Win Saturday and we clinch a share...

[TJ]

Yes! I'm so pumped that GU lost!  I am really excited to be on the verge of actually winning a conference title!

[Lennys Tap]

We will struggle in the NCAA tournament if they let the players play (well davante will at least).

We may well struggle in the NCAAs but I can guarantee you they will not "let the players play" more in the tourney than they do in what is considered (with the Big 10) the most physical league in the country.

[statnik]

Congratulations .. you are the toughest grader in America.   This rundown suggests no team in college basketball has passed your eye-test.

So you don't think teams like Gonzaga and Miami (sans tonight) pass my eye-test?  They sure do, because they were competitive in the few losses they did have, they have a multi-faceted attack (which we do as well but have not used it to our fullest this season).  Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown are better than us I believe.  Part of the reason is because these teams have all had games where they have manhandled opponents at full strength (or in Syracuse's case, they beat a very good Louisville team on the road, while we weren't even competitive with L'ville).  An overtime against UConn, an overtime win at Pitt that was one of our better performances, a last second win against G'town when they were coming off a long break and played one of their worst games of the year, largely do not impress me.  Again, we are good, but I don't think we're better than those three teams.

[statnik]

We may well struggle in the NCAAs but I can guarantee you they will not "let the players play" more in the tourney than they do in what is considered (with the Big 10) the most physical league in the country.

How come home games take over two hours to play?  Both teams nearly always get to the double bonus in Big East games.  Some games (usually on the road) they let the teams play, but it seems they call more ticky tack crap in the Big East than they do in most of the top leagues (Big 10 is a case in point).

[wadesworld]

Haha some people are sad.  Crying over (potentially) winning the Big East, or having to (potentially) share the Big East title.

Give me a 16-way tie every year of my life and I will die the happiest man alive.

Some people here sound like Badger fans.  "We beat Indiana at Indiana.  How are we not better than Marquette?"  Well, does 60-50 ring a bell?  Hmm...

Syracuse is better than us because they beat Louisville and Louisville beat us?  What happened in the Marquette vs. Syracuse game?  Wait, that game doesn't matter.  Only games NOT involving Marquette count.

Law of averages suggests certain teams will lose on the road at Villinova, but it wasn't Marquette's time?  Interesting theory.  In that case, everyone in the country should finish the year .500.  There should be no winning (or losing) streaks, ever.

Had Marquette beat Villinova, would losing to Rutgers at Rutgers have been OK because we would've been on a big winning streak, so we would've been due?

Since we have found out that a win on Saturday guarantees at least a share of the Big East title, I have literally read some of the dumbest things I've ever read on MUScoop, which is some insanely stupid stuff.

[MarquetteVol]

So you don't think teams like Gonzaga and Miami (sans tonight) pass my eye-test?  They sure do, because they were competitive in the few losses they did have, they have a multi-faceted attack (which we do as well but have not used it to our fullest this season).  Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown are better than us I believe.  Part of the reason is because these teams have all had games where they have manhandled opponents at full strength (or in Syracuse's case, they beat a very good Louisville team on the road, while we weren't even competitive with L'ville).  An overtime against UConn, an overtime win at Pitt that was one of our better performances, a last second win against G'town when they were coming off a long break and played one of their worst games of the year, largely do not impress me.  Again, we are good, but I don't think we're better than those three teams.

Hold on a second...Miami passed the "eye test" in their losses? Did they pass the "eye test" when lost by 19 to Arizona? Or when they got drubbed by 15 to a miserable Wake Forest team? Every single team in college basketball has a fatal flaw this year and most have a bad loss. Gonzaga hasn't played anyone in months...to me they don't pass the "eye test" because I haven't seen them play a single decent team. Even Indiana who has been #1 for most of the season but they laid an egg against a bubble team in Minnesota.

MU is 3-2 against the top of the the conference (Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame and Syracuse). So Marquette doesn't look pretty when they win? So what? There are no style points awarded in March. Just win 6 games looking like dog crap and hang a banner. That's fine by me.

[Lennys Tap]

How come home games take over two hours to play?  Both teams nearly always get to the double bonus in Big East games.  Some games (usually on the road) they let the teams play, but it seems they call more ticky tack crap in the Big East than they do in most of the top leagues (Big 10 is a case in point).

You are really grasping at straws.

[Eldon]

Pitt game we played well, that game we passed the eye test.  Seton Hall was terrible, so even a 2nd half surge to win the game going away was not that impressive.  Syracuse we performed well, but taking off any homer glasses, we benefitted from home court advantage with the refs (even with that being said, we shot average).  Kudos to us for making the free throws, though.  Notre Dame we played well, too, but even with a hyped up crowd, and Cooley basically mia, we kept the game close due to our mistakes and difficulty rebounding.  We go through too many stretches where we play poorly on offense and turn the ball over for me to think we are a top 2 or 3 Big East team.  Near the top in making clutch plays, yes and that says a lot about our team's heart, but in the end, our inconsistent play from game to game and play to play will probably cost us.

Did you watch that Cuse game (no snide tone, I'm genuinely wondering if you saw the whole game).  Many of the fouls came VERY late in the game from Cuse trying to play catchup.  And even before that, we had the advantage because Gardner was a monster down low.  Cuse didn't get as many free throw attempts because they were shooting jump shots all night.

[Eldon]

How come home games take over two hours to play?  Both teams nearly always get to the double bonus in Big East games.  Some games (usually on the road) they let the teams play, but it seems they call more ticky tack crap in the Big East than they do in most of the top leagues (Big 10 is a case in point).

I don't think that's the case.  Refs alternate between conferences during the season.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees

Click on any of the referees and then click on schedule.  A ref will be doing Maryland-Wake one night and Kstate-Ttech two nights later.  Unless the refs get together before the game and purposefully call more ticky tack crap simply because of the conference name, I don't think this theory holds much water.

[statnik]

Hold on a second...Miami passed the "eye test" in their losses? Did they pass the "eye test" when lost by 19 to Arizona? Or when they got drubbed by 15 to a miserable Wake Forest team? Every single team in college basketball has a fatal flaw this year and most have a bad loss. Gonzaga hasn't played anyone in months...to me they don't pass the "eye test" because I haven't seen them play a single decent team. Even Indiana who has been #1 for most of the season but they laid an egg against a bubble team in Minnesota.

MU is 3-2 against the top of the the conference (Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame and Syracuse). So Marquette doesn't look pretty when they win? So what? There are no style points awarded in March. Just win 6 games looking like dog crap and hang a banner. That's fine by me.

All three of Miami's losses in the non-conference were when key players (primarily Reggie Johnson) were out with injury.  Bottom line, they have played as well as anyone in the ACC (stomped Duke and UNC better than we have stomped ANY of our opponents) so yes, they have passed the eye test.  Indiana has as well, it takes teams playing at the top of their game to beat them (another mark of a great team), as OSU and Wisconsin did to win on their home court.  You may think these are arbitrary standards, but trust me, I watch a lot of college ball, and have for the better part of ten years, and this MU team isn't as good as half (or in this case, 3 or 4) of MU's eight tournament teams in a row.  So I suppose I should enjoy it, and still will, but with the caveat that this does not legitimate them as the BEast's best team this year.

[statnik]

I don't think that's the case.  Refs alternate between conferences during the season.

http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees

Click on any of the referees and then click on schedule.  A ref will be doing Maryland-Wake one night and Kstate-Ttech two nights later.  Unless the refs get together before the game and purposefully call more ticky tack crap simply because of the conference name, I don't think this theory holds much water.

I've decided it's either that or Big East teams foul an awful lot, which doesn't exactly help the Big East's case for being a good conference itself (moreso says that many of its teams are not fundamentally sound).  Which is it?  Honestly it seems like a combination of both to me.

[CTWarrior]

Well, though I am VERY happy with the results of tonights game obviously....now just think back to the what if...MU wins @ Nova(a game they should have won) and guess what?? They are in 1st place all alone, and could clinch it outright with a win on Saturday.

If you're going to lament a Big East loss, I think the game to be upset about is at Cincinnati.  I thought we had that game when we got it to OT.  Villanova just beat us (or pressured us into beating ourselves, if you prefer), and the game wasn't as close as the final score.

[CTWarrior]

Hold on a second...Miami passed the "eye test" in their losses? Did they pass the "eye test" when lost by 19 to Arizona? Or when they got drubbed by 15 to a miserable Wake Forest team? Every single team in college basketball has a fatal flaw this year and most have a bad loss. Gonzaga hasn't played anyone in months...to me they don't pass the "eye test" because I haven't seen them play a single decent team. Even Indiana who has been #1 for most of the season but they laid an egg against a bubble team in Minnesota.

MU is 3-2 against the top of the the conference (Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame and Syracuse). So Marquette doesn't look pretty when they win? So what? There are no style points awarded in March. Just win 6 games looking like dog crap and hang a banner. That's fine by me.

A couple things.  One, you also didn't mention that Miami has their own Green Bay game, as they lost to Florida Gulf Coast.  Two, you omitted Pitt, who is likely to get the 4th double bye and is as good as ND or Syracuse, IMO, making us 5-2 against the top of the BE.

[GGGG]

So I suppose I should enjoy it, and still will, but with the caveat that this does not legitimate them as the BEast's best team this year.

Yeah...I think you should just enjoy it. 

Seriously, I hate when people have to throw water on the fire like this.  Marquette's job is to win the games they have on their schedule.  If they end up as co-BE champs because of it, that's wonderful!  Or are they supposed to put an asterisk on the banner because they didn't pass "statnik's eye test?"

The 76-77 Marquette team was arguably not McGuire's best during the 70s.  Does that de-legitimize their national title in your eyes too?

It's just sports.  Be happy.

[MerrittsMustache]

All three of Miami's losses in the non-conference were when key players (primarily Reggie Johnson) were out with injury.  Bottom line, they have played as well as anyone in the ACC (stomped Duke and UNC better than we have stomped ANY of our opponents) so yes, they have passed the eye test.  Indiana has as well, it takes teams playing at the top of their game to beat them (another mark of a great team), as OSU and Wisconsin did to win on their home court.  You may think these are arbitrary standards, but trust me, I watch a lot of college ball, and have for the better part of ten years, and this MU team isn't as good as half (or in this case, 3 or 4) of MU's eight tournament teams in a row.  So I suppose I should enjoy it, and still will, but with the caveat that this does not legitimate them as the BEast's best team this year.

Ravens fans should be embarrassed that their Super Bowl run was helped largely by a Denver safety misjudging a pass. They also didn't pass the eye test in their loss to Philly or their 30-point defeat to Houston. They weren't the best team in football! They just got some breaks! Similarly, the Packers shouldn't feel good about their Super Bowl win a couple years ago because they needed a flukish loss by the Giants just to make the Playoffs that season. The Cardinals won the WS against Texas because Nelson Cruz violated a cardinal rule of baseball (no pun intended) and let what would have been the series-clinching out go over his head. Give back you rings, St. Louis! UConn finished 9th in the BE in 10-11 but they somehow were allowed to win the National Championship. Kemba Walker is a fraud!

[Henry Sugar]

I don't think statnik is that far off. The best team in the Big EAST is Louisville, and it's not even that close. #mubb is probably 3rd or 4th best in the conference.

Having said that, I'm not going to feel guilty about winning the title. Not even a little.

[MU82]

If only I felt we actually deserved the big east championship.  Don't get me wrong we have a solid team thanks to our defense, but nothing more than that.  Unless we pound St. Johns to the ground, my opinion will not change.  We have received about as many breaks as a team could; key players out in half our games, frantic comebacks just to beat poor or average teams, a big ft advantage against SU.   Now a ridiculous ft advantage for villanova to even give us a shot at winning it outright.  I just wish this potential accomplishment didn't feel so hollow.

OK, Debbie Downer. Go root for N.J.I.T., Stony Brook, Elon or some other team that "deserves" its conference title. Jeesh.

[MarquetteVol]

It's just sports.  Be happy.

Perfectly stated.

[Coleman]

Yeah...I think you should just enjoy it. 

Seriously, I hate when people have to throw water on the fire like this.  Marquette's job is to win the games they have on their schedule.  If they end up as co-BE champs because of it, that's wonderful!  Or are they supposed to put an asterisk on the banner because they didn't pass "statnik's eye test?"

The 76-77 Marquette team was arguably not McGuire's best during the 70s.  Does that de-legitimize their national title in your eyes too?

It's just sports.  Be happy.

This.

The Green Bay Packers were a 10-6 team when they won the Super Bowl. The next year they went 15-1 and lost their first playoff game.

Sports (and life) isn't always neat and tidy. The best team doesn't always win it all. That's what makes the games exciting. Is MU the uncontested best team in the Big East? By most measures, no. But who cares. If they win Saturday, it is a legitimate Big East regular season championship, and if they win Saturday, they deserve it. Just savor this. Its definitely a "bare feet in the wet grass" moment for MU.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

If only I felt we actually deserved the big east championship.  Don't get me wrong we have a solid team thanks to our defense, but nothing more than that.  Unless we pound St. Johns to the ground, my opinion will not change.  We have received about as many breaks as a team could; key players out in half our games, frantic comebacks just to beat poor or average teams, a big ft advantage against SU.   Now a ridiculous ft advantage for villanova to even give us a shot at winning it outright.  I just wish this potential accomplishment didn't feel so hollow.

I think we can all agree that our FF banner makes everyone feel hollow, as well... I don't think we were the 4th best team in the nation in 2003... let's start an email campaign to have that taken down for our peace of mind. Maybe also an apology to Kentucky for preventing them from getting to the FF that they deserved.

I believe the '77 team wasn't really the best team that year either....

[tower912]

If MU wins.....there is nothing hollow about it.   A team with good talent but no stars was undefeated at home and 5-4 on the road.    The road wins came primarily against bad teams.   So bleepin what?   Beating ranked teams on the road is tough.    MU won all the games it was supposed to, has no bad in-conference losses, and won a couple on the road it probably shouldn't have.   How a season like that can feel 'hollow' or less than acceptable is beyond me.   23-7 and 14-4 is never going to be a disappointment unless we are pre-season # 1.   Holy unjustified sense of entitlement, batman.  


FWIW, the eye test says the best team in the league is Louisville.  

[MisterJaylenBrownMU]

It's just sports.  Be happy.

+1000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZgU0cT_TfI

[RushmoreAcademy]

+1000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZgU0cT_TfI

I thought I was going to click on this and hear Bobby McFerrin.

[GGGG]

FWIW, the eye test says the best team in the league is Louisville.  

Right.  And that is one reason why I would love a BE regular season title.  I really think MU would have a tough go at winning the tournament.  I also don't see anything like a Final Four for this year's team either - unless the match ups are quite favorable.

[MerrittsMustache]

Right.  And that is one reason why I would love a BE regular season title.  I really think MU would have a tough go at winning the tournament.  I also don't see anything like a Final Four for this year's team either - unless the match ups are quite favorable.

But then that would be hollow, wouldn't it?