Unless we get paired again against

[shaquilvaine]

effeminate mentally challenged twin seven foot tall brothers, I think this team has all the pieces for a postseason run.  I don't care how many points we are giving up right now... We are scoring 100 pts a game.  I'll worry about the defense when someone stops us.  UWM shot under 40% for the game last night.  The number of points we are giving up is a product of the pace we are forcing teams to play at. 

[MR.HAYWARD]

Good point Shaq...and I think what is getting lost on the doomsdayers is that very fact.  Keeping the other team to a low point total is not necessarily the indication of good defense.  Dick Bennett, Kevin Oneill and Mike Deane were good defensive coaches but they also really took the air out of the ball on the offensive side.  There teams were often less talented and wanted to limit the other teams number of possesions.  But a team can really make it a low scoring game by taking the air out of the ball and that does not necessarily make them a good defensive team.  I have always felt field goal percentage of the other team was the most important indicator, more so than home many points the other team scored.  You could take the air out of the ball and lose 40-50 and the other team shoots 50%.  Not good defense just a slowed down game.   One the other hand the UNLV, teams, and Arkansas, Tubbs when he was at OU, many UNC and Kansas teams under Williams  and many Duke teams have been oustanding defensively despite winnign games 90-70 or 100-80.  The real key is field goal percentage defense, turning them over and then rebounding those misses, ie rebounding margin.

Now I am not sitting here typing today that we are a great defensive team or belong in the category of the teams described above.  only time will tell on that.  My point is we can still play at a fast pace which favors us and still play good defense.  As long as we keep the other teams shooting a low percentage and are able to collect those rebounds we will be good.

[Big Papi]

What is all the crying about our defense.  Would everyone be happier if we won last night by a score of 70-65?  We did hold UWM to 38% last night.  Thats pretty good defense in my book.  We have obvious strengths and weaknesses.  Buzz is playing to our strengths and that is a good thing.  If we can consistently get our opponents to play our style of ball, we will have a very good year.

[bork]

If you go strictly by points allowed, the Final 4 team was Crean's worst defensive team, giving up almost 70 points a game.

[JSwarriors08]

Not to mention that we gave up a bunch of cupcake points at the end off of Frozen-A's passes to the sixth-man.  We took our starters out with 2 minutes left, otherwise it would've been at least a 25 point margin of victory.  I don't know what all the haters want to see.