Learned a lot about this team today

[MUMac]

A lesser team folds at the Carrier Dome.  Great effort in the 2nd Half.  Tribute to Buzz and the team.  I feel better about the team now than I did going into the game.

[PGsHeroes32]

Fact is we still got down big

Every year its the same thing. Get up big and blow it for a loss

Get down big, make a great comeback but missed chances bring us barely short.

[GGGG]

Which probably means you have a team more playing hard than it is talented.  And that's what MU is.

[nyg]

Playing hard with seven guys is tough.

Cuse bench had 31 points, MU bench had 4. 

[MUMac]

Fact is we still got down big

Every year its the same thing. Get up big and blow it for a loss

Get down big, make a great comeback but missed chances bring us barely short.

Rather than see the rain cloud, I will look for the sun.

Yeah, they got down big.  At the Carrier Dome.  To the Number 1 Team in the Nation right now.  To one of the last undefeated teams.  Yet, MU didn't fold.  Most teams would have.  

So, you expected a win before the game, then?

[brewcity77]

After our run to open the half, I told the girlfriend "we need 2 more runs and we can win this game". We had got to the 8-11 range, needed to get first to the 4-7 range, then make one last run to win. We got the first run, couldn't close on the second.

Yeah, we had a crap first half, but I can't see any way anyone can complain about that second half. We outscored the #1 team in the country on their court by 11. Great half, just one run short of winning the game. Losing Wilson really hurt, and we really need more depth down low to compete with teams like this. On the plus side, we have a truckload of winnable games in the next month. I could honestly see us going from 1-2 to 11-2 in the Big East. I still think if we get Otule back to 100% by March we can compete for a Final Four, but this game showed that we don't have the depth to finish a team like Syracuse.

[MUMac]

Playing hard with seven guys is tough.

Cuse bench had 31 points, MU bench had 4. 

The cheap shot elbow to Wilson really hurt MU.  Shortened an already short bench. 

[PGsHeroes32]

Rather than see the rain cloud, I will look for the sun.

Yeah, they got down big.  At the Carrier Dome.  To the Number 1 Team in the Nation right now.  To one of the last undefeated teams.  Yet, MU didn't fold.  Most teams would have.  

So, you expected a win before the game, then?

No I didnt expect a win but thats like people saying last game during gtowns comeback "if you told me before the game wed be up 5 now id be happy". You don't get rewarded for exceeding expectations. We never finish these "shocker" games.

Example. ND pulls off big road win vs UL. We just dont do that kind off stuff, i guess expect Uconn last year but they were our record in conference.

[MUMac]

No I didnt expect a win but thats like people saying last game during gtowns comeback "if you told me before the game wed be up 5 now id be happy". You don't get rewarded for exceeding expectations. We never finish these "shocker" games.

Example. ND pulls off big road win vs UL. We just dont do that kind off stuff, i guess expect Uconn last year but they were our record in conference.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  I won't let you p!ss all over my day, though, with your negativity. 

[ErickJD08]

No I didnt expect a win but thats like people saying last game during gtowns comeback "if you told me before the game wed be up 5 now id be happy". You don't get rewarded for exceeding expectations. We never finish these "shocker" games.

Example. ND pulls off big road win vs UL. We just dont do that kind off stuff, i guess expect Uconn last year but they were our record in conference.

Agreed. I have learned we are pretty much the same team we have always been. A undersized, under talented, scrappy team that can make any game close but rarely closes. Any arguments?

[PGsHeroes32]

Different strokes for different folks, I guess.  I won't let you p!ss all over my day, though, with your negativity. 

So that Id rather see us win a big game rather than take "moral" victories that mean nothing, literally nothing on the grand scale.

The occaisional moral victory is fine but 2 in 1 week where we did the exact opposite each game yet found a way to lose both?

[ATWizJr]

We only learned this:  if we play hard and together we can be good.

[downtown85]

The cheap shot elbow to Wilson really hurt MU.  Shortened an already short bench. 

Anyone know the difference between a flagrant 1 and flagrant 2?  Does the elbow have to draw blood or something because that sure looked intentional.  

[Hards Alumni]

This is precisely what I was talking about after the Georgetown game.  Everyone was really down bc we blew a lead.  Now we are "okay" or "happy with our heart" even though we had an awful first half.

Psychology at its finest.

[Blackhat]

Finishing on a high note usually will do that.    We do need to put together a whole game though.

[MUMac]

Where are 2 moral victories this week?  I don't see Wednesday's loss as a moral victory.  What I see as a positive today, though, is MU came back from consecutive awful halves of basketball and did not quit.  At halftime, I was fearful it could be Vandy Part 2, but this time on the road.  Could have seen the game stay between 12-20 all game.  Is that a moral victory?  Maybe.  But I think it is something they can build upon going forward.

And no, they didn't close either.  Both on the road.  Does that mean they cannot or will not close?  As my title to this thread stated, learned a lot about this team today.  I think they learned a great deal the past two games.  As Buzz says, each game is a test.  If they make the same mistakes, they have not learned.  I, though, feel more confident about the games ahead now than I did after Georgetown and most certainly than I did at halftime.

[VwArrior1]

I think my frustration just stems from the fact that this isn't the first time we make a run from a large deficit in the 2nd half and fall up just short.  I just wish for once we end up pulling one off.  Villanova, 2 years ago is another example of this type of game.  It is what it is though and I'm proud of the team's effort.

[MUMac]

This is precisely what I was talking about after the Georgetown game.  Everyone was really down bc we blew a lead.  Now we are "okay" or "happy with our heart" even though we had an awful first half.

Psychology at its finest.

I wasn't down after the loss, nor am I ok or happy.  I, though, am pleased that following two awful halves of basketball, this team showed the offense I had seen earlier this season.  Is that psychology?  I think it is more closely tied to basketball analysis, but whatever.

[amen426]

Why I am very impressed with how the team battled back in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, our offensive flow completely changed in the final 5.

After Cadougan's alley-oop to Blue at the 5:25 mark -- our next 8 shots were from beyond the arc.

We were down by 5 points with 5:25 left in the game. Prior to that mark, we were shooting 2-18 from 3 pt land.

How can the Buzz allow this team to shoot 8 consecutive 3 pointers, in a five point game, for a team that was ICE COLD beyond the arc?

It just frustrates me to watch the team fight so hard to get back into the game, by getting great looks in the paint. But once the game gets within reach - DJO and Crowder take it upon themselves to try and win it from beyond the arc.

This team has a real problem of finding offense during "critical possessions". They seem to get away with what got them back in the game - and just let DJO generate offense by simply pump-faking his way into a well-contested three pointer.

[MUMac]

I think my frustration just stems from the fact that this isn't the first time we make a run from a large deficit in the 2nd half and fall up just short.  I just wish for once we end up pulling one off.  Villanova, 2 years ago is another example of this type of game.  It is what it is though and I'm proud of the team's effort.

You just cannot get down 23 in the first half.  Staying on 12 for an eternity.  Poor shooting, poor FT shooting, unforced BAD turnovers, no defense, no rebounding ...  Against Nova, MU did not play bad basketball, they were cold.  Warmed up in the 2nd half.

As bad as people felt about Georgetown and Vanderbilt, after 16-12, that was as bad of basketball that I have witnessed in quite a while.  That is why I see some positives.  It wasn't like they just got hot - they didn't.  They did not, though, make the same mistakes or play with the poor effort that they did in the first half.

That, hopefully, is what they build upon.

[Silkk the Shaka]

This is precisely what I was talking about after the Georgetown game.  Everyone was really down bc we blew a lead.  Now we are "okay" or "happy with our heart" even though we had an awful first half.

Psychology at its finest.

Exactly.

[MUMac]

Why I am very impressed with how the team battled back in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half, our offensive flow completely changed in the final 5.

After Cadougan's alley-oop to Blue at the 5:25 mark -- our next 8 shots were from beyond the arc.

We were down by 5 points with 5:25 left in the game. Prior to that mark, we were shooting 2-18 from 3 pt land.

How can the Buzz allow this team to shoot 8 consecutive 3 pointers, in a five point game, for a team that was ICE COLD beyond the arc?

It just frustrates me to watch the team fight so hard to get back into the game, by getting great looks in the paint. But once the game gets within reach - DJO and Crowder take it upon themselves to try and win it from beyond the arc.

This team has a real problem of finding offense during "critical possessions". They seem to get away with what got them back in the game - and just let DJO generate offense by simply pump-faking his way into a well-contested three pointer.

That's a good analysis.  I wondered why so many 3's as well.  Some were on breaks, while some others were early in the shot clock.

[UticaBusBarn]

Just like the last two years ... slow start in BE play, with a strong finish. This team, when it fully realizes it is a team, will go places. In the meantime, they are giving this fan serious heart-burn!

[chapman]

Can't say the second half wasn't really good, but I doubt Cuse fans will shed a tear over "losing" the second half when the game was over at halftime.  Easy to lose focus when the game is won (cause most teams don't blow that kind of lead), and easy to look good when there's no pressure on you.  Hoping to see us play a game where it looks like we value every possession for 40 minutes, not 25 in one game and 15 in the next.

[MUMac]

Can't say the second half wasn't really good, but I doubt Cuse fans will shed a tear over "losing" the second half when the game was over at halftime.  Easy to lose focus when the game is won (cause most teams don't blow that kind of lead), and easy to look good when there's no pressure on you.  Hoping to see us play a game where it looks like we value every possession for 40 minutes, not 25 in one game and 15 in the next.

Are you describing MU against Georgetown or Syracuse?