UWM fans think MU ran up the score, who cares?

[79Warrior]

They beg and cajole for the series, then bitch because we beat the stuffing out of them.

We are hands down on a superior level to them in basketball, always have been. (witness the series record)

This is the equivilent of UCLA play Cal State Northridge. There is no upside for MU. The win is expected, and if we win by blowing them out then it is classless.

The best thing to do is sweep this series then shut it down for good. Nobody outside Milwaukee really cares anyway.

[Marquette84]

They beg and cajole for the series, then bitch because we beat the stuffing out of them.

We are hands down on a superior level to them in basketball, always have been. (witness the series record)

This is the equivilent of UCLA play Cal State Northridge. There is no upside for MU. The win is expected, and if we win by blowing them out then it is classless.

The best thing to do is sweep this series then shut it down for good. Nobody outside Milwaukee really cares anyway.

The worst part is we called off the dogs and were STILL able to run up the score.

James, Matthews and McNeal scored 41 of MU's first 61 points.   And then only six more the rest of the game.

[HarveysWallbangers]

Only SJS would consider picking up UWM full court with close to a 40 point lead "calling off the dogs." Do you really believe what you write?

[lovebaroney]

They should have ran it up more.

[mu_hilltopper]

I lean both ways.  On the one hand, I would think that giving Trend, Patrick, Christopherson .. and Mo .. as much PT as possible (barring Scott's  tender knee) is desirable.  Hell, even Tommy should get some PT as a reward for all his hard work.

On the other hand, UWM wanted to play MU.  So MU played them.  For 40 minutes.  All 40.

AND .. UWM fans should be more angry with their own team, who quit on them with 10-12 minutes of the game left. 

[farmdaddy]

They need to get over it

[spiral97]

to avoid "running up the score" we would have had to start standing around just past halfcourt dribbling the ball for 30 seconds with about 15 minutes left in the game.. please.. I get more insulted when I know I am losing (and can handle that) but then my opponent basically stops playing.  Personally, I try to use the remainder of games (of any type) that I have hopelessly lost as practice to get better.  Their coach should have been (and may very well have been) calling stuff for them to try out and play around with at the end of this game.

[4everwarriors]

was just a bad idea, period.

[mcnaulty21]

If they didn't want to get blown out, they should have just played better. That simple.

[Pardner]

If they didn't want to get blown out, they should have just played better. That simple.

Welcome to the bigs UWM...why are we even discussing this?  Only a Catholic, guilt ridden school would care what UWM fans think.  UWM is minor leagues right now in b-ball...and besides, they kicked our behinds in soccer for decades.  Case closed.  Enjoy the hose. 

On to Madison to test our mettle.  A win in Madtown puts us into the Top 10. 

[Marquette84]

Only SJS would consider picking up UWM full court with close to a 40 point lead "calling off the dogs." Do you really believe what you write?

Just another self-loathing MU fan.  "Oh, what a terrible team we have--we stopped making our three best players the center of the offense, but we should have backed off even more."

And only HarvesWallbangers would think that taking James Matthews and McNeal almost completely out of the offense--especially after they were most of it up until that point--means there was no change in approach.

[ChicosBailBonds]

MU could not have played their reserves.  Tommy wanted to send a message.  He wanted to embarrass our program.  How do you accomplish that with your reserves?

The above is a UWM fan's comment.  Fran also made a statement that Crean should have cleared his bench with 4 minutes to go like Jeter did.






Interesting.

I thought we would take a trip down memory lane.  December 15th, 2004 to be exact.  UW@Madison 66, UWM 37.

In that game, here's what the starters played for Bo Ryan's club

Tucker 29 min
Morley 27
Wilkinson 32
Chambliss 33
Hanson 25

Starters played 146 minutes

Now let's look at MU starters from Friday night

Burke 18 mins
Hayward 29
James 29
McNeal 33
Matthews 22

Starters played 131 minutes

Hmm...how interesting.

Let's take it a step further, shall we.

Bo on that magical late Fall day also played two more players in double figures.  Taylor with 12 minutes and Butch with 18 minutes.

Crean, actually played THREE more players in double figure minutes (i.e.....giving MORE players double player minutes...using MORE DEPTH).  Barro with 10, Cubillan with 26 and Acker with 13.  In addition Hazel got 9 (Bo had his next guy at 8 minutes).


So Fran's right, "you are what you are".  I guess Bo Ryan was just running up that score keeping those starters in there for those incredible amounts of playing time.....more so than Crean did on Friday night.  Very strange how Bo is treated on this vs Crean...ah yes, very strange indeed.

[as802]

where'd you find that quote?

[bma725]

Bad example Chico's.  That UW-UWM was actually not a huge blow out until late in the game.  UW was only up 10 with 10 minutes left in the game but closed with a 25-6 run.  That's why the starters were in that long.  MU on the other hand was up 24 at the ten minute mark.

[MarquetteDano]

I would be more interested in what UW was up with about 5 minutes to go.  That is what people are complaining about.  No one can seriously expect a team to "call off the dogs" with 10 minutes left with even a 24 point lead? 

What was the score of the UW-UWM with 5 minutes to go and what was MU?  I think MU was up about 40 points with 5 minutes to go and won by 35.  How 'bout the UW game?

[bma725]

5 minutes to go UW was up 53-37, 16 points.  UWM scored with just under 6 minutes left and then didn't score a single point the remainder of the game.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Just another self-loathing MU fan. 

Hilarious! Let's add amateur psychologist to Marquette84's long-list of credentials!

Does Marquette have a lot of "self-loathing" fans as your use of "another" suggests? Can I assume anybody who questions anything having to do with the university or the basketball team is, in your view, "self-loathing?"

Please, continue to bewitch us with your brilliance!

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I don't think mins. are the reason people think MU ran up the score (the starters didn't play a ton), I think it was the approach and aggressive nature of the offense and defense. If people are claiming it's about minutes, just point them to the box score... they don't have a leg to stand on. I mean, are the starters supposed to play only 20 min?

I can see why people might be a little upset by the play in the final 10min, but to be honest MU's overall style is "pedal to the metal" all of the time. They aren't a half-court, use the shot clock type of team.

I don't think you can ask the players to suddenly change the style of play that they have been taught just because they are ahead. That would be counter-productive and MU needed to get a lot of work in because they hadn't played in 10 days and needed to get ready for Madison.

I'm not saying they need to fire up 3's and rub it in (which I don't think they did), but I like the "stomp on them" attitude because I think that is what it is going to take in the Big East to be successful.

I doubt that anybody (UWM or UW fan) that really knows a lick about hoops is really offended by the score. They are probably just using this as a way to take shots at MU.

I'm glad MU played UWM, but I also knew before the game (and still realize) that this game is PR nightmare because even when MU "wins", they don't really "win".

[Avenue Commons]

First of all, Marquette did run up the score. They were jacking up 3's when the game was already in the bag. However, this is a rare instance where I support running up the score. UWM and their coaches, administration and fans made an issue of Marquette not scheduling them for 9 years. In the course of that process they basically said that we were scared of UWM and were scared we couldn't compete. Well, Friday night they got their answer. UWM got dominated by a vastly better team from a better program in a better conference and representing a university that is better.

Screw 'em. They picked a fight and got their asses handed to them. Let them bitch all they want.

[muarmy81]

This whole discussion is beyond me,
We complain that we can't put away inferior teams but listen/acknowledge other team's gripes when we drop the hammer.  Please, minutes aside, how do you tell players to go in and "play at 50%".  MU hadn't played in over a week so if I were Crean I most definitely would have used it as an open scrimmage opportunity to get my guys back into game-shape with real game experience.  Imagine if we had taken everyone out early in the 2nd half?  I'd be very worried about the rust my starters would be carrying if they've only played 1 1/2 games in over 2 weeks.  This is D-1 basketball not some YMCA junior league.

For the record, what did OKstate's fans say when we beat them by 30?  I don't recall reading anything around here or on the "other" board about their fans thinking we ran the score up.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Were we pressing Oklahoma State late in the game?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Bad example Chico's.  That UW-UWM was actually not a huge blow out until late in the game.  UW was only up 10 with 10 minutes left in the game but closed with a 25-6 run.  That's why the starters were in that long.  MU on the other hand was up 24 at the ten minute mark.

For the 20 minutes of the second half, UWM was within 10 for a total of 32 seconds.  I understand where you are coming from but my overall remarks are simple....UWM, the media, their fans wanted to dictate who we play and now they want to dictate how we play.

They sure feel they have the authority to determine the fate of another basketball program in the city which I find rather interesting.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Were we pressing Oklahoma State late in the game?

PRN, if Crean cured cancer and ended world poverty would you be ok with it?   

[RJax55]

muarmy, 100% correct.

Also, I love the fact that our guys played hard and were doing the little things from start to finish. That is the sign of a good team .... one that buys into what the coaching staff is preaching.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Were we pressing Oklahoma State late in the game?

I'm not sure they needed to. They punched OK State pretty hard early and it was clear that team was rattled. When announcers/analysts who watch hundreds of games a year mention that it's the first time in a long time they've seen a team play that intimidating it's nice to hear.

I'm guessing this will be a focal point all season. In the past, Crean's teams haven't exactly always had that killer instinct and there have been many games in which they've won by 18 but probably should've won by 30. UWM just happened to be the next in line. MU was much more methodical in this game and therefore I think you saw things remain the same throughout because of it.

I can't be bothered either way. There was no way this game would put MU in a positive light. Even now, after a man-handling, we have MU fans who are upset with our team and coach. Goes to show that the guerilla tactics started by Pearl and continued by Haidet have accomplished something in terms of perception.