X thoughts

[Earl Tatum]

I don't want Thomas, but someone who has that size and can rebound and separate around
the basket. Also, we already have small players like 6^-2. But, I will tell you Trev Anderson is
the real deal.Would be a good high percentage shooter. Nothing fancy, he just knows what to do
and where to pass the ball. He does lack elite speed. If Mark Miller is smart, he should chime
right in and say what he thinks. A former N-H newspaper worker.

[WarriorFan]

I agree that Xavier is a much better team and it was no surprise they won.

What was disappointing for me was that the scouting report - that Xavier will use  1-3-1 zone for half or more of the game- didn't translate into an effective offense against that specific defense.  There are 3 gaps in the 1-3 1... weak side base line, free throw line extended, and wing on the 3pt line, and when there's a strong side drive, the dish to the weak side baseline is usually open.  The only place we had guys was on the 3pt line wing, and we were missing.  Most teams don't use 1-3-1 because it's so easy to get buckets on the base line against it, but MU had no plan to exploit this.  WHY?  Who had the scout?  Who designs the offense?  How did they miss this? 

[connie]

A few thoughts that may provide some perspective on what this game means (I know, a long shot with many posters on this board):

1. Xavier has lost 1 game this entire season, at #16 Villanova. Along the way, they've beaten #24 Michigan on the road, #23 Cincinnati and #9 Butler. No one else has come closer than Marquette to beating them, home or away. Xavier deserves its ranking to this point. They're a really good team. They were supposed to win against MU, and they did. No shame in that.

2. MU held Xavier under their season average for scoring (80 ppg), FG% (45.3%) and 3PT% (36.4%), while forcing 15 turnovers. In other words, Marquette turned in a pretty good defensive performance.

3. Henry, Jajuan, Luke and Wally combined to hit 20 of 40 shots (50.0%). By contrast, the rest of the team was just 4-30 (13.3%) from the field, including 2-18 from 3-point range (11.1%). That's almost unbelievably awful. So awful, in fact, that you're unlikely to see another performance that bad the rest of the season. Probability may offer cold comfort, but at least it's something.

This season is far from over. Making the NCAAs is by no means a guarantee. But it's still a realistic possibility at this point if we can get back to .500 in conference play. Let's see how the team responds over the next couple weeks.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled despair and overreacting.

Far too little credit being given to X, but our shooting really can be atrocious.  There were a number of possessions where we didn't jack up a quick 3 that saw the offence essentially stagnant.  Very frustrating.

[Marcus92]

Far too little credit being given to X, but our shooting really can be atrocious.  There were a number of possessions where we didn't jack up a quick 3 that saw the offence essentially stagnant.  Very frustrating.

Frustrating is putting it lightly. Xavier's 21-0 run was a crusher, all the more disappointing after Marquette started the game so strong.

It brought to mind the NCAA game when Michigan State held MU scoreless for nearly the first 10 minutes of the game. That was "only" a 14-0 run, but it's still a huge hurdle to overcome. Like the Xavier game, Crean waited too long to call a timeout and give his team a chance to regroup.

I get that coaches want to give the team a chance to fight through adversity. But I do think Wojo erred in not helping his young team settle down. Knowing when to use timeouts is a critical responsibility.

As much as this team has to learn some lessons the hard way, Wojo has to do the same as a head coach. Let's hope he's a fast learner.

[wadesworld]

I agree that Xavier is a much better team and it was no surprise they won.

What was disappointing for me was that the scouting report - that Xavier will use  1-3-1 zone for half or more of the game- didn't translate into an effective offense against that specific defense.  There are 3 gaps in the 1-3 1... weak side base line, free throw line extended, and wing on the 3pt line, and when there's a strong side drive, the dish to the weak side baseline is usually open.  The only place we had guys was on the 3pt line wing, and we were missing.  Most teams don't use 1-3-1 because it's so easy to get buckets on the base line against it, but MU had no plan to exploit this.  WHY?  Who had the scout?  Who designs the offense?  How did they miss this?

Seems like 16 of Xavier's 17 opponents' coaches must be clueless.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Seems like 16 of Xavier's 17 opponents' coaches must be clueless.

Especially since our 8 point loss was toed for the closest any of those 16 coaches came to beating X

[GooooMarquette]

That is up there with the misbegotten notion that Derrick's assists weren't real assists.

A Scoop classic - assists that really shouldn't have counted because they didn't meet the requisite degree of difficulty!

[muwarrior69]

SOMETHING POSITIVE.   Sam Hauser had 35 pts, 9 assists and 8 boards for Stevens Point
as they beat Champlin, Minn. 89-73. Theo John had 7 and McKinly Wright had 22. Trev Anderson
22 and Joey Hauser 25 for SPASH.Wright and John were mentioned on the board as MU prospects.
I don't wish for players. But Thomas of UW has a great build for BE play and we could use a body-
 like that, who would have an attitude for rebounding.  Not Thomas a good recruit with a build
like that, not 5-10 guards. I think Traci will be fine. He missed most of his SR year with an injury in
HS.

Once Sam puts an MU uniform on his ability to score points will be non-existent.

[bilsu]

I agree that Xavier is a much better team and it was no surprise they won.

What was disappointing for me was that the scouting report - that Xavier will use  1-3-1 zone for half or more of the game- didn't translate into an effective offense against that specific defense.  There are 3 gaps in the 1-3 1... weak side base line, free throw line extended, and wing on the 3pt line, and when there's a strong side drive, the dish to the weak side baseline is usually open.  The only place we had guys was on the 3pt line wing, and we were missing.  Most teams don't use 1-3-1 because it's so easy to get buckets on the base line against it, but MU had no plan to exploit this.  WHY?  Who had the scout?  Who designs the offense?  How did they miss this?

Wojo mentioned this in his postgame show. He said the freshmen have never played against this before. He also said that while they can try to prepare for it, they were not prepared to play against players with that length and quickness. Basically, MU does not have the players to replicate it in practice. Think about the starters practicing against a 1-3-1 ran by Heldt, Wally, Anim, JJJ, and Wilson (who have probably do not have much experience running a 1-3-1 zone) and then try to do it against Xavier's starters who have much more experience in using this type of defense.

[Jay Bee]

Assists = more about style than offensive efficiency. Plenty of great offensive teams that don't assist on a lot of their buckets.

High assist rates for a team can actually be indicative of bad things offensively

[Dr. Blackheart]

Wojo mentioned this in his postgame show. He said the freshmen have never played against this before. He also said that while they can try to prepare for it, they were not prepared to play against players with that length and quickness. Basically, MU does not have the players to replicate it in practice. Think about the starters practicing against a 1-3-1 ran by Heldt, Wally, Anim, JJJ, and Wilson (who have probably do not have much experience running a 1-3-1 zone) and then try to do it against Xavier's starters who have much more experience in using this type of defense.

See the Amigos, Three.