The 2 reasons we won today:

[mwbauer7]

For those who were not able to watch the game, consider yourselves lucky.

1. Lazar.

2. Quayle and Wesley fouling out.

[ChicosBailBonds]

For those who were not able to watch the game, consider yourselves lucky.

1. Lazar.

2. Quayle and Wesley fouling out.

I'd add that Utah State really started to get uneasy with 4 minutes to go.  They had the 6 point lead and went on to take 3 really bad shots, 2 air balls and another poor shot.  It was as if they knew they were in the lead and realized they shouldn't be.  To MU's credit, we took advantage of it, drove to the hoop....finally....got fouled and hit the foul shots (nice job).

Merrill coached the game exactly how you were supposed to.  A lot of zone, work the ball for good shots only and cause MU to swing it around the perimeter.  Keep the score low, make every possession critical, put MU in an uncomfortable position.  That's what good coaches do.

I thought our offensive game plan was horrible.  We didn't dictate anything.  We looked slow, walking the ball up, Jerel was as lethargic as I've ever seen him.  Lazar was huge, but we are lucky.  The first 10 minutes all MU, the last 30 minutes was ugly.  We are fortunate but grateful to move on.

[Big Papi]

When we built our lead and cameback to win the game we did it by taking the ball to the hole.  We stopped doing that with 5 minutes left in the first half and for most of the second half.  I think the biggest mistake we made was not taking it to Tai Wesley in the first half when he had two fouls.  Have to blame Buzz on that one.

[SaintPaulWarrior]

We looked slow, walking the ball up, Jerel was as lethargic as I've ever seen him. 

It must have been the altitude.

[mwbauer7]

Merrill coached the game exactly how you were supposed to.  A lot of zone, work the ball for good shots only and cause MU to swing it around the perimeter.  Keep the score low, make every possession critical, put MU in an uncomfortable position.  That's what good coaches do.

Absolutely- give him tons of credit. They were very disciplined and he mixed in enough man with zone to keep us uncomfortable. Their press had some effect too- it slowed us down.

[Pakuni]

Merrill coached the game exactly how you were supposed to.  A lot of zone, work the ball for good shots only and cause MU to swing it around the perimeter.  Keep the score low, make every possession critical, put MU in an uncomfortable position.  That's what good coaches do.

Merrill coached like cr*p, and we should be thankful for it.
As Buzz cited in the postgame, Utah State over the past several years has a ridiculously good record when they score more than 72 points, and a not-at-all good one when they score under 72.
If his plan was to play slow and keep the score down, he played against his own team's strengths.

Defensively, they did nothing special. MU just did a horrible job of attacking their zone for most of the second half.

[Lennys Tap]

More correctly the first 10 minutes was all MU, the next 26 minutes were awful and the LAST 4 minutes was all MU>

[BrewCity83]

For those who were not able to watch the game, consider yourselves lucky.

1. Lazar.

2. Quayle and Wesley fouling out.

3. Hit 83% of our free throws

[bradforster]

The first half reminded me of the Louisville game. At Freedom Hall, Marquette should have led by ten at the break, but instead trailed at the intermission.  Today, the halftime advantage was only 8 when it very easily could have been 16-20.  It would be a site to behold if both the guys could click on both sides of the floor simultaneously like they often did earlier in the season.  Maybe next time out!

[AlumKCof93]

This game reminded me of South Florida. We played a team we were much better than but just couldn't hit anything.  At one point, I thought Buzz should have called a timeout and given a ball to both Wes and Jerel and had them dunk the ball so they could recall what it felt like to make a basket.

It was good to get the win.

[wadesworld]

For those who were not able to watch the game, consider yourselves lucky.

1. Lazar.

2. Quayle and Wesley fouling out.

When did those 2 foul out?  I thought they both fouled out when they were fouling at the end of the game, so we had the lead late in the game.  Obviously it would have helped when they were trying to come back within the last minute, but they did hit 2 3 pointers with Qualey out.  I think we win either way.

[Blackhat]

I didn't find the game that unbearable because I'm a fan of defense and our defense came to play today.   We hit our shots we blow em out we don't our d saved us. 

[drbchilds]

2 reasons??

1. Lazar
2. Hayward

[GGGG]

Merrill coached like cr*p, and we should be thankful for it.
As Buzz cited in the postgame, Utah State over the past several years has a ridiculously good record when they score more than 72 points, and a not-at-all good one when they score under 72.
If his plan was to play slow and keep the score down, he played against his own team's strengths.

No.  USU scores 70+ by being methodical and hitting their shots.  They play slow but play precise.  MU's defense is what won them this game.  The reason we went from six down to a win in the final four minutes was because of our defense.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Stop Wizard, you're going to get Pakuni off his Buzz can do no wrong kick.

I agree, our defense was pretty good today.  I still believe our offense was horrific....they are a poor defensive team yet we couldn't score on them at all.

[GGGG]

Our offense was poor again, but I'm not sure what Buzz can really do about that.  We really have nothing inside and we have lost our four year starter at point guard.  I'm not completely sold on Buzz as a coach yet, but I do think that he isn't really coaching the type of team he wants. 

[chapman]

Merrill coached like cr*p, and we should be thankful for it.
As Buzz cited in the postgame, Utah State over the past several years has a ridiculously good record when they score more than 72 points, and a not-at-all good one when they score under 72.
If his plan was to play slow and keep the score down, he played against his own team's strengths.

Defensively, they did nothing special. MU just did a horrible job of attacking their zone for most of the second half.

I acually felt that way, as if it was intentional to play the "tough D" and slow it down instead of opening the game up and letting out athletes run and do their thing.  If it was the game plan and not just how it felt, it was a poor game plan.

[Pakuni]

Stop Wizard, you're going to get Pakuni off his Buzz can do no wrong kick.

I agree, our defense was pretty good today.  I still believe our offense was horrific....they are a poor defensive team yet we couldn't score on them at all.

Give me a break.
What does criticizing the way USU played/Morrill coached have to do with Buzz? In fact, where in this thread have I written a word about Buzz?

Oh yeah, I remember ... nothing ... and I haven't.

The fact remains that USU averages 72 possessions per game. Today they had 57, by my count. Obviously if the plan was to slow it down, it didn't work to their favor, as they shot notably worse than they do normally. Does the level of competition play a role? Of course. But it seems to me that when you alter your typical game plan and try to go away from what you usually do and your usual strengths and disrupt your own flow, you're more likely to lose.
Or, to put it simply, Morrill went into the game with the most efficient offense in the nation, and he chose to give it fewer possessions with which to work.
Brilliant.

But what do I know? After all, Stew Morrill is a legend.

[wadesworld]

Stop Wizard, you're going to get Pakuni off his Buzz can do no wrong kick.

I agree, our defense was pretty good today.  I still believe our offense was horrific....they are a poor defensive team yet we couldn't score on them at all.

We played poorly on offense, but only because we weren't hitting our shots.  I thought we got many very good looks offensively and just did not knock them down, especially in the first half.

[NYWarrior]

I agree, our defense was pretty good today.  I still believe our offense was horrific....they are a poor defensive team yet we couldn't score on them at all.

Actually USU is a good defensive team....much better that Marquette, in fact (#88 in the nation for eFG vs MU at #254).  Inside the arc, where MU does most of its damage, USU is excellent -- #39 in the nation at defending 2-point shots.

USU -- a very good defensive team, and we saw that today.

[statnik]

The reason we didn't beat Utah St. by more was not only because of poor shooting, but, leading to that, lackluster ball movement.  We only had 7 assists, and in general had very few passes each possession.  Not enough movement in general.  I think the loss of Dominic James is mentally hurting this team more than physically.  They don't seem to have any killer instinct, when in reality they have just as good a potential to develop one without James.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Our offense was poor again, but I'm not sure what Buzz can really do about that.  We really have nothing inside and we have lost our four year starter at point guard.  I'm not completely sold on Buzz as a coach yet, but I do think that he isn't really coaching the type of team he wants. 

If we can score 74 points against Villanova, we should be able to score 60 against a below average defense in terms of Utah State.  We looked tired, passive and settled for too many bad shots.  Fortunate on the w.   Looking forward to Sunday where it should be wide open.

[VwArrior1]

The real 2 were:

[VwArrior1]

1:Lazar                                                                                2: Rel only took 10 shots

[NavinRJohnson]

I'd add that Utah State really started to get uneasy with 4 minutes to go.  They had the 6 point lead and went on to take 3 really bad shots, 2 air balls and another poor shot.  It was as if they knew they were in the lead and realized they shouldn't be. 

I see it a little different...I believe MU finally played with the tenacity and relentlessness they have shown most of the year on both ends of the court. They dialed up the D and really attacked on offense. They forced the action, and USU wasn't able to respond.