Encouraging

[ChicosBailBonds]

Thought they played very well.  Encouraging performance.  We caught a break with one of their starters out and almost got it done.  Thought we played our best game of the year.

[mikem91288]

Agreed Chicos. Our best performance of the year, closest we have come to 40 solid minutes. The team was clicking, everyone chipping in. Could Otule actually be for real?

[marquette09]

We need to eliminate the big runs our opponents have in the second half.  Score tonight went from 47-40 MU to 59-51 Vandy.  Similar to the run Duke had against us in the last 10 min.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Solid performance by the Warriors. Tenacious defense- we are just too short to contest their bigs.
Wish we could shoot over the zone though

[96warrior]

We managed to shut down their best player Jenkins. He might have been having an off night but we were all over him. Definitely an encouraging game tonight.

That said, these close ones are real gutwrenchers.

[NersEllenson]

We need to eliminate the big runs our opponents have in the second half.  Score tonight went from 47-40 MU to 59-51 Vandy.  Similar to the run Duke had against us in the last 10 min.

Understand your point, yet Vandy fans could be saying the same thing.  Basketball tends to be a game of runs..sure you have games where it is see-saw, back and forth the entire way..but usually teams trade a few runs.

This was a VERY fun, entertaining basketball game to say the least.

[MUfan12]

After watching the two early BE games tonight, and watching MU, I feel better about this team's chances.

The conference is going to hace maybe 3 top teams, and a squishy middle. The way the Warriors played tonight would beat a lot of teams in conference.

Still pissed at Burr though.

[77ncaachamps]

Three more "points of light":

- DJO seems to have snapped out of his funk
- ZERO TOs by Vander
- Welcome to MU, Chris Otule!!!

[Mr. Nielsen]

Thought they played very well.  Encouraging performance.  We caught a break with one of their starters out and almost got it done.  Thought we played our best game of the year.

+1

Otule played great! Blue, Buycks, DJO were solid.

Fulce gives the team a bounce when he is on the floor.

[NotAnAlum]

We need to eliminate the big runs our opponents have in the second half.  Score tonight went from 47-40 MU to 59-51 Vandy.  Similar to the run Duke had against us in the last 10 min.

It came when Vandy went zone.  We just look awful against a zone defense.

[Mr. Nielsen]

It came when Vandy went zone.  We just look awful against a zone defense.

MU offense was great. MU shot 56% for the game.

[wadesworld]

We caught a break with one of their starters out

Let's not forget, we just had our starting point guard transfer as well...

Sorry, couldn't help it

[TallTitan34]

Let's not forget, we just had our starting point guard transfer as well...

Sorry, couldn't help it

Hahaha funniest post of the night wadesworld.

[brewcity77]

We still need to win 12 Big East games to be assured a tourney bid, and close won't get it done. This game was a must-win, and we didn't. The blame belongs to the free throw shooters, the refs, or the matador defense, but the bottom line is we lost. This was a devastating loss in terms of our tourney resume. How often do teams get at large bids with zero quality non-conference wins?

[VegasWarrior77]

After watching the two early BE games tonight, and watching MU, I feel better about this team's chances.

Before the season many talked about "rebuilding" and finding our identity.  It's not going to happen overnight.  Do you think the West Virginia fans are a little ticked because they lost at home by 10 to St. John's?

[MarquetteDano]

We still need to win 12 Big East games to be assured a tourney bid, and close won't get it done. This game was a must-win, and we didn't. The blame belongs to the free throw shooters, the refs, or the matador defense, but the bottom line is we lost. This was a devastating loss in terms of our tourney resume. How often do teams get at large bids with zero quality non-conference wins?

Not often.  Everyone saying we can get in with winning 10,11 games in conference without an impressive BET showing is kidding themselves.  We now need to win 13 more games including the BET (11 in conf & 2 in BET, 12 in conf & 1 in BET, etc.).  We are in big trouble.

If we lose to WVU on New Year's Day I think our tourney hopes are all but gone.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Some of you need to slow down.

MU lost at DePaul in mid-January and turned it around to be a #6 seed. Notre Dame in March at senior day looked like a nit team and came back to beat MU and have a nice run to be a #6 seed. The Big East season hasn't even started.

[NersEllenson]

Not often.  Everyone saying we can get in with winning 10,11 games in conference without an impressive BET showing is kidding themselves.  We now need to win 13 more games including the BET (11 in conf & 2 in BET, 12 in conf & 1 in BET, etc.).  We are in big trouble.

If we lose to WVU on New Year's Day I think our tourney hopes are all but gone.

Gotta disagree big time with you and Brew on this one.  We have 10 games against ranked teams in the Big East.  This isn't C-USA anymore.  Duke probably wins the ACC, Vandy and Wisconsin should challenge if not win the SEC and and Big Ten..Gonzaga wins the WCC.  We lost by a combined 14 points to 4 potential conference champions?

The Big East (really other than MU), has performed phenomonally out of conference this year..so the league will have plenty of signature out of conference wins..to where if you win in the Big East..11 games..you are going to the tourney..end of story..especially with an expanded 68 team field.  Hopefully we get to have this debate and MU wins 11 in the Big East.  If they do..my guess is they will get a 5 or 6 seed again..which ultimately would reflect they really weren't on the buble.  So last year we had Xavier as a "quality" non-conference win..do you really think that is why MU got in the CNAA tourney last year??

[MUfan12]

Some of you need to slow down.

MU lost at DePaul in mid-January and turned it around to be a #6 seed. Notre Dame in March at senior day looked like a nit team and came back to beat MU and have a nice run to be a #6 seed. The Big East season hasn't even started.

Preach it, Panther.

Last week, Georgetown looked like the best team in the league. Tonight, they looked very ordinary.

18 games is a long time. Buckle up.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Let's not forget, we just had our starting point guard transfer as well...

Sorry, couldn't help it

LOL...true....and we almost overcame it.

[mug644]

We still need to win 12 Big East games to be assured a tourney bid, and close won't get it done.

In your mind, does that include the BEast tourney game(s)? To me, 12 wins, including the BEast tourney, guarantees an NCAA tourney bid. I'd even say 9 season wins and 2 BEast tourney wins gets us in.

[chren21]

In your mind, does that include the BEast tourney game(s)? To me, 12 wins, including the BEast tourney, guarantees an NCAA tourney bid. I'd even say 9 season wins and 2 BEast tourney wins gets us in.

Your kidding, right?

[mug644]

Your kidding, right?

No, I wasn't. That's my current thinking. I think the middle of the pack in the BEast is going to be brutally tough (St. John's win at WVU being fodder for that line of thought), but I think the conference still gets 8 teams in. So, a .500 record in the conference regular season plus a couple of wins in the BEast tourney puts us in a good place. (Of course, that will also depend on other bubble teams, which could, for example, include Gonzaga.) Perhaps the expanded NCAA tourney will help us as early as this year.

What's your thinking on it? How many wins in the BEast regular season plus the BEast tourney gets us in the NCAA tourney?

[chren21]

No, I wasn't. That's my current thinking. I think the middle of the pack in the BEast is going to be brutally tough (St. John's win at WVU being fodder for that line of thought), but I think the conference still gets 8 teams in. So, a .500 record in the conference regular season plus a couple of wins in the BEast tourney puts us in a good place. (Of course, that will also depend on other bubble teams, which could, for example, include Gonzaga.) Perhaps the expanded NCAA tourney will help us as early as this year.

What's your thinking on it? How many wins in the BEast regular season plus the BEast tourney gets us in the NCAA tourney?

I guess I did not think it through first.  Am still upset.  I think you are about one game off (I hope)...  I think we need 12.5 combined wins including the BE tourney.  .5 depends on if we can get some huge road wins against the top teams.

[El Duderino]

I expected Marquette this year to be only a roughly 60-40 shot at best to make the NCAA Tournament this year given the limited experience that so many guys in the playing rotation have.

Marquette isn't Duke or Kansas to where an NCAA Tournament invite should pretty much be a lock every year. We only returned Butler, DJO, and Buycks as guys who played a lot last year.

The biggest reason IMO that we haven't been better this year so far is that Cadougan hasn't developed quicker, thus we don't have a reliable and consistent true point guard to play 30 minutes or more a game.

For example, put Jordan Taylor on MU and give them Cadougan, it would significantly impact both teams. Buycks is a good kid, trying his hardest out there, and hasn't been terrible or anything like that, but he's simply not a natural PG. We badly need Cadougan to ASAP play to the level of his ranking as a recruit. In college ball, a quality PG to run the show is priceless.