Nova thoughts

[muwarrior69]

Well we played well in the first half and they got my hopes up; they just stopped playing in the second.

[vogue65]

http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400840287

Box score.

The PF line tells it all.  Another learning experience, it ain't over till it's over. 

Our best hope is to avoid first round of the BE Tournament, and get to the final game and that will take some lessons learned.  As an example, I don't expect to see any more technicals for taunting.

[MU82]

Does anybody know exactly what Carter said and to whom he said it?

Just curious.

[Lennys Tap]

Totally agree, was texting with the pod partner last night....if Carlino was on this team, we're a top 25 team. Was hoping Duane would be that guy this year but his 3pt shooting is just far too streaky.

4 of our 5 losses have been double digit - 10, 15, 20 and 28. Maybe we beat Belmont with Matt, but maybe we lose to LSU, ASU, UW or Providence, too. Right now Sagarin has us ranked 92nd, just behind Akron, Stoney Brook and UC-Irvine. To think that subbing Matt Carlino for Duane Wilson puts us in the top 10 is a bridge too far.

[jsheim]

They will learn from this....second tier teams make a run then squander it with three attempts they shouldnt take and forget fundamentals. I see st. Johns and depauls of the world do this.

But we'll get better....our D was decent and a strong finish will beat the butlers, georgetowns, creightons, and providence once or twice.

As for nova, they may have won anyway if we played right. Lets see what happens when tjey come here?!

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Nobody currently wears #33 for MU.  Seems like JFB could have slipped in a hooped a little and helped us out, since he was already all shoed up for it.  No one would have been any the wiser.

[MU82]

4 of our 5 losses have been double digit - 10, 15, 20 and 28. Maybe we beat Belmont with Matt, but maybe we lose to LSU, ASU, UW or Providence, too. Right now Sagarin has us ranked 92nd, just behind Akron, Stoney Brook and UC-Irvine. To think that subbing Matt Carlino for Duane Wilson puts us in the top 10 is a bridge too far.

Exactly. Maybe Carlino has one of his great shooting games and helps us beat Providence easily. Or maybe his shot is off -- as he occasionally was last season -- and we'd have been a hell of a lot better off having Duane make that athletic layup for the winner. Carlino couldn't have even dreamt about attempting that shot.

Those who think this team is one OK college player away from the Final Four are hitting the weed a little too hard.

[mu03eng]

Exactly. Maybe Carlino has one of his great shooting games and helps us beat Providence easily. Or maybe his shot is off -- as he occasionally was last season -- and we'd have been a hell of a lot better off having Duane make that athletic layup for the winner. Carlino couldn't have even dreamt about attempting that shot.

Those who think this team is one OK college player away from the Final Four are hitting the weed a little too hard.

Carlino provides two things that this team desperately needs: reliable 3 point shooting(and the spacing it provides) and experience.

This team really struggled in games they lost because they didn't know how to play the game or have the experience to overcome the adversity. This will have to be one of those things we disagree on because it can't be proven, but Carlino's presence makes the team better not just his ability.

It's more than just Carlino stats for Duane stats, its the intangibles around leadership and experience that matter. If a team has the talent to win on the road against Providence they have the talent to beat Iowa and Belmont at home....intangibles have to be a lot of the difference.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Carlino couldn't have even dreamt about attempting that shot.

Pffft.  Remember the one where he got stuck in the lane and threw it up over his head backwards for the swish?

[Lennys Tap]

It's more than just Carlino stats for Duane stats, its the intangibles around leadership and experience that matter. If a team has the talent to win on the road against Providence they have the talent to beat Iowa and Belmont at home....intangibles have to be a lot of the difference.

Cuts both ways - if a team has the talent to lose by 20 to Seton Hall at home they have the talent to lose to UW on the road or to LSU or ASU on a neutral floor. And in fact they almost did. We're 12-5, but if you look at our coin flip games we could be anywhere from 8-9 to 13-4 - a long, long way from a top 10 team. Much farther away than a Matt Carlino. More like a Kris Dunn.

[mu03eng]

Cuts both ways - if a team has the talent to lose by 20 to Seton Hall at home they have the talent to lose to UW on the road or to LSU or ASU on a neutral floor. And in fact they almost did. We're 12-5, but if you look at our coin flip games we could be anywhere from 8-9 to 13-4 - a long, long way from a top 10 team. Much farther away than a Matt Carlino. More like a Kris Dunn.

That kind of reinforces my point. Talent isn't the problem with this team, experience and leadership are. Carlino brings both of those things with at worst a net neutral on talent.

[brandx]

Matt shot 42% from three. He would help this team.

[Nephew]

Does anybody know exactly what Carter said and to whom he said it?

Just curious.

A friend watching on TV - the same feed as everyone else - said that Traci "got in Jay Wright's face after he sank it".

From the stands it wasn't exactly clear what happened once it went in, only that Traci was 6 inches away from the Nova bench when he buried that 3.  Had Traci not already been in that corner I'm guessing there would not have been an issue.  In part, Traci got in Wright's face because he was already right next to him. 

What a shot though ...

[GooooMarquette]

Does anybody know exactly what Carter said and to whom he said it?

Just curious.

He had read the new WIAA guidelines earlier in the day, so he looked at Jay and said:  "I highly respect your recruiting skills and suspect you had perfectly valid reasons for not offering me a scholarship, but perhaps that shot might make you a bit regretful." 

The official thought "regretful" was kinda harsh.

[Nephew]

He had read the new WIAA guidelines earlier in the day, so he looked at Jay and said:  "I highly respect your recruiting skills and suspect you had perfectly valid reasons for not offering me a scholarship, but perhaps that shot might make you a bit regretful." 

The official thought "regretful" was kinda harsh.

Well done

[Marcus92]

Matt shot 42% from three. He would help this team.

Experience would help this team.

Experienced players know the importance of capitalizing on every possession. Experienced players work together as a team, something greater than the sum of its parts. Experienced players know what a good shot is. Experienced players produce more consistent results, both over the course of a game and over the course of a season.

What we're seeing with this team is a classic demonstration of the one and only proven method for gaining experience: learning things the hard way.

I can only think of 2 times in the past 25 years where Marquette has started 3 freshmen. McIlvane, Logterman and Key went 11-18 as freshmen before advancing to the Sweet 16 as seniors.

And guess what Marquette's record was 17 games into the 2005-06 season, the first for James, Matthews and McNeal? Hmmm, 12-5. That included losses to Winthrop, Nebraska, Wisconsin (by 14), Cincinnati and West Virginia (by 19). That team went to the NCAA tournament.

This team has a chance to be special. No guarantees, of course. But it's possibly the deepest, most talented Marquette roster that I've ever seen. And there's a lot of season left to be played.

[El Duderino]

Our SG (Duane) needs to make some shots. Worst shooting % on team among guys playing over 10 minutes a game except for Traci.

This team could be good if they just had some reliable jump shooters.

In today's basketball shooting is required both for points and spacing.

So many wide open threes which could change the momentum of close games at the time just clank off the rim. On the flip side, teams Marquette is playing to often drill the same wide open threes we miss.

I get that we should get the ball inside more, but it's just hard to be consistently productive on offense when you can't shoot from the perimeter and especially can't make threes.

[MU82]

I am not denying that Carlino -- or a player of similar experience and skill, and there are many out there -- would have helped this team. We need shooting and we need more experience.

I'm saying that it's a stretch to say adding one decent college player would have made the difference between an NIT team and a legit Sweet 16 team.

I'm not a Carlino "hater." I appreciate what he did for us last season. But let's please not elevate Matt Carlino beyond the level of "decent college player."

Now, a senior Novak or a senior Wes or a junior D-Wade or an actual college star ... now you're talkin'.

[MomofMUltiples]

Thanks, Tower, for your brief and realistic thoughts. Not a lot of pragmatism on this board after a loss. Sure, they got our hopes up with that great comeback in the first half and then let us down, but what an improvement from Georgetown where they got so overpowered in the first half there was no hope of a comeback. I know you guys want them to win every game, but ultimately this is not a game we were supposed to win. We need to hold court at home, win the road games we're supposed to, and win a few road games we aren't supposed to.  This game gave me a lot of hope for Saturday. 

Now, if we could just figure out how to get 40 of Traci Carter's family and friends to every game, now that could be transformative.

[tower912]

You are welcome.  Thanks for the kind words.

[rocky_warrior]

Not a lot of pragmatism on this board after a loss.

BS!  He posted BEFORE it was a loss

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I blame ChiTown for calling "dagger" with ten minutes left in the game and us being only nine points behind.

Totally jinxed us.

I've watched enough basketball games at the high school and college level to know when a team isn't gonna come back. I'm as positive as anyone here (even took the points last night) but I wasn't wrong.

[tower912]

BS!  He posted BEFORE it was a loss

But not before it was over.  Like chi-town, I have watched and coached enough to know and accept the inevitable.

[Lennys Tap]

I am not denying that Carlino -- or a player of similar experience and skill, and there are many out there -- would have helped this team. We need shooting and we need more experience.

I'm saying that it's a stretch to say adding one decent college player would have made the difference between an NIT team and a legit Sweet 16 team.

I'm not a Carlino "hater." I appreciate what he did for us last season. But let's please not elevate Matt Carlino beyond the level of "decent college player."

Now, a senior Novak or a senior Wes or a junior D-Wade or an actual college star ... now you're talkin'.

Yep, as I said earlier, we're not a Matt Carlino away from being top 10 - more like a Kris Dunn.

[real chili 83]

Thanks, Tower, for your brief and realistic thoughts. Not a lot of pragmatism on this board after a loss. Sure, they got our hopes up with that great comeback in the first half and then let us down, but what an improvement from Georgetown where they got so overpowered in the first half there was no hope of a comeback. I know you guys want them to win every game, but ultimately this is not a game we were supposed to win. We need to hold court at home, win the road games we're supposed to, and win a few road games we aren't supposed to.  This game gave me a lot of hope for Saturday. 

Now, if we could just figure out how to get 40 of Traci Carter's family and friends to every game, now that could be transformative.

Interesting thought...pragmatism.

Applies to fans....maybe.  Bet Wojo didnt tell the team before or after the game this is one we were supposed to lose.