Kenpom - MU has best defense in 2nd best conference

[bamamarquettefan]

The Big East has now passed the ACC for 2nd place at kenpom.

MU beats out Nova for the best defense in conference play so far. Obviously balanced out by having the lowest ranked defense, but got to love having the defense completely shored up since Fischer's arrival so we just need a little offense.

[Johnny B]

This conference is not better than the acc. Sure top to bottom it's close but overall no.

[Jay Bee]

Bad news: 4 of Marquette's 5 BEast opponents are in the bottom half of the league's offensive efficiencies (the 5th - and #10 in the conference - is MU).

Further, MU has had some luck in limiting offenses to 29.9% eFG% in conference play -- the avg is 33.5% for all teams) and I believe their stellar steal % of 13.5% is due for a decline. Kris Dunn ain't finna cough it up 8 times per game against us.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Further, MU has had some luck in limiting offenses to 29.9% eFG% in conference play -- the avg is 33.5% for all teams)

[murara1994]

This conference is not better than the acc. Sure top to bottom it's close but overall no.

Aren't top to bottom
And overall the same thing??

[MarquetteDano]

This conference is not better than the acc. Sure top to bottom it's close but overall no.

If there was an ACC-Big East Challenge this year I say we would probably lose 4-6.  Remember they could not just pick their best ten as there are an uneven number of teams.

That said, I would give the ACC the slight edge.

[brewcity77]

Aren't top to bottom And overall the same thing??

LOL Yup 

The ACC is better at the top, the Big East is better overall. We will have a higher percentage of teams in the tournament.

What really encourages me about our defense is that we're doing out with not very great defensive players. How many plus defenders are on this team? Derrick and Luke are the only two I see. We have the league's best defense and it was built on the fly. I'm curious to see what Wojo can do once he has a team of above average defenders.

[tower912]

To me, Wojo's willingness to embrace the zone, and then to play multiple types of zone, after 20 years of nearly exclusively man to man at Duke, is the most impressive thing about him.  Then, after embracing the zone, to have Derrick down low, both on the 2-3 and the 1-3-1, with taller players out front, completely opposite conventional wisdom, and to be successful with it, is the strongest indication that Wojo has a creative coaching mind that I have seen.   In other words, this year's defense gives me hope that going forward Wojo will be a true program builder.  

[MUDPT]

Yeah, I thought we had control over our opponents 3P% and it wasn't all luck.  By the way, teams we are 2nd best in defensive 3P% and 3rd best in defensive FT%.

[esotericmindguy]

Those defensive numbers will not continue. That zone basically invites teams to shoot, nearly every shot is wide open. It will catch up with them. Sadly, it's probably the best strategy.

[4everwarriors]

Shows ya defense is not the key to winnin', hey? Ya still gotta put it in the hole yourself, aina?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

What really encourages me about our defense is that we're doing out with not very great defensive players. How many plus defenders are on this team? Derrick and Luke are the only two I see. We have the league's best defense and it was built on the fly. I'm curious to see what Wojo can do once he has a team of above average defenders.

Juan. He was a top 200 defender in the nation last season and a top 100 this season.

[MU82]

Doesn't the pace of our offense make our defense look "better," or does kenpom account for that in the rankings?

[tower912]

It is about Points Per Possession.

[brewcity77]

Doesn't the pace of our offense make our defense look "better," or does kenpom account for that in the rankings?

It factors for pace. Ratings are based off points per possession, so whether you play 60 or 80 possessions, the average points is the same.

[MarquetteDano]

LOL Yup 

The ACC is better at the top, the Big East is better overall. We will have a higher percentage of teams in the tournament.

What really encourages me about our defense is that we're doing out with not very great defensive players. How many plus defenders are on this team? Derrick and Luke are the only two I see. We have the league's best defense and it was built on the fly. I'm curious to see what Wojo can do once he has a team of above average defenders.

I would say Luke is a "plus" defender as well.  Though with his foul trouble (especially picking up fouls on the offensive end) it has limited his playing time.

[bilsu]

Bad news: 4 of Marquette's 5 BEast opponents are in the bottom half of the league's offensive efficiencies (the 5th - and #10 in the conference - is MU).

Further, MU has had some luck in limiting offenses to 29.9% eFG% in conference play -- the avg is 33.5% for all teams) and I believe their stellar steal % of 13.5% is due for a decline. Kris Dunn ain't finna cough it up 8 times per game against us.

It could be partially due to them playing MU. Is MU's defense good, because they have played the worst offensive teams or are the worst offensive teams bad because they played MU? It is probably some of both.

[JakeBarnes]

It could be partially due to them playing MU. Is MU's defense good, because they have played the worst offensive teams or are the worst offensive teams bad because they played MU? It is probably some of both.

Whichever fits my narrative.

[MU82]

It factors for pace. Ratings are based off points per possession, so whether you play 60 or 80 possessions, the average points is the same.

Thanks to you and others who provided answers.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Yeah, I thought we had control over our opponents 3P% and it wasn't all luck.  By the way, teams we are 2nd best in defensive 3P% and 3rd best in defensive FT%.

The bigger picture is that JayBee is a "liar"!

[brewcity77]

Whichever fits my narrative.

I so thoroughly love this post

[Jay Bee]

Yeah, I thought we had control over our opponents 3P% and it wasn't all luck. 

True, but some of it is luck (far more so than 2fg%). You may disagree, but you will be incorrect & borderline insane. Watch it RISE!

[Henry Sugar]

My two cents

Defense
1. I don't think the 3 pt% defense will stay this low. We are worst in the conference at allowing opponents to shoot threes. There is going to be a day where an opponent goes Michigan State or Ohio State on us.

2. The 2 pt% defense /is/ sustainable. MU has done a pretty good job with eFG% defense in general.

3. I don't know if the TO% defense is sustainable. Having said that, the team keeps outperforming expectations on TO%. How well will we do on the second run through opponents?

Offense
1. MU hasn't been bad at offensive eFG%. I track us as slightly better than Pomeroy shows, although declining a bit over the past few games.

2. I don't think that the offensive turnover rate is sustainable either. At least, I hope that the team learns to protect the damn ball. Soon. If that gets fixed, then the offense will go up.

In total, MU is still about a 0.500 team. Even if the defense gets worse, the offense should get better. At the end of the day, the most likely view is still somewhere between 14-17 wins.

[Jay Bee]

My two cents

Defense
1. I don't think the 3 pt% defense will stay this low. We are worst in the conference at allowing opponents to shoot threes. There is going to be a day where an opponent goes Michigan State or Ohio State on us.

2. The 2 pt% defense /is/ sustainable. MU has done a pretty good job with eFG% defense in general.

3. I don't know if the TO% defense is sustainable. Having said that, the team keeps outperforming expectations on TO%. How well will we do on the second run through opponents?

Offense
1. MU hasn't been bad at offensive eFG%. I track us as slightly better than Pomeroy shows, although declining a bit over the past few games.

2. I don't think that the offensive turnover rate is sustainable either. At least, I hope that the team learns to protect the damn ball. Soon. If that gets fixed, then the offense will go up.

In total, MU is still about a 0.500 team. Even if the defense gets worse, the offense should get better. At the end of the day, the most likely view is still somewhere between 14-17 wins.

What are you getting for eFG% & what is the source? I have found errors in ALL websites/sources without trying to... But in this one I've got the same figured as Kenpom.com.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

In total, MU is still about a 0.500 team.

...who wins the Big East tournament.