Newfound Optimism

[Ahoya06]

After having some time to recover from the two snakebites, and truly think about where we are at right now, I've actually started to become a little more positive about things.

Sure, we're 0-2 in BE play, but we've taken two top 10 teams down to the wire. I think we have proven that, win or lose, we can run with any team in the conference. I thought WVU would by far be our biggest loss of the year, and we almost walked out of Morgantown with the W.

If we can get past these free throw woes, and figure out how to finish games, I really think there's a chance that this team can go somewhere. If we can win at least one of the next 2, the schedule will open up quite a bit from then on. Perhaps Pomeroy's 11-7 isn't too far off, and then maybe we can backdoor into the tourney. It'll take some huge improvement on our part, but looking ahead, I really think it's doable.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but we'll have to see what happens. Go Warriors!

[mug644]

I agree, though my optimism is tempered by the reality that we could be 0-4 be the end of the weekend. I can't imagine beating Villanova in Philly (look what happened last year after we beat them at the Bradley then got absolutely pounded in Philly), so it leaves beating G'town on Wednesday. I know my spirits will be low, much lower than now if we can't be at least 1-3.

[NotAnAlum]

Also tempering that optimism is that Pitt has already beaten Syr on the road and Cinc has beaten UConn at their place.  Both this year are our peers as middle of the pack Big East schools.  Both have done what we "came close to" but have not yet done.  If the NCSt game taught us anything thing it should be that unless we are on our peak game (which was the case for most of the last 2) we could lose to anyone in the BE, both on the road and at home.  I don't put much stock in KenPom at this point.  His system can't account for the huge difference of winning a game by one point as opposed to losing it by one point.

[AlumKCof93]

I'm not optimistic about this year - we have too much to overcome to expect to be a factor in the BE this year. Can we really expect this shorthanded team to compete in every BE game this year and then capitalize in the final moments?  I don't think so, I think we had opportunities in these first two games and our inability to close them out means we'll finish11th or 12th in the league and in the NIT.

What I am optimistic about is the future under Buzz.  He has demonstrated an ability to recruit and the players have played hard both last year and this year.  While many will argue about x's and o's (and everyone does when you lose in the final moments regardless of how seasoned a coach it is), Buzz has shown a lot these past 1 1/2 seasons.  While I've resigned myself to thinking this season will be one in which a few upsets will be the highlights, I'm confident the program is in good hands.

[79Warrior]

I think if we are unable to beat Georgetown, then the prediction of 12th in the conference will be about right. We will be 0-4 out of the gate (no way we win @ Nova) and the team will really have to regroup. These are young kids and the mental aspect will grow as the losses mount. A win vs the Hoyas can work wonders.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm very optimistic.  No way in hell WVU or VU are top 10 teams in the country, or if they are then we are in great shape, but nevertheless we played them tough and should have won both games.

I view G'Town the same way.  There are a lot of good Big East teams this year, but none that are great or special.  MU is capable of playing with probably any team in the league.

I still think this team has a NCAA opportunity, but it's frustrating to know that if we would have closed properly, this team would be in absolutely golden shape right now.

[Hards Alumni]

I'm very optimistic.  No way in hell WVU or VU are top 10 teams in the country, or if they are then we are in great shape, but nevertheless we played them tough and should have won both games.

I view G'Town the same way.  There are a lot of good Big East teams this year, but none that are great or special.  MU is capable of playing with probably any team in the league.

I still think this team has a NCAA opportunity, but it's frustrating to know that if we would have closed properly, this team would be in absolutely golden shape right now.

Agree.  If we'd have won the close games, we'd be ranked in the top 15 by now.

[mug644]

I'm very optimistic.  No way in hell WVU or VU are top 10 teams in the country, or if they are then we are in great shape, but nevertheless we played them tough and should have won both games.

I view G'Town the same way.  There are a lot of good Big East teams this year, but none that are great or special.  MU is capable of playing with probably any team in the league.

I still think this team has a NCAA opportunity, but it's frustrating to know that if we would have closed properly, this team would be in absolutely golden shape right now.

Except that G'town may be an even tougher matchup for MU, with Greg Monroe seeming to be coming into real form. Could go either way, and our efforts against WVU and VU make me hopeful, but certainly not confident.

[WarriorHal]

Best case scenario looks like 6-12 with two wins over De Paul and Providence, and one each against Rutgers and South Florida. Seton Hall and St. John's are also doable, but not the sure thing as in recent years. And we better start making free throws in the last two minutes of close games. Otherwise, 6-12 is probably overly optimistic.

[96warrior]

Call me crazy but I could see an upset at Villanova this weekend. Playing them twice in a week might work to our benefit. We were smoking them the first ten minutes until Wright made the adjustment. I'd put money on Buzz figuring out how to get around them with a new game plan.  At least I hope the guys are going into the game with the expectation we will win, and not thinking "we're 1-3 at best by this time next week". Like Lazar said...can't keep working this hard without something changing.

[MUfan12]

Except that G'town may be an even tougher matchup for MU, with Greg Monroe seeming to be coming into real form. Could go either way, and our efforts against WVU and VU make me hopeful, but certainly not confident.

I can't figure out if I like this matchup or not. On the one hand, we're outsized again. On the other hand, their guards are not spectacular and MU can turn them over. But the main thing that ultimately has me worried is their offense. If MU plays aggressively and gets caught too high, GTown will back cut them do death, much like WV did in the second half.

[mu_hilltopper]

I started the year with a 5-13 prediction.   Now I think it will be somewhere between 5-13 and 13-5.

[5YearsatMU]

Best case scenario looks like 6-12 with two wins over De Paul and Providence, and one each against Rutgers and South Florida. Seton Hall and St. John's are also doable, but not the sure thing as in recent years. And we better start making free throws in the last two minutes of close games. Otherwise, 6-12 is probably overly optimistic.

Sounds like a worst case scenario to me.

[damuts222]

 I am still optimistic about the season as we are not the only team with young players playing key roles for our team. Yes we did not make our free throws and we need someone to step up in the last two minutes that's name isn't Lazar Hayward.

 I thought at the beginning of the season that we would miss the tourney but not by much and would be in the NIT. Our team has a young core and lets remember this is Butler's second season and Buycks and DJO are freshman in terms of D-1 basketball. That is why I see our team coming on strong at the end of the season and still having a possibility of making the tourney, but we need to win one of the next 2 games and I think/hope Georgetown is overrated.

[Bob "Big Daddy" Wild]

Sounds like a worst case scenario to me.

I agree.  Notre Dame and Pitt have not impressed this year, although I did not see the Pitt/Syr game.

[79Warrior]

Call me crazy but I could see an upset at Villanova this weekend. Playing them twice in a week might work to our benefit. We were smoking them the first ten minutes until Wright made the adjustment. I'd put money on Buzz figuring out how to get around them with a new game plan.  At least I hope the guys are going into the game with the expectation we will win, and not thinking "we're 1-3 at best by this time next week". Like Lazar said...can't keep working this hard without something changing.

 We were crushing FSU and NC State and managed to blow those games also.

[tower912]

Call me crazy but I could see an upset at Villanova this weekend. Playing them twice in a week might work to our benefit. We were smoking them the first ten minutes until Wright made the adjustment. I'd put money on Buzz figuring out how to get around them with a new game plan.  At least I hope the guys are going into the game with the expectation we will win, and not thinking "we're 1-3 at best by this time next week". Like Lazar said...can't keep working this hard without something changing.

Ok.....you're crazy.

[96warrior]

I know, I know...crazy. But I stand by it. The ones we blew are easier to remember but surely there are games that we won that we had no business winning.

[bilsu]

I fully expected to start the Big East season 0-4. I much rather have a close loss than be blown out. I also fully expect to go from 0-4 to being 3-5. I would be extremely happy at 4-4. We are more likely to beat either Georgetown or Villanova than Syracuse. From 3-5 I see 5-7 or 6-6. I could see going 2-2 the next four with the capability of winning or losing any of the four. I like our chances against Louisville and Notre Dame in the last two, but I would settle for a split. Worst case 0-4 to 8-10 best case 1-3 to 10-8. I am expecting 1-1 in conference tournament an an NIT bid.9-3 +10-8+1-1=20-12, but schedule too weak to get an NCAA bid.

[hoyasincebirth]

This is the closest thing to a pregame thread right now, so i'll post here.

I'm optimistic, but after your effort the last two games you guys have no reason not to be.

The main thing I'm worried about is turnovers. It's pretty much our main(perhaps only weakness).

Our guards are spectacular. Chris wright is averaging 24 pts a game in the last 3 games against Harvard, St. John's, and Depaul and almost 15 a game on the season. He's shooting 38% from 3 53% from the field and 84% from the line. He also adds in 4 assts, 1 and a half steals, and 3 rebounds a game.  Austin freeman lost weight over the season and his shot has returned to form. He's averaging 18pts a game over the last 3 and 13pts overall. He's shooting 42% from 3 50% from the field and 93% from the line. He also adds 2 assts, 1 stl, and 4 rebounds a game. Jason Clark is a hawk on the defensive end. He's our best perimeter defender and consistently holds the best offensive guard below their averages. He's shooting 40% from 3 48% from the field and 74% from the line. He also adds over 2 assists, alomst 2 steals, and over 4 rebounds a game. He's averaging almost 11 pts a game.

The main difference between this year and last year is the emergence of a second post threat in Julian Vaughn. He does all the dirty work on both ends of the court and allows greg monroe to be more effective. The team is more mature and experienced and highly motivated after last year.

I'm hoping that you aren't able to maintain your intensity after your two tough losses. What's the crowd going to be like? It was pretty good against Nova, but this is middle of the week and students still aren't in school.

This is arguably the toughest game we've played to date. I'm worried that you'll turn us over a lot and out hustle us to a win. I hope we played disciplined and controlled and exploit your aggressive defense for lots of back doors. I hope we pound it into the center and get a lot of points in the paint. I hope we close out on your shooters well.

Should be a really good game.

[RawdogDX]

After processing the losses for a while i'm also optimistic.
This year we seem to be good enough to be a bubble team going into the big east tourny.
For the furture our supporting cast has been good.  Real good actually.  Lazar hasn't been playing so well that you can say we are in these games soley because of him.
My expectations for next year took a big hit after Maymon left but I'm looking at the scolarship table and feeling better about our prospects.
I'm getting more confidence about buzz's in game coaching abitlity.  He has some more room to grow but I think he'll get there.