightmare for this year's squad.  Let's rattle off 4 straight and pray for a win at home against Lavin's team.

First loss of the year I'm not upset over.  I know we got beat by 15 but I think our three runs to get us back to 4-6 only to see terrible turnovers and free throw shooting extend the lead against a great team in Creighton makes this easier to swallow compared to shooting ourselves in the feet against beatable opponents.

We NEED five wins in a row now.  And likely two in the BET.  We lost today, but it was our first GOOD loss of the year.

[Texas Western]

To anyone who looked at the box score this game ended exactly as the box score would represent.  A few thoughts despite what I thought was a good effort against a better team.

1.  Derrick Wilson - What happened to the guy who for the first five minutes looked like a conference first teamer?  He drove aggressively and made plays early and then went into an offensive shell.  I wanted him on the floor for the entire game but after his opening offensive burst he really struggled to make a difference.

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

3.  This was the best offensive start we've had all season but we fell behind because of Creighton's out of this world 3 point shooting.  Couldn't have asked for a worse outcome early.  I'd prefer a 2-6 deficit at the first TV timeout over what transpired.  Creighton couldn't miss and Marquette couldn't close out on a shooter early.

4.  Jake Thomas - Great start.  Not all his shots fell.  I thought he was aggressive early both from 3 and inside the arc.  Regardless of today I want him to keep shooting from all over the court.

5.  FREE THROW SHOOTING -  If we even hit 70% as a team this is a different game as to how it is played.  While nothing is in a vacuum, we missed at least 15 free throws (without looking at the box) and even ten of those falling significantly change the complexion of this game.

6.  Officiating - I hate to ever bring up the refs, but this was a poorly called game and I can use examples from both teams to prove my  point.  Jamil Wilson had a stretch of 3 fouls in 4-5 minutes.  His second against McDermont was an air foul.  His third was questionable.  Mayo's push off was terrible.  The most INCONSISTANT college game I've seen called all year.  I don't know how either team could figure out what was a foul and what wasn't.

I do think this was our best effort today (with the exception of foul shooting).  Had this team showed up against ASU, Wisconsin, SDSU, OSU, Butler (away) and Villanova (home) we would win all of those games.  Creighton is a good team.  I'll put them in my elite 8 now barring a terrible shooting night.  Looking forward we should beat Depaul Saturday.  Providence and Georgetown are very winnable games.  We now need to beat Villanova on the road (which is more achievable than winning tonight due to how we match up).  The wild card game is St. John's.  That game scares me.  I'd love for this team to pull off four straight but that team is a match up nightmare for this year's squad.  Let's rattle off 4 straight and pray for a win at home against Lavin's team.

First loss of the year I'm not upset over.  I know we got beat by 15 but I think our three runs to get us back to 4-6 only to see terrible turnovers and free throw shooting extend the lead against a great team in Creighton makes this easier to swallow compared to shooting ourselves in the feet against beatable opponents.

We NEED five wins in a row now.  And likely two in the BET.  We lost today, but it was our first GOOD loss of the year.

I disagree, this was a poor team effort.

[🏀]

To anyone who looked at the box score this game ended exactly as the box score would represent.  A few thoughts despite what I thought was a good effort against a better team.

1.  Derrick Wilson - What happened to the guy who for the first five minutes looked like a conference first teamer?  He drove aggressively and made plays early and then went into an offensive shell.  I wanted him on the floor for the entire game but after his opening offensive burst he really struggled to make a difference.

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

3.  This was the best offensive start we've had all season but we fell behind because of Creighton's out of this world 3 point shooting.  Couldn't have asked for a worse outcome early.  I'd prefer a 2-6 deficit at the first TV timeout over what transpired.  Creighton couldn't miss and Marquette couldn't close out on a shooter early.

4.  Jake Thomas - Great start.  Not all his shots fell.  I thought he was aggressive early both from 3 and inside the arc.  Regardless of today I want him to keep shooting from all over the court.

5.  FREE THROW SHOOTING -  If we even hit 70% as a team this is a different game as to how it is played.  While nothing is in a vacuum, we missed at least 15 free throws (without looking at the box) and even ten of those falling significantly change the complexion of this game.

6.  Officiating - I hate to ever bring up the refs, but this was a poorly called game and I can use examples from both teams to prove my  point.  Jamil Wilson had a stretch of 3 fouls in 4-5 minutes.  His second against McDermont was an air foul.  His third was questionable.  Mayo's push off was terrible.  The most INCONSISTANT college game I've seen called all year.  I don't know how either team could figure out what was a foul and what wasn't.

I do think this was our best effort today (with the exception of foul shooting).  Had this team showed up against ASU, Wisconsin, SDSU, OSU, Butler (away) and Villanova (home) we would win all of those games.  Creighton is a good team.  I'll put them in my elite 8 now barring a terrible shooting night.  Looking forward we should beat Depaul Saturday.  Providence and Georgetown are very winnable games.  We now need to beat Villanova on the road (which is more achievable than winning tonight due to how we match up).  The wild card game is St. John's.  That game scares me.  I'd love for this team to pull off four straight but that team is a match up nightmare for this year's squad.  Let's rattle off 4 straight and pray for a win at home against Lavin's team.

First loss of the year I'm not upset over.  I know we got beat by 15 but I think our three runs to get us back to 4-6 only to see terrible turnovers and free throw shooting extend the lead against a great team in Creighton makes this easier to swallow compared to shooting ourselves in the feet against beatable opponents.

We NEED five wins in a row now.  And likely two in the BET.  We lost today, but it was our first GOOD loss of the year.

Agree with everything. Keep posting.

Chris Columbo, stop posting.

[mattyv1908]

If Chris  Columbo has watched every game this season he'd know it wasn't a poor MU performance.

That said, we had plenty of opportunities to win the game despite the final score as it was not indicative of our team's performance.

Need to win out to have a shot.  Perhaps that is a telling sign of CBB in general or perhaps it tells just how close this team could have been to being a tournament lock.

[murara1994]

If Chris  Columbo has watched every game this season he'd know it wasn't a poor MU performance.

That said, we had plenty of opportunities to win the game despite the final score as it was not indicative of our team's performance.

Need to win out to have a shot.  Perhaps that is a telling sign of CBB in general or perhaps it tells just how close this team could have been to being a tournament lock.

This team is not in a good position but they don't need to win out just to have a shot. 

[mattyv1908]

I agree.  Our pre conference losses and lack of quality wins keeps us way on the outside, but if we sweep Georgetown and Providence and even the series against St. John's it's hard to keep us out barring a bad showing at MSG.

I think the BE is a 4 bid league.  Creighton and Nova are 2-3 seeds easy and both potenital final four teams.  Xavier is in and not close to the bubble.  The last bid will be either St. John's, Georgetown, Providence or Marquette.  Marquette has the most work to do, but also can control their own destiny by beating those three teams.

It's a big hill to climb, but I'm more enthusiastic after tonight's game than before it as there's not one team left who can light it up like Creighton.  If we play tonight's game against the remaining five we win out.  I truly believe that and I'm no board homer.

[keefe]

it was our first GOOD loss of the year.

I guess it depends on how you feel about losing by 15 points. But then, to me, a loss is a loss. 

[brandx]

We have given up an average of 29 3-point attempts to Creighton this year. There is no path to victory when playing that type of defense.

But it was pretty easy to see who was the better team on the floor. Better shooters, better passers, and better defense. Outcome was pretty predictable. We have a weak backcourt - but yet they again led in minutes played. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Good post. Only things I would challenge:

I think Buzz left Otule in too long but benching Gardner was the right move at the time. Otule helped key a run that got us within 5. Buzz decided to ride it and it ended up costing us a few points.

If it is the one I am thinking of, the push off call on Mayo was legit. Mayo does this about once a game, he tries to clear space with his elbow while going up. Refs will get you for that every time. I would bet that that call is the reason why Mayo when up so soft on Manigat on the strip to 3 pointer play.

I think 4-1 still leaves us with a pulse.

I don't think it was our best effort, but it was one of our top. The better team won today.

[MerrittsMustache]

1.  Derrick Wilson - What happened to the guy who for the first five minutes looked like a conference first teamer?  He drove aggressively and made plays early and then went into an offensive shell.  I wanted him on the floor for the entire game but after his opening offensive burst he really struggled to make a difference.

Creighton adjusted. Early on, they were willing to let Derrick drive and take their chances. Once he scored a couple times, they packed the lane even tighter, particularly when they were able to play well off of Juan.

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

All defenses aren't equal. Creighton played DG different than they played CO. He's probably not getting those same looks.

3.  This was the best offensive start we've had all season but we fell behind because of Creighton's out of this world 3 point shooting.  Couldn't have asked for a worse outcome early.  I'd prefer a 2-6 deficit at the first TV timeout over what transpired.  Creighton couldn't miss and Marquette couldn't close out on a shooter early.

I agree with this although MU had a hand in the face of nearly every Creighton shooter. They just made shots.

4.  Jake Thomas - Great start.  Not all his shots fell.  I thought he was aggressive early both from 3 and inside the arc.  Regardless of today I want him to keep shooting from all over the court.

Agree. I liked Jake's aggressiveness.

5.  FREE THROW SHOOTING -  If we even hit 70% as a team this is a different game as to how it is played.  While nothing is in a vacuum, we missed at least 15 free throws (without looking at the box) and even ten of those falling significantly change the complexion of this game.

Sure, if MU made 10 more FTs, it would have changed the game's complexion. However, that would be asking MU to shoot 83% as a team - not unheard of but a lot to ask. That said, in order for MU to beat a team like Creighton, they need to take advantage of opportunities like taking 36 FTs. They didn't.

6.  Officiating - I hate to ever bring up the refs, but this was a poorly called game and I can use examples from both teams to prove my  point.  Jamil Wilson had a stretch of 3 fouls in 4-5 minutes.  His second against McDermont was an air foul.  His third was questionable.  Mayo's push off was terrible.  The most INCONSISTANT college game I've seen called all year.  I don't know how either team could figure out what was a foul and what wasn't.

Jamil pushed McDermott in the back on the second foul. McD caught the ball cutting towards the basket and Jamil expected him to continue to the rim. McD, being the smart player that he is, slowed up, didn't go to the rim or initiate contact but Jamil had already braced for contact and got his arm into McD's back. There were definitely a lot questionable calls in the game but that wasn't one of them.

I do think this was our best effort today (with the exception of foul shooting).  Had this team showed up against ASU, Wisconsin, SDSU, OSU, Butler (away) and Villanova (home) we would win all of those games. 

Best effort? MU got outscored by 30 points from 3, shot 56% on FTs and allowed the opposition to shoot 62% from the floor. You're not going to beat many teams with those numbers.

On the flip side, if MU continues to allow 1 offensive rebound, shoot 46% from the floor and commit only 9 TOs, they'll win a lot down the stretch.

[79Warrior]

This team is not in a good position but they don't need to win out just to have a shot. 

Really? You are fooling yourself to think otherwise. Marquette is nowhere near the play in game. We are not even in the conversation. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand our position.

[mu03eng]

Really? You are fooling yourself to think otherwise. Marquette is nowhere near the play in game. We are not even in the conversation. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand our position.

Remind me not to ride on a rocket you design.  MU is out as of today.  If MU goes 4-1 or 5-0 they will be a bubble team and potentially in the tournament.  By definition that makes them in the conversation.

I don't think they make it but to post as you have is just plain silly.

[MerrittsMustache]

Remind me not to ride on a rocket you design.  MU is out as of today.  If MU goes 4-1 or 5-0 they will be a bubble team and potentially in the tournament.  By definition that makes them in the conversation.

I don't think they make it but to post as you have is just plain silly.

2 losses and MU needs to win the BET to get in.

4-1 puts MU's RPI in the mid-50s heading into the BET. A win over Nova would be key to being closer to the right side of the bubble.

5-0 puts MU's RPI at 46 heading into the BET. Squarely on the bubble.

[MUfan12]

5-0 puts MU's RPI at 46 heading into the BET. Squarely on the bubble.

5-0 gets them off the bubble and in, IMO. There would be three road wins, and three wins over teams in similar situations.

They're gonna have a helluva time filling 68 again. Lots of mediocrity.

[NavinRJohnson]

They're gonna have a helluva time filling 68 again. Lots of mediocrity.

This is the point many here appear incapable of understanding. 5-0 this, 4-1 that doesn't mean a damn thing without considering it relative to the rest if the country. There is a whole lotta bad out there.

[Big Papi]

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

Great points overall but I have to disagree with this one.  Gardner was a huge liability on the court.  He wasn't able to get his shot off, looked passive for the most part when he did have the ball and was awful on the defensive side of the ball.  We would have been better served to have Juan out there more with his defensive ability.  The problem with Juan out there is that you needed JWil and Mayo to carry you offensively with Juan and DWil on the court at the same time and they were not doing that last night.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Late in the game, we need Mayo handling the ball. DWill just seems unable to make layups late(one last night banged on the BOTTOM of the rim) and his free-throw shooting is abysmal.

[79Warrior]

Remind me not to ride on a rocket you design.  MU is out as of today.  If MU goes 4-1 or 5-0 they will be a bubble team and potentially in the tournament.  By definition that makes them in the conversation.

I don't think they make it but to post as you have is just plain silly.

Mark this post and tell me how silly it was in two weeks.

[NavinRJohnson]

Mark this post and tell me how silly it was in two weeks.

I assume he will, and he should. If they do as he is suggesting, they will almost assuredly be in.

Not suggesting it will happen, but in the 'if' scenario of 5-0, MU would be 20-11, and alone in third place in the Big East. They are a lock to get in at that point. You are saying that's not the case, that's fine. Let's hope they win those 5 games so we find out.

Don't let your frustration with MU cloud your vision of the big picture. Committee has to fill all 68 lines. In the above scenario, there is no way MU isn't on one of them.  

[mattyv1908]

I understand the confusion with regards to my good loss comment.  I guess this game reminded me of our game against Duke a couple years back which we ultimately lost, yet continually hung around and made several runs that ultimately came up short.  Duke was better than us just like Creighton was last night.  I just felt that despite playing against a better opponent that this team really made three quality second half runs to get back into the game.  In my mind that counts as a good loss.

Unfortunately it was our 11th of the season which doesn't allow for quantifying what type of loss it was.

[mu03eng]

Mark this post and tell me how silly it was in two weeks.

I absolutely will....better yet you can hear me talk about it in the next Scrambled Egg podcast (always marketing  )

Point remains 5-0 or 4-1 puts MU in the conversation....there is no conversation is 4-1 is possible or that 4-1 puts them in the tournament.  5-0 or 4-1 means they must be considered on Selection Sunday.  That's a bar I would wager plenty on if interested

[NotAnAlum]

2.  Buzz Williams - While I generally have mostly good things to say about our coach, today I think he made a poor decision by benching Gardner after the frustration foul on the push just after Creighton crossed half court.  Otule went 2-4 from the line missing two easy buckets regardless of the fouls to take the game from a potential 6 point game and a potential 7 point game.  Gardner makes both those buckets and I'd bet would convert from the line.  Our free throw shooting was horrendous, but Gardner has the best form of anyone on the team.  There were lots of frustration fouls and I think Gardner got Buzz's nerve.  It may have been earned but it cost us down the stretch.

On this point I think Buzz had to do something to stop the parade of basically uncontested layups.  While Chris is not the fastest guy on the floor he is much quicker to recover than Devante and he is better at defending against players driving the lane.  I thought it was a wise move given the fact that if MU was ever going to get back in the game he had to stop Creighton from scoring every time down.

The point I most agree with is what you said about our position had we played the way we are now from the start of the season.  No doubt in my mind we have 3 more wins, most on the road and we'd be safely inside the bubble.  This team is stacked with upper classmen.  It shouldn't have taken until mid Feb to gel.  But at least it happened.

[79Warrior]

I assume he will, and he should. If they do as he is suggesting, they will almost assuredly be in.

Not suggesting it will happen, but in the 'if' scenario of 5-0, MU would be 20-11, and alone in third place in the Big East. They are a lock to get in at that point. You are saying that's not the case, that's fine. Let's hope they win those 5 games so we find out.

Don't let your frustration with MU cloud your vision of the big picture. Committee has to fill all 68 lines. In the above scenario, there is no way MU isn't on one of them.  

Let me clarify, I do not believe this team goes 5-0. My mistake for not making that clear in the prior post. You are correct, IF we go 5-0 then we are in the conversation. My point is nothing I have seen from this team leads me to believe they are capable of going 5-0 down the stretch.