Impressions

[Lennys Tap]

First the good:
1 Butler is a stud. Outplayed Singler by more than a little - the better player in every phase other than shooting the three.
2 We have a point guard. Junior looked like the top 50 recruit he was supposed to be, decidedly outplaying the #1 freshman guard in the country.
3 Crowder was solid - doesn't back down from anyone and does a little bit of everything out there.
4 Gardner played hurt and showed he had game even against the big boys.
5 Perimeter D was much better.

Now the not so good:
1 Three point shooting was again abysmal. Free throws not much better.
2 Buycks was back to his old "out of control" self.

And the "mixed":
1 Blue was up and down. I cringe a little when he hoists a three.
2 Otule had some moments, but still has trouble catching and /or controlling the ball.
3 Tale of two halves for DLO. Hopefully his strong second half is a harbinger of things to come.

All in all, a good effort against #1 - but as good as Duke is, they could have been had tonight.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Who was the #1 freshman guard in the country?

[nyg]

Who was the #1 freshman guard in the country?

Probably Brandon Knight at Kentucky, but Irving was not far behind him in rankings. 

[Lennys Tap]

Who was the #1 freshman guard in the country?

Kyrie Irving

[NersEllenson]

Who was the #1 freshman guard in the country?

Josh Gasser?

[dw3dw3dw3]

Kyrie some would argue is the #1 freshman guard in the country... he had a quiet game, but I don't think they really needed more from him.

I cringed with every VB shot too, I wonder if they are planning an overhaul of it over the summer... If DJO and JFB are on, then he can be in there as a defensive stopper etc... otherwise he's not ready yet to be depended on to score at an efficient level. Another 4 years of watching a broken jumper ala DJ will lead to elevated heart levels.

[nyg]

Newbill, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds tonight.

[MarquetteDano]

Now the not so good:
1 Three point shooting was again abysmal. Free throws not much better.
2 Buycks was back to his old "out of control" self.

Duke shooting 55% from the field... not so good.  Terrible defensive rebounding and interior defense tonight.  That was without question the worst part of the game for Marquette.

[🏀]

Newbill, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds tonight.

Are you unnatural carnal knowledgeing serious, dude? Let it go.

[mugrad2006]

Duke shooting 55% from the field... not so good.  Terrible defensive rebounding and interior defense tonight.  That was without question the worst part of the game for Marquette.

Not sure I agree with the criticism of the defensive rebounding.  Looking at the box score, it was 33 - 36 Duke, with MU 11-10 on the offensive glass.  Only had two more PF's, which I'll chalk up to ref bias as much as anything.  The inability to defend the three and subsequent lunging at the ball reversal opened up the lane for Plumlee et. al leaving Gardner, Crowder, and Otule behind the eight ball all night. 

[JustinLewisFanClubPres]

Everyone,

Be proud.  We lost to #1 by 5 and gave them all they could handle.  It wasn't always pretty but my god, things look real good for us in the near future.

[77ncaachamps]

Everyone,

Be proud.  We lost to #1 by 5 and gave them all they could handle.  It wasn't always pretty but my god, things look real good for us in the near future.

Per Cracked Sidewalks: "moral victories are for losers"

[MarquetteDano]

Not sure I agree with the criticism of the defensive rebounding.  Looking at the box score, it was 33 - 36 Duke, with MU 11-10 on the offensive glass.  Only had two more PF's, which I'll chalk up to ref bias as much as anything.  The inability to defend the three and subsequent lunging at the ball reversal opened up the lane for Plumlee et. al leaving Gardner, Crowder, and Otule behind the eight ball all night.  

We had one more offensive board and we missed 10 more shots than Duke.  If a team shoots 55% from the floor you can't give them 10 offensive rebounds.  That killed us.  They shot 33% from three and 63% from two.  Admitedly some of those twos were in transitions but Plumlee had looks from 5 feet in the entire game.  And I do blame Gardner, Crowder, and Otule as they gave him deep position all night.

There are positives no doubt but most of the concerns tonight from other posters mention the offense or perimeter defense.  I guarantee Buzz makes mention of our poor interior defense in this game.

[mugrad2006]

We had one more offensive board and we missed 10 more shots than Duke.  If a team shoots 55% from the floor you can't give them 10 offensive rebounds.  That killed us.  They shot 33% from three and 63% from two.  Admitedly some of those twos were in transitions but Plumlee had looks from 5 feet in the entire game.  And I do blame Gardner, Crowder, and Otule as they gave him deep position all night.

There are positives no doubt but most of the concerns tonight from other posters mention the offensive or perimeter defense.  I guarantee Buzz makes mention of our poor interior defense in this game.

According to Rosiak, MU outscored Duke in the paint 20-18.

[Jacks DC]

The best thing about this game is that we now have our toughest test behind us.  We won't face a deeper or more talented team the rest of the way and should have the mentality that we can beat anyone on a given night.

[MarquetteDano]

According to Rosiak, MU outscored Duke in the paint 20-18.

Hard to believe.  Plumlee with 12 made baskets (was he taking 15 footers all game that I missed?) and there were at least another 4-5 baskets from in close by Duke.  Plus the last five minutes they played four corners and didn't go inside.

[MountainCreekHouse]

JuCo +1 tonite

[Golden Avalanche]

Are you fracking serious, dude? Let it go.

Was about to write the same thing. Except for the "let it go" part.

Btw, is that stat line legitimate? If so, wow, can Buzz recruit.

[karavotsos]

Rosiak's asleep at the wheel.  I just scrolled through the play-by-play and Duke had at least 20 (made) layups or dunk shots.  I believe that makes at least 40 PITP.

[mugrad2006]

Hard to believe.  Plumlee with 12 made baskets (was he taking 15 footers all game that I missed?) and there were at least another 4-5 baskets from in close by Duke.  Plus the last five minutes they played four corners and didn't go inside.

Looking at that you're right, Todd's probably got an incorrect shot chart.  Couldn't find a good shot chart online, but CBS Sportsline has the following

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/shotchart/NCAAB_20101122_MARQET@DUKE

Still think the poor perimeter defense led to the easy buckets by Plumlee, but can see you point about position in the paint.

[MarquetteDano]

Looking at that you're right, Todd's probably got an incorrect shot chart.  Couldn't find a good shot chart online, but CBS Sportsline has the following

Looking at it I think his writing is a bit confusing.  I think he meant 20-18 in the first half.  I have caught him doing that before when he cites something and I think he means for the whole game but he means the first half only.

[mugrad2006]

Here's the official box score

Points in the Paint:
Duke 48
MU 44

http://www.gomarquette.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/marq/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/mu-duke_box

Interesting that 2nd chance points were even at 16 a piece.

[JustinLewisFanClubPres]

Per Cracked Sidewalks: "moral victories are for losers"

we played the "best" team in the country better than we've played mid-majors and borderline D-I teams so far this year. no one likes to lose but there's no shame in how we played tonight.  we're a lot younger than duke and played them well.  it's good to see the young guys buying in early. we're tough right now and when we start developing we can be very good.

[chren21]

Rosiak's asleep at the wheel.  I just scrolled through the play-by-play and Duke had at least 20 (made) layups or dunk shots.  I believe that makes at least 40 PITP.

He also said that DJO was 0-7  in the first half.  DJO was 0-8. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Probably Brandon Knight at Kentucky, but Irving was not far behind him in rankings. 

I hate player rankings by "gurus" that see these guys play 3 or 4 times over 3 weeks.