Pick 7players (8 tops) and play the hell out of them...

[denverMU]

Second half minutes, Gardner -19, Cadougan -19, JWilson -18, Taylor -12, Blue -9, O'tule -9, and Mayo -8.  Pick 7 players and play the hell out of them, thank you Buzz!

[GGGG]

Second half minutes, Gardner -19, Cadougan -19, JWilson -18, Taylor -12, Blue -9, O'tule -9, and Mayo -8.  Pick 7 players and play the hell out of them, thank you Buzz!

You're shifting the goalposts from your original statement.  Originally you were talking about the conference season...not you are shifting the timeframe to one half of one game.  You originally said this:

"In years past, with a the start of the conference season, Buzz would pick 6-7 players and (for the most part) that was our rotation. ...  My concern is our very best players don't have a chance to get a rhythm for the game.  This leads to our high turnover rate.  Also, as Buzz mass substitutes, sometimes we end up with crazy line-ups that don't work we'll together. "

If anything, this game tonight proves that you are wrong.  He played 11 guys, figured out a "crazy" line-up that worked, and went with the hot guys   Not the top 6-7 guys like you advocated.

[chren21]

I could not agree more that picking 7 and playing them the most with an 8th when necessary is in line with my opinion on giving your players the best chance of getting in the flow of the game.  That being said I stated earlier in the year when they were completely over achieving that I would quit questioning buzz and just appreciate how great of a job he is doing....  Even though at the core I disagree with his substuiting sometimes.  He is coach of the year and I hope he stays forever at MU. 

[Tugg Speedman]

Jamil Wilson - 34 minutes.  1 Foul.

He defense was OUTSTANDING last night.  Buzz noted that is why he played so much even though he did not shoot the ball that well.

[tower912]

Be thankful that MU has a coach who can read the game, win playing different styles, win playing different combinations.   Buzz found a hot group and rode them last night.   It was easier to do because Syracuse wasn't coming out of that zone, and MU spent most of the night playing zone.   It was a moderately paced game.   That isn't the case every game and there isn't a hot group every game.    It worked last night.   Against ND, who isn't athletic or deep, Buzz may use his depth to pressure them and wear them down.  
 
Think about it.   MU beat SYRACUSE getting next to nothing from Blue, Lockett, Juan.   If I had told you to eliminate 3 guys from the rotation because, oh yeah, there is going to be Jake Thomas minutes, who would have picked those 3?   MU won playing 'big' most of the second half with only 2 guards in for most of the second half.   Read that again.  MU...won....playing....big.    With combinations we haven't seen before.   Magnificent.
       The bottom line is that MU is 20-7, 11-4, with a team that the pundits projected to finish in the middle of the Big East pack.  Most of the players have holes in their games.   Buzz won last night using a different combination and a different style of zone offense than he has previously.   That combination probably won't work against ND, because ND is a different puzzle.   Enjoy last night's win.  

[denverMU]

You're shifting the goalposts from your original statement.  Originally you were talking about the conference season...not you are shifting the timeframe to one half of one game.  You originally said this:

"In years past, with a the start of the conference season, Buzz would pick 6-7 players and (for the most part) that was our rotation. ...  My concern is our very best players don't have a chance to get a rhythm for the game.  This leads to our high turnover rate.  Also, as Buzz mass substitutes, sometimes we end up with crazy line-ups that don't work we'll together. "

If anything, this game tonight proves that you are wrong.  He played 11 guys, figured out a "crazy" line-up that worked, and went with the hot guys   Not the top 6-7 guys like you advocated.

I'm not shifting anything, I pointed out in years past Buzz had settled on a shorter line-up by the start of the conference season and on his last show he mentioned he did that for the second half of the Seton Hall game.  You keep trying to say Buzz played 11 guys, so I'm wrong.  As I pointed out, I never said only play 7 and I showed in my last post Buzz played 7 players a vast majority in the second half.  The exact 7 I suggested(just dumb luck). 7 players played 94% of the minutes in the second half.

[jsglow]

Denver, what Sultan is saying is that the 7-8 guys that emerged last night were specific to the mission at hand against 'Cuse.  It very well could be a different mix against ND on Saturday.  I for one will be watching for Big Chris to make Cooley's life miserable.  If your point was 7-8 in a game so a rhythm can develop rather than 7-8 anointed for all of conference than I guess we're all on the same page.

[denverMU]

Yes, we all be.  But ,who on this board, have ever let the facts get in the way of a good back and forth?  We may even agree on who the 7 should be.

[Pakuni]

Denver, what Sultan is saying is that the 7-8 guys that emerged last night were specific to the mission at hand against 'Cuse.  It very well could be a different mix against ND on Saturday.  I for one will be watching for Big Chris to make Cooley's life miserable.  If your point was 7-8 in a game so a rhythm can develop rather than 7-8 anointed for all of conference than I guess we're all on the same page.

Agreed. Buzz has shown all year that he'll mix and match lineups and rotations until he finds something that works. What happened last night wasn't any different than that. He found a lineup that worked - one that, notably, had his first and third-leading minute getters (that's probably not a word) riding the pines for much of the second half.