Matching up with Thabeet

[avid1010]

Just watching the L'Ville/UCONN game and wondering if MU can play small ball against UCONN?  Watching them play I just don't see being able to stick with Burke because Thabeet will be able to clog the lane, and won't have to worry about extending his defense to guard Burke or Hazel.  If they go small he'll have to come out and play defense, but would obviously be a major problem on the offensive boards and in the post.  Just curious as to how you guys think we'll play them.  Could Otule give us needed minutes simply because of his size?

[Ellenson Guerrero]

Not to look ahead too far but I'm just watching Thabeet take LVille completely out of their offense with his dominance in the paint.

I'm guessing our best bet against him is to go with our Midgets of Milwaukee lineup with Acker, James, McNeal, Matthews and Hayward. With Thabeet having to guard Hayward it would force him to step out of the paint and guard out to the 3 pt. stripe. Hayward would have his hands full on the defensive end but after watching Samardo Samuels struggle to do anything I can't imagine Burke doing much better.

[avid1010]

Just posted the same thing a few threads ago...my thought was small ball or a dramatic improvement from Otule.  He's only shooting about 60% from the free throw line, so I guess fouling is an option, but I'm not sure I'd go there.  That's why I'm not Buzz, but it is interesting to think about.  I just hope we manage to stay away from match-ups like that come the NCAA tourney. 

[79Warrior]

Not to look ahead too far but I'm just watching Thabeet take LVille completely out of their offense with his dominance in the paint.

I'm guessing our best bet against him is to go with our Midgets of Milwaukee lineup with Acker, James, McNeal, Matthews and Hayward. With Thabeet having to guard Hayward it would force him to step out of the paint and guard out to the 3 pt. stripe. Hayward would have his hands full on the defensive end but after watching Samardo Samuels struggle to do anything I can't imagine Burke doing much better.

Can't stop him. Maybe we get lucky and can foul him out. He is a beast.

[rocky_warrior]

Acker, James, McNeal, Matthews and Hayward.

That's my thought too.  Use Butler and Coobie off the bench.  Make him come out to the perimeter to guard Hayward, and get him out of the paint. 

Plus, we have to pray we hit a good number of threes...

[bilsu]

Forget it, they will beat us by 20 points easily.

[buckchuckler]

It looked like alot of the time they were playing 4 on the perimeter and Thabeet inside.  If UConn does this, I think the best way to go would be to penetrate and pass behind him.  Don't forget they can play Adrien on Lazar as well, to keep Thabeet in the paint.
We will have to be hitting the 3 to have a real good shot.

[MU B2002]

Do we need to stop him?  We couldn't stop gody, and that didn't seem to hurt us to badly.  And yes I realize uconn is much better than nd.

[SWARM!]

Forget it, they will beat us by 20 points easily.

Ok, it's forgotten.  We might as well forfeit.

UCONN wil NOT beat us by 20 points.

[bradforster]

Georgetown beat UCONN earlier in the season.  A major reason for that win was the ability of Monroe to lure Thabeet away from the painted area by hitting outside shots.  Perhaps Marquette can do something similar.  I still believe MU is destined to go unbeaten at home this season.  The seniors seem to have an unabated desire to defend the home floor and cap off an unblemished season at the Bradley Center.  The one concern for me is not just Thabeet, but UCONN is one of the few teams in the country that can match MU's quickness.  

[VegasWarrior77]

Georgetown beat UCONN earlier in the season.  A major reason for that win was the ability of Monroe to lure Thabeet away from the painted area by hitting outside shots.  Perhaps Marquette can do something similar.  I still believe MU is destined to go unbeaten at home this season.  The seniors seem to have an unabated desire to defend the home floor and cap off an unblemished season at the Bradley Center.  The one concern for me is not just Thabeet, but UCONN is one of the few teams in the country that can match MU's quickness.  

+1 to all the "small ball" theories.
One of the commentators in the UCONN-UL game stated that: "Thabeet struggles when he is drawn away from the basket by a center who can shoot."  To me that equals Hayward at the 5 and our four guards harassing everyone else.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a press and/or the zone D at various times.

[rocky_warrior]

Don't forget they can play Adrien on Lazar as well, to keep Thabeet in the paint.
We will have to be hitting the 3 to have a real good shot.

Totally agree on the 3.  But with the small lineup, if Adrian is on Hayward, then Thabeet has to guard Matthews.  Either way, I'll take that matchup.  Then it just becomes the rest of the matchups that worry me.

 The one concern for me is not just Thabeet, but UCONN is one of the few teams in the country that can match MU's quickness.  

Noticed that as well.  Either that, or UL was playing really slow! hah.

[Pardner]

Key is to run Thabeet and tire him out.  Back up is out now for academic reasons.  UConn's guards are quick but are prone to get in a track meet.  We will need Fulce and Otule to mix it up and give us fouls as Adrien is key.  If anything, Buzz brought these two guys back just for this game.  If they can beat us at home, they deserve the crown....but they have to beat us at home.  If so, so be it!

[MuMark]

I like that strategy......at least until Hayward picks up his 3rd foul 5 or 6 minutes into the game........

[ErickJD08]

I like the small ball stuff but what would stop UConn from playing a zone and letting Thabeet sit in the lane.

[jmayer1]

I like the small ball stuff but what would stop UConn from playing a zone and letting Thabeet sit in the lane.

Hopefully MU knocking down a ton of 3s of lane pentration and kicks.

[IAmMarquette]

Hopefully MU knocking down a ton of 3s of lane pentration and kicks.

My thoughts exactly. Jerel, Wes and Lazar will really have to bring it. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

[Rocco]

I don't post here often but I read the posts on a regular basis.  I agree we need to play Lazar at the 5 for stretches.  If UConn plays zone, that will only help us(cant believe I'm saying that after whats happened in the past) Lazar and Wes have been incredible at getting the ball at the free throw line and knocking down that little jumper.  They will force Thabeet to come out and guard them and that should open it up for our guys to drive to the hoop and kick or take it to the rack and draw fouls.  I'm actually hoping they play zone!.  On the defensive side, we need to press more than we have all season.  We have to run Thabeet and Adrien(even though he is a good athlete, he can tire) to death.  From what Ive seen our guys are by far the best conditioned team Ive seen this year and despite my wife's wishes Ive seen a lot of games:)

I enjoy reading this site on a daily basis.  Keep up the good work everyone!

[Doris Burkes Thong]

We can't press UCONN. They're deeper and more talented. Their guards(especially Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson) are every bit as quick as MU's. In fact, Walker is faster than any of our guards. He's a blur with the ball that will be a lottery pick. AJ Price is a great PG I may add too. MU cannot afford to press teams that are just as quick/fast as them, much more longer and athletic in the frontcourt, and have a deeper bench. That's a recipe for disaster my friends.

[willie warrior]

The small ball line-up may work.

I would use the three amigos, Hayward and Butler. They will need to knock down some three's.

Whoever Thabeet is guarding, he will need to roam the perimeter, and knock down some mid to deep shots to bring Thatweet out from under the basket. Of course, UConn could always go zone.

UConn looks like a real monster. They also run the floor well, so I do not believe our transition will be real effective.

UConn will be a real test!!!

[CTWarrior]

The thing about UConn is that they are a nightmare matchup for us.  Price, Austrie and Dyson are a great perimeter trio.  They are not as good as our 3 seniors, but they are good enough to keep our guards from totally dominating, which we all know is necessary for us to beat top teams.   Even forgetting about Thabeet for a moment, we have no real defensive answer for Robinson or particularly Adrien. 

To beat them, we will have to hit a high (>50%) percentage of threes, turn them over a bunch and somehow limit them on the offensive boards.  Last year they zoned us a little bit and if they do that this year and leave Thabeet to control our penetration, we will absolutely need to get him in foul trouble.  I've watched UConn all season, and when they are motivated, like they will be playing us with the Big East regular season title on the line, they are very tough.  Calhoun thinks he has a solid national championship contender, and when he does, he lifts his coaching game and does not go on auto-pilot.  They LOVE the frenetic pace we want to play and are much bigger and more skilled on the interior.  Very, very tough match-up for us. 

From what I've seen, the best way to play with UConn is to play ugly, Big 10 style slog ball and try to put them to sleep, not let them get out on the break, etc.  That style is not in MU's DNA.

I think part of the reason I have been undervaluing us this year is because I watch so much UConn and just about nobody looks good by comparison. 

[Niv Berkowitz]

If UConn is worried about Thabeet roving away from the hoop, coudln't they just go zone then and dare MU to try and penetrate and hit their outside shots? I know it's worked in MU's favor so far this season, but, that may be an option if you are UConn. (I'm not sure how often they play zone, though).

[Marquette_g]

If Thabeet plays like he did last night, we could be in for a world of hurt.  However, he has not brought that type of game on a nightly basis throughout his career nor this season. 

Since the start of the conference season he has been held under double digits 4X and has had two games of 3 rebounds and 4 others with single digit boards. 

He has the ability to dominate, but brings it only about 50% of the time.  Let's hope an early foul or two rattles him and we can play our game a bit more.

[GGGG]

The problem with going small against UCONN is that their guards are so much better than ND's.  We were able to pressure their guards and prevent good entry passes to Harangody.  Price, et al are so much quicker and faster than what ND, or Providence, had to offer.

I think what we will have to do is mix it up.  1/2 court pressure...1-3-1... etc. to make them think a little.  I'd even try a compact 2-3 like Syracuse to see if their shots are falling.  And as other's mentioned, Otule has five fouls to give.  Pushing him around a bit might not be a bad strategy.

[dwaderoy2004]

we don't maych up with Thabeet.  so you play small and zone the hell out of them.  UCONN was 0-8 from three, and they are not a three point shooting team in general.  in fact, they have taken the fewest attempts of any big east team this season.  they have two good shooters in walker and price, so maybe you do like a box and one on whoever is in teh game.  you don;t press, you clog the lane, and you make them shoot over us.  on offense, if they zone us (and Calhoun hates zones) to try and keep thabeet in the lane, fine.  i trust hayward, matthews and mcNeal to shoot them out of the zone.  UCONN is good, but they are beatable, and we get them at home.  their strength is thabeet and adrien.  our strength is obvious.  bring em on.