Lost in the debacle were great games by

[Bo Ryan's Massage Therapist]

Sacar and Cain.  Sacar hit big shot after big shot late.  Cain was really efficient and was defending Baldwin well while in the game.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Easily the best collective game from the Theo/Sacar/Bailey/Cain cohort last night. I hope that continues

[tower912]

Bailey 14/7.   Koby 13/11/4.   Sacar 22/3/3.   Cain 5/4.    Symir was bad.   Jayce was in foul trouble.    Markus was Markus for 24 minutes and lost for 20.   

[CTWarrior]

Good point.  I think our supporting cast is undervalued.  I think Anim, McEwen and Bailey are solid high majors players, and that the balance of the team are solid high major role players.  I'm an old guy and I'm getting used to positionless basketball, and those guys can play that way. 

McEwen is settling in and gaining consistency.  He's an excellent rebounder.  I am really starting to like him.

[Goose]

Aside from Howard the other guys stepped it up and that is nice to see. I cannot gripe about the role players performance last night. Wojo attaches himself to Howard and I have thought that was mistake for two plus years.
With the state of college ball that it is, a balanced lineup with the Hausers and Howard maybe could have made some noise this year.
I am not a stat guy, but think Howard has hoisted over 25 shots in every BE game. To me, that is not a plan for success game in and game out.

[tower912]

Good point.  I think our supporting cast is undervalued.  I think Anim, McEwen and Bailey are solid high majors players, and that the balance of the team are solid high major role players.  I'm an old guy and I'm getting used to positionless basketball, and those guys can play that way. 

McEwen is settling in and gaining consistency.  He's an excellent rebounder.  I am really starting to like him.

Once he gets rid of that one pass a game he throws into the third row and starts finishing at the rim, he is going to be really good.   Am I the only one who notices he makes a really strong move to the basket and,  instead of just finishing, does a two foot jump stop and a half-hook looking thing?    Just finish, Koby.     And Sacar, stop playing away from conact.   Too many blown bunnies from those two. 

[cheebs09]

Once he gets rid of that one pass a game he throws into the third row and starts finishing at the rim, he is going to be really good.   Am I the only one who notices he makes a really strong move to the basket and,  instead of just finishing, does a two foot jump stop and a half-hook looking thing?    Just finish, Koby.     And Sacar, stop playing away from conact.   Too many blown bunnies from those two.

I wonder how much of that is his thumb. His shooting hand has been wrapped almost all year.

[tower912]

Which part?    The one pass into the stands or the jump stop when wide open at the rim?

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Right on, Goose. The game plan late was exasperating. Markus was obviously leg weary and going inside to Theo when ball movement had opened up our shooters who were hitting threes was befuddling.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Once he gets rid of that one pass a game he throws into the third row and starts finishing at the rim, he is going to be really good.   Am I the only one who notices he makes a really strong move to the basket and,  instead of just finishing, does a two foot jump stop and a half-hook looking thing?    Just finish, Koby.     And Sacar, stop playing away from conact.   Too many blown bunnies from those two.

I agree, he seems to make his layups a much higher degree of difficulty than necessary--just lay the thing in.  As you said, Tower, once he stops overthinking he can be quite good offensively.

[Elonsmusk]

Aside from Howard the other guys stepped it up and that is nice to see. I cannot gripe about the role players performance last night. Wojo attaches himself to Howard and I have thought that was mistake for two plus years.
With the state of college ball that it is, a balanced lineup with the Hausers and Howard maybe could have made some noise this year.
I am not a stat guy, but think Howard has hoisted over 25 shots in every BE game. To me, that is not a plan for success game in and game out.

Interesting thought.  Checked the data, here are the results with minutes played from Butler game to first conference game against Creighton:

Minutes   Shots
43           27 - Loss
36           20 - Win
34           31 - Win
38           27 - Win
38           22 - Loss
42           33 - Loss
30           20 - Win
31           16  - Loss

Guess my takeaway is just HOW shot dominant Markus is.  Think about those shot attempts by minutes played - the opposition has the ball for ~25-30 seconds per minute.  Markus averages roughly 1 shot every 1:26 played.  169 shots in 214 minutes played.

[79Warrior]

Aside from Howard the other guys stepped it up and that is nice to see. I cannot gripe about the role players performance last night. Wojo attaches himself to Howard and I have thought that was mistake for two plus years.
With the state of college ball that it is, a balanced lineup with the Hausers and Howard maybe could have made some noise this year.
I am not a stat guy, but think Howard has hoisted over 25 shots in every BE game. To me, that is not a plan for success game in and game out.

Good point. Part of being a great player is recognizing when you don't have it in a given game. Other guys were hitting shots, give the ball up. It is entirely possible the guy who will score the most points in MU history will never win an NCAA game.

[skianth16]

Once he gets rid of that one pass a game he throws into the third row and starts finishing at the rim, he is going to be really good.   Am I the only one who notices he makes a really strong move to the basket and,  instead of just finishing, does a two foot jump stop and a half-hook looking thing?    Just finish, Koby.     And Sacar, stop playing away from conact.   Too many blown bunnies from those two.

Preach! Both guys do a pretty good job of getting to the rim, but for some reason, they seem unsure of what to do when they get there. Sometimes they're looking to pass, even when they're 2 ft away. And then sometimes they have a clear lane and miss pretty easy layups. Maybe they're thinking there will be contact, or maybe they think they need to drive and kick, or maybe it's just the yips.

If these two just hit one or two more of these per game, we'll be in good shape. Then add Brendan's ability to get to the rim here and there into the mix, and we'll have a good blend of inside and outside threats that could be a real nightmare to defend.