No mental toughness

[NateDoggMarq]

This year was very similar to years past. We get pasted in the first round of the tournament and we can not get off the mat from a heartbreaking loss.

2001-2002: Marquette leads by 4 with 40 seconds to go at the Shoemaker Center.  Cordell Henry gets pushed off and Steve Logan drains three pointer, Wade misses front end of one and one, Donald Little nails 18 footer from the Corner UC wins.  (Marquette finishes the season losing to UC by 11 in C-USA Final, than loses to Tulsa in NCAA first round)

2006-2007: Marquette has comfortable lead against L-Ville Jerry Smith Drains three pointer.  Marquette goes into tailspin loses to Pitt (A team they beat twice) in BEAST Tourney, gets mopped up by MSU

This team has got to learn that a big loss does not need to be the end of their season. 

NCAA basketball is the only sport where the regular season does not matter:  Nobody remembers a team that had a great regular season, but everyone remebers good Tourney runs.  For instance if you asked a person in Montana about who had a better season in 2006, UCONN  or George Mason, 9 out of 10 would say George Mason.

FIRST ROUND TOURNEY EXITS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!!!
and if it is acceptable to you, than you are seriously underestimating our program, and are putting them on the level of Xavier or Creighton

[ChicosBailBonds]

You say this year was similar to other years in the past where we were pasted in the first round.


Could you give me an example of another first round NCAA pasting we have taken in recent years?  The last one I can remember was 1996 .... I was there in Charlotte as Providence kicked our arse....except Mike Deane was the coach.

[NateDoggMarq]

Just losing to teams that are inferior to us is a pasting.

we should not lose to a 9-12-10 Seed


Should not happen 2 years in a row, as you think we would have learned something.

[NYWarrior]

2006-2007: Marquette has comfortable lead against L-Ville Jerry Smith Drains three pointer.  Marquette goes into tailspin loses to Pitt (A team they beat twice) in BEAST Tourney, gets mopped up by MSU

of course immediately after this loss MU stepped up and beat Villanova (an NCAA-bound team) and made 16 consecutive FTs in crunch time to do it. 

yeah, mental toughness is a real problem for MU.

Its also convenient that u left out the McNeal injury -- MU's best player -- from your screed.

[NYWarrior]

Just losing to teams that are inferior to us is a pasting.  we should not lose to a 9-12-10 Seed

An MSU team that beat Wisconsin is inferior to Marquette.  MSU is inferior to MU (even when MU is without its best player, McNeal)

Interesting perspective

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just losing to teams that are inferior to us is a pasting.

we should not lose to a 9-12-10 Seed


Should not happen 2 years in a row, as you think we would have learned something.

Why do you think they are inferior?  Nice definition of "pasting".  Tulsa's RPI was nearly identical to ours.  Depending on the service, Michigan State had a BETTER RPI than us this year.  You make it sound like we were taking on little sisters of the poor.  Even in the RPI services where MU was ranked higher it was MU 22 and MSU 24...practically identical.  They were healthy, we weren't. They played better than we did. 

I was actually much more disappointed by last year's result then this year.  I expected to lose this year (9 seeds have a better record over 8 seeds historically), but last year we were the better team to Bama but lost.

[DegenerateDish]

I thought yesterday's game was similar to Bama. Bama stuck it to us early on with their outside shooting, and we really didn't get any offense at all until right before half time.

Every MU first round tournament game in the Crean era has had strikingly similar first halves of basketball.

Tulsa
Holy Cross
Alabama
Mich St.

Once is okay, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend.