hate to say it..

[MR.HAYWARD]

but that loss was on Jimmy Butler.  1-8 from the FT line in the 2nd half.  The taking it to the rack philosphy only works if you can knock down the FT's.  You could tell he lost his confidence after a few of those misses.  Missed 7 in a row when it counted.

[Markusquette]

gotta hit his throws

[chapman]

His idol Miley Cyrus could have at least made 5 out of 12.

[Norm]

Buzz also needs to use time outs better to stop opponents' runs. The 10-2 run he let FSU go on without calling a timeout in the 2nd half let FSU back in the game. TO's could have also helped with the fatigue factor.

[Lighthouse 84]

I agree.  Unfortunately.

[77ncaachamps]

but that loss was on Jimmy Butler.  1-8 from the FT line in the 2nd half.  The taking it to the rack philosphy only works if you can knock down the FT's.  You could tell he lost his confidence after a few of those misses.  Missed 7 in a row when it counted.

Boy that'll be scrutinized.

Lots of "could'ves": last play was drawn up well, errant pass...
That DJO steal was close...but you don't want to hang a loss on a play in the final seconds...
MU settled for jumpers in the second
But I think it was Leonard Hamilton's adjustment and the lack of an MU counter-adjustment that cost the game.

But I'd hate to blame Butler since all he had to do was hit two of them.
He played his butt off. This team needs to remember this game and use it as a mantra for playing solidly for TWO HALVES.

Anyhew...FRAK, but it was a fun three games.

[ecompt]

It didn't help that Cubi reverted to his form of the past two seasons. We should have had this one.

[Nukem2]

Come on, the guy ran out of gas after 4 games in 6 days.  Mr. Hayward, you are a LOSER.

[MarquetteDano]

A lot of people came up short in this one... Butler with the free throws, Cubillan didn't even allow a reb with his missed three's, turnovers by Acker, defense by Lazar.

The announcers said it... we looked really tired with about 5 minutes to go.  Everyone loves the eight man rotation but with three games in four days sometimes having a little more bench helps.

[avid1010]

but that loss was on Jimmy Butler.  1-8 from the FT line in the 2nd half.  The taking it to the rack philosphy only works if you can knock down the FT's.  You could tell he lost his confidence after a few of those misses.  Missed 7 in a row when it counted.

Hard to argue that...I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't himself.  I surely wouldn't put it all on Jimmy though.  Acker and Coobie couldn't hit an outside shot, and I thought the entire team looked tired and played poor defense down the stretch.  I was disappointed in their effort for a 5-10 min stretch in the second half, which is unusual for a Buzz Williams coached team.  Overall...a good weekend of basketball, but they surely let this one slip away.  

[MR.HAYWARD]

with the way we are playing with that level of intensity and all it is very hard to do with only 8 or so guys.  Buzz has said he wants 13 guys and we just are not there yet numbers wise.  will be closer next year.  

Ahh yeah Butler did run out of gas thanks for stating the obvious.  Bottom line tho remains if he hit his fros we win.  and he is an 80% shooter, more than gas you could see on his face he lost confidence he was missing them early in the half too.

[79Warrior]

but that loss was on Jimmy Butler.  1-8 from the FT line in the 2nd half.  The taking it to the rack philosphy only works if you can knock down the FT's.  You could tell he lost his confidence after a few of those misses.  Missed 7 in a row when it counted.

Jackass comment.

[77ncaachamps]

A lot of people came up short in this one... Butler with the free throws, Cubillan didn't even allow a reb with his missed three's, turnovers by Acker, defense by Lazar.

The announcers said it... we looked really tired with about 5 minutes to go.  Everyone loves the eight man rotation but with three games in four days sometimes having a little more bench helps.

Yep. Fatigue was probably the issue.

FSU played 4 games in 5 days (or so the announcers said), but they have a deeper bench and rotate out more frequently.

[DaCoach]

When you lead by 17 with 15 minutes left in the game, it's not an individual player losing the game, it's a meltdown of the entire team and a lack of game management by Buzz. Only 5 assists and it tells you everything about a team not playing to their strength.

[g0ldmember42]

So many what ifs played into this game. Lazar picking up that 3rd foul in the first half I think really limited his aggressiveness defensively in the second half. Blame that third foul on who you will, but it seemed as though he played more conservatively on D after picking up that third one (which was ticky tack, as the late great Chick Hearn would say).

And yeah, Butler could've hit free throws. He also could have drawn a fifth foul on Singleton by going at him, but in the end we just played FSU's style of ball.

Hopefully our boys come out hungry on Saturday and this serves as a good learning experience for everyone on this young team.

[Nukem2]

Jackass comment.

Yep.

[drewm88]

I don't care how bad he's been in practice, don't you think Williams could have contributed positively late in the game to give somebody a breather?

[VegasWarrior77]

We could really use EWill in the rotation.  Hopefully he practices hard this week!  drewm88 you are exactly right.  You made the comment while I was typing.

[Doctor V]

with the way we are playing with that level of intensity and all it is very hard to do with only 8 or so guys.  Buzz has said he wants 13 guys and we just are not there yet numbers wise.  will be closer next year.  

Ahh yeah Butler did run out of gas thanks for stating the obvious.  Bottom line tho remains if he hit his fros we win.  and he is an 80% shooter, more than gas you could see on his face he lost confidence he was missing them early in the half too.

well maybe if he played two more of HIS boys, Fulce and Williams, more than 5 mins a game. i know he cant help injuries, but you gotta be able to get all your guys to be able to contribute 10-15 mins a game. When u are thin as heck down low, u atleast throw them in the fire at the right time and let them learn the hard way, so that things like the last 10 mins of today dont happen

[WarriorHal]

Anyhew...FRAK, but it was a fun three games.

It was a fun two games. Losing is never fun and blowing a game we had won is extremely unfun. Gonna be pissed for several hours.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Missed free throws were a killer, but I'm not sure Butler isn't the most valuable player on our team. I love the way he plays...Hayward, too. I'll say it a million times this year, but I think this team is a thousand times more enjoyable than last year's team.

Tough, tough loss (reminds me of the NIT Final vs. VA Tech)...but a great run so far this year!

[NickelDimer]

FSU's size also forced us to work that much harder which also caused fatigue.  This team was clearly out of gas.  That being said I really think more offense should've been run through DJO tonight.  With DJO penetrating and JB and Zar crashing I think our offense would've been much more effective.

[VegasWarrior77]

Tough, tough loss (reminds me of the NIT Final vs. VA Tech)...but a great run so far this year!

+1
I was thinking about that also.  DJO has a pure shot - great form and rotation.  He's only a sophomore!

[SaintPaulWarrior]

It was a fun two games. Losing is never fun and blowing a game we had won is extremely unfun. Gonna be pissed for several hours seconds.

Liked the overall hustle and grit of the team.

[chapman]

well maybe if he played two more of HIS boys, Fulce and Williams, more than 5 mins a game. i know he cant help injuries, but you gotta be able to get all your guys to be able to contribute 10-15 mins a game. When u are thin as heck down low, u atleast throw them in the fire at the right time and let them learn the hard way, so that things like the last 10 mins of today dont happen

If you're talking about contributing and not just playing, it's time to add Maymon to the mix.  10 rebounds, 2 points on 1-4 shooting, and 7 fouls for the tournament.  It might've looked ok in the first game, but he's been a complete non-factor in the past two.  Fulce at least provided some hustle and energy minutes (though that was about it), but Maymon's got to be able to contribute, not just be somewhere on the floor getting scored on for 12 minutes per game.