Cincy Game, Is anybody.....

[nyg]

I guess the word is anxious?  I know they have won 13 of 14, rankings have gone up and some posters talking about high seeding.  But this is an away game against a team vying for an NCAA bid and is in the same position MU was in last year. 

Am I overthinking or are others more positive?

[damuts222]

I am nervous as well. I feel like we are due a letdown and our shooting has been pretty amazing of late. Then again...Cincy has a tendency to go away especially if we get an early lead. BUT its there Senior night. I'm arguing with myself. Every game will feel like a tourney game from now on.

[mu_hilltopper]

Winning on the road is always tough.  It'll be Cincy's senior night .. and we're already down 8-27 and we've got 8 minutes of the first half to go.

Always an uphill battle.

[96warrior]

The fact it is their senior night gives me more hope, actually. Their emotions will be running high from that and there is far more for them to lose in this game than us, so they might try too hard and let them game get away from them. It's a hard win for us on the road and Cinci is a really hostile environment, the team and their fans will be out for revenge from our beatdown of them a couple of weeks ago. But I'm strangely not terribly worried. I'm feeling kind of neutral on this one, actually...not my usual jittery self on game day. Thinking DJO really steps it up tonight.

[MU82]

I worry at least a little before every game. Rarely easy to win on the road.

The game sets up similarly to the West Virginia game -- road, desperate opponent, taller opponent, etc. Hope Buzz doesn't have to, um, rest any players for a half this time!

[CTWarrior]

Cincy is a 1 point favorite in my newspaper this morning.  Incidentally, that, if nothing else, will tell you that we are not perceived as a top 2 seed.  I don't think Kansas or Michigan State or Ohio State or North Carolina or Duke would be an underdog at Cincinnati.

But we were in the same position at West Virginia and at UConn (road games against bubble teams that needed a win badly) and did just fine.  OTOH, Cincy is probably better than either of those teams right now and they have played against us once so they understand our speed and the way we play and we won't take them by surprise.

I think it's a toss up but if I had to pick a winner I'd pick us.  It's nice at this point of the season to only be worrying about how high our seed can go.

[UticaBusBarn]

You are not alone in being worried ... too much Warrior hype always creates nervousness. UConn was a worry; UWA was the same. But, all of sudden the Warriors are everywhere in the press. There is talk of COY, POY, first team All-American, first seed, and all sort of crazy stuff as though the Warriors just appeared out of nowhere. This kind of talk creates that "jinx" feeling ... gulp.

But, then again, this Warrior team is the most fun to watch since the "Scrambled Eggs" team of 64-65 (terrible team, but so much fun to watch). So it might be best not to worry, and enjoy what has already been a memorable season.

Said in another way ... so far, so good.

[Goose]

Nervous because stakes get better with every game. Confident because this teams is special and defies the odds more times than not. I do think they find a way to win, but it probably will be a white knuckler!

[MUMac]

I always worry - that is being a fan.  That said, I really see something different from this team right now.  In their eyes, in the way they play.  I think they are on a mission right now.  Being led by Crowder and DJO.  Unless Cincy pulls a ND and goes off against MU from 3 land, I think MU wins.

[mugrad2006]

Winning on the road is always tough.  It'll be Cincy's senior night .. and we're already down 8-27 and we've got 8 minutes of the first half to go.

This made my morning. 

[MarquetteDano]

I would feel so much better about this game if I knew Gardner was playing 10 minutes or so.  There is going to be a game that either Crowder or Wilson get into foul trouble and then we are screwed.

[77fan88warrior]

It sounds like the Kool Aid is starting to wear off and this is good. It seems like every thread has been about 1 and 2 seeds or BE POY recently. Let's hope the players haven't been reading too much of this hype.

[robmufan]

From what I saw last time we played Cinci, it doesn't have me as worried as UCONN and WVU did.  I think if we can continue to pressure them as they bring the ball up court (needing to switch things up a bit to keep them guessing) plenty of turnovers will be created to keep us in the game.  Throw OX in for 5 minutes (just for the heck of it) and we could win this one in what I would assume would be a low scoring big east game.

[mufansince72]

I would prefer we didn't get into an 18-4 hole like we did at home against Cincy!

[chapman]

But this is an away game against a team vying for an NCAA bid and is in the same position MU was in last year. 

Let's hope for a similar result for the away team then.  Our Senior Night, on the bubble home game last year was awful.

[Skatastrophy]

I would prefer we didn't get into an 18-4 hole like we did at home against Cincy!

Totally agree, but this is the first Marquette team that I've ever watched where I don't get nervous when we're down by 15.  It's more of an "Eh, we'll turn it on in a second here."  It's really strange in a good way

[dwaderoy2004]

....confident?  Yeah, I'm confident.

[real chili 83]

I am confident.

Why, you ask......

Cause our chili is better than their chili.  Period.   

[Spotcheck Billy]

isn't it unusual for Cinci to even have seniors?

[brewcity77]

This is a game we could lose. However, I'm confident. Right now, this team just has an aura of winning about it. Are there games that would unnerve me? Absolutely. But mostly those would be based on match-ups. We defend very well, we have enough bodies to throw at Gates (even without DG), Crowder and Wilson are being smart about not drawing fouls, and we have the quickness and guard play to handle their 4-man back court.

I feel about 80% sure we'll win this. I think it'll be close, I think it will come down to the last couple possessions, but I think we win with Vander sinking some free throws in the final minute.

[muguru]

Not nervous at all. MU IS the better team. Period. It's really that simple.

[JD]

To be honest, I'm more worried about this game than G-town this weekend.

Like others have stated, senior night, fighting for an NCAA bid, home game, and i think it's difficult to beat a team twice, especially playing on there court.

Hopefully i am wrong though, and the Warriors, take care of BIDness.  <--- (Poor attempt at humor)

[96warrior]

Man, what a ride this season...

Confidence in this team when down 15 early on to come back and win (I agree). Confidence when it's Vander on the line in the final seconds for clutch free throws (I agree). Confidence that this team is on a mission to win and will deliver (I agree). Arguments over which of our two players will get BE POY. Major hype in the media, heck, even getting mentions in the media at all. Banter is not about whether or not we make the Dance this year but if we can get a 3 seed or a 2 seed - even talk about a 1 seed?!?!

What a ride.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Any official word on Gardner? I know I read earlier this week that he wasn't expected to play Wednesday, but I can't keep it all straight.

It would sure be nice to have him get 10-15 minutes in the next two games to get the cobwebs off. We'll need him in both tourneys.

[BrewCity83]

Any official word on Gardner? I know I read earlier this week that he wasn't expected to play Wednesday, but I can't keep it all straight.

It would sure be nice to have him get 10-15 minutes in the next two games to get the cobwebs off. We'll need him in both tourneys.

Is his uniform packed?