Our MU v. Butler Breakdown

[andymartinelli2]

Nail-biters, as a whole, haven't gone Butler's way this season — something Marquette and its fans are all too familiar with. The Bulldogs are 2-5 in games decided by five points or fewer...

http://analytics.misix.com/marquette-10-7-2-2-at-butler-9-7-0-5/

[barfolomew]

Colonel Chucks-a-lot?
We'll have to bust him down to Lieutenant Chucks-a-lot.

[GurneeHitchkr]

From "butlerhoops" blog, here's what they are saying they need to do to be us:

1. Forget what's happened – Butler hit rock bottom on Tuesday. Barring some kind of miracle run, they aren't going to make the NCAA tournament. I know these kids want to win badly, but the worst thing they can do right now is think too much about the situation that they're in. They simply need to focus on winning the next play and trust in their abilities as players and as a team and just play.

2. Control the glass – Marquette has been pretty poor on both ends of the floor at controlling the glass. Because Butler has been so poor at defending the paint, they really need to keep the Golden Eagles from getting second shot opportunities. Butler hasn't been great in conference, but if they want to win this game, they must do a better job on the boards.

3. Pack the paint – Marquette is not a good 3 point shooting team, either during league play or in the non-conference schedule. Other than when Jake Thomas is in the game, Butler should be able to get away with staying inside the arc and trying to prevent easy entries into Gardner and Otule. This should also help with Butler's porous interior defense, which is by far the worst in the league. If Butler's following the guards closely on the perimeter, then Marquette will have a much easier time navigating in the lane.

[Irishdawg]

From "butlerhoops" blog, here's what they are saying they need to do to be us:

1. Forget what's happened – Butler hit rock bottom on Tuesday. Barring some kind of miracle run, they aren't going to make the NCAA tournament. I know these kids want to win badly, but the worst thing they can do right now is think too much about the situation that they're in. They simply need to focus on winning the next play and trust in their abilities as players and as a team and just play.

2. Control the glass – Marquette has been pretty poor on both ends of the floor at controlling the glass. Because Butler has been so poor at defending the paint, they really need to keep the Golden Eagles from getting second shot opportunities. Butler hasn't been great in conference, but if they want to win this game, they must do a better job on the boards.

3. Pack the paint – Marquette is not a good 3 point shooting team, either during league play or in the non-conference schedule. Other than when Jake Thomas is in the game, Butler should be able to get away with staying inside the arc and trying to prevent easy entries into Gardner and Otule. This should also help with Butler's porous interior defense, which is by far the worst in the league. If Butler's following the guards closely on the perimeter, then Marquette will have a much easier time navigating in the lane.

Here's our full preview of the game: http://butlerhoops.com/blog/marquette-preview-xanax-are-good-wins-are-better/

[Newsdreams]

Here's our full preview of the game: http://butlerhoops.com/blog/marquette-preview-xanax-are-good-wins-are-better/

They didn't even mention our secret weapon John Dawson

[andymartinelli2]

"They didn't even mention our secret weapon John Dawson"

Shhhhhhhhhhhh

[MarquetteDano]

Nail-biters, as a whole, haven't gone Butler's way this season — something Marquette and its fans are all too familiar with. The Bulldogs are 2-5 in games decided by five points or fewer...

http://analytics.misix.com/marquette-10-7-2-2-at-butler-9-7-0-5/

Despite the close losses, KenPom actually thinks we have been more unlucky than them.  He ranks Marquette 301 out of 351 in luck whilst Butler is 269.

[willie warrior]

They didn't even mention our secret weapon John Dawson

Of course not--it's a secret.