Learned a lot about this team today

[Jacks DC]

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.

We did shoot a lot of threes, but I don't know what else we were supposed to do in our half court offense.  Have Crowder or Gardner post up against someone 3 inches taller?  Have Vander or DJO drive so that at best they draw a foul and probably make 1 out of 2?  Syracuse does a great job of making you beat them with contested long jumpers.  They will lose with that strategy occasionally, but rarely.

[GGGG]

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.

Excellent points.

[MUMac]

We did shoot a lot of threes, but I don't know what else we were supposed to do in our half court offense.  Have Crowder or Gardner post up against someone 3 inches taller?  Have Vander or DJO drive so that at best they draw a foul and probably make 1 out of 2?  Syracuse does a great job of making you beat them with contested long jumpers.  They will lose with that strategy occasionally, but rarely.

MU made most of their points on non 3's.  Their runs in the 2nd half were due to points in the paint, not 3's.  The 3's they took in the 2nd half killed their momentum.  Crowder 2 or 3 times, DJO once Mayo twice.  All either on breaks or early in the shot clock.

[amen426]

We did shoot a lot of threes, but I don't know what else we were supposed to do in our half court offense.  Have Crowder or Gardner post up against someone 3 inches taller?  Have Vander or DJO drive so that at best they draw a foul and probably make 1 out of 2?  Syracuse does a great job of making you beat them with contested long jumpers.  They will lose with that strategy occasionally, but rarely.

You don't seem to understand the point. Marquette cut an 18 point lead to a 5 point lead, by getting layups and free throws (and one three pointer by Junior Cadougan).

One-on-One matchups (as you suggested) do not break down a 2-3 zone. Ball movement does.

I thought Vander did a nice job of roaming the baseline and getting a few easy layups during our run. But that was only made possible by having several passes throughout the possession.

When we stop moving the ball - you stop getting quality looks in the paint.

[MattyWarrior]

Are we capable of playing a competitive whole game against a good opponent? I do have to admit I was amazed that we got back into it like we did! Crowder shooting threes when hes way off is frustrating, we need to work the clock. Also the TOs have to stop,lazy passes, forcing passes,corner threes with run outs. I'm at a loss and we had another loss. Maybe the comraderie
isn't good in the locker room!

[real chili 83]

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!

Couldn't agree more. 

Piss on the moral victory bs.  We learned, in spades, what makes us a very good team .  Ball movement, paint touches, and going to the ft line.  Had we done that consistently, wow. 

[GGGG]

Put it this way...Jae was 4-4 from 2 point distance...DJO was 3-7.  They settle for threes way too much.  Junior and Vander sparked the comeback by attacking the zone.  Now, I am not saying that they should never shoot threes, but it should be within the flow of the offense.  Too many of them were after they held the ball for awhile, or early in the shot clock.  They need to let the game come to them more.

[groove]

The biggest positive that can come out of this game and make this the biggest moment of the season is if the underclassman realize that they need to take control of this team and not depend on DJO and Jae. We play much better when DJO and Jae dont try to force shots. Why Buzz lets this happen as it did in the last five minutes I don't know. But hopefully this a game where some players look at what happened in the comeback, how the comeback took place and begin to take control of this team and take it away from DJO and Jae. We need those two guys but we don't need them pressing when obviously they are not dependable.

[GGGG]

Another way to look at this...  Last year Jae shot a 3 for every 8.7 minutes he played.  This year, he is shooting one for every 6.0 minutes of game play.  This despite the fact that MU is missing its main mid-range scorer from last year in JFB.  He has to be more of an interior presense.

[real chili 83]

Put it this way...Jae was 4-4 from 2 point distance...DJO was 3-7.  They settle for threes way too much.  Junior and Vander sparked the comeback by attacking the zone.  Now, I am not saying that they should never shoot threes, but it should be within the flow of the offense.  Too many of them were after they held the ball for awhile, or early in the shot clock.  They need to let the game come to them more.

Agreed!