Do they even try to play defense?

[Mu2323]

They are giving up 90 pts a game over their last 4 games. I get that last night they were never in doubt until the last few minutes since we were up by 15+ for most of the game but I have never seen a stretch where a team has given up 90 pts over 4 straight games.

[jsglow]

Luke's foul trouble last night was a big factor.  When he's able to stay on the floor and play good position defense we're typically much better.  Last night was also impacted by the number of free throws taken by each side.

[CTWarrior]

We try, but we're not great defenders.  Luke and Henry are not intimidators or great help defenders due to their relative lack of athleticism.  Our guards get their fair share of steals (and then some) but aren't great positional defenders.

That and SJU seemed to hit every friggin' shot.  I was surprised whenever they missed in the second half.  Some of that is defense, sure, but they were unconscious in the second half.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

We try, but we're not great defenders.  Luke and Henry are not intimidators or great help defenders due to their relative lack of athleticism.  Our guards get their fair share of steals (and then some) but aren't great positional defenders.

That and SJU seemed to hit every friggin' shot.  I was surprised whenever they missed in the second half.  Some of that is defense, sure, but they were unconscious in the second half.

This definitely played into it - they were playing like it was their last game of the year and hitting everything (SJU always like this in the tourney).  The zone was bad too - particularly because they shot so well.

We are at our best when Luke is in and stays at home down low - allowing HE to roam a bit.  This is all predicated on our guards staying in front of their man.  Too often last night it was their guard blowing by our guard defense - HE helping and stopping the penetration - they pass to HE's man while both the guard and HE are out of position.  Maddening.

[GooooMarquette]

SJU had 19 points off FTs.  Tons of fouls on both teams played a factor in the high score.

[muwar2003]

It seemed they were open all the time.  They drove to the basket and no one picked them up.  Also way too many fouls.  But that was because of the refs. 

[MUfan12]

I was pretty pissed about the defense last night, but then I thought, "How would I guard someone in a game called like this?"

No one knew what a foul was from one half to the next. It's really hard to play defense when any minuscule amount of contact is whistled.

[wadesworld]

No.  They don't try.

[wildbillsb]

If we were a good basketball team, we wouldn't be playing in one of the Wednesday games. Maybe next year?

[tower912]

I was pretty pissed about the defense last night, but then I thought, "How would I guard someone in a game called like this?"

No one knew what a foul was from one half to the next. It's really hard to play defense when any minuscule amount of contact is whistled.

Exactly.   Any contact by either team was called.   MU could have played more physical on defense, but Mache and possible Marotta would have ended up in the game by the end. 

[jsglow]

Exactly.   Any contact by either team was called.   MU could have played more physical on defense, but Mache and possible Marotta would have ended up in the game by the end.

+1

[JakeBarnes]

Exactly.   Any contact by either team was called.   MU could have played more physical on defense, but Mache and possible Marotta would have ended up in the game by the end.

Heck, SJU handchecking MU was called on MU a few times when SJU was on offense. yet Ali didn't get called for his first 12 moving screens.

Weirdly officiated game. Just take the win and move on.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

If we were a good basketball team, we wouldn't be playing in one of the Wednesday games. Maybe next year?

Insightful! Go back under your rock, please.

[dgies9156]

This definitely played into it - they were playing like it was their last game of the year and hitting everything (SJU always like this in the tourney).  The zone was bad too - particularly because they shot so well.

We are at our best when Luke is in and stays at home down low - allowing HE to roam a bit.  This is all predicated on our guards staying in front of their man.  Too often last night it was their guard blowing by our guard defense - HE helping and stopping the penetration - they pass to HE's man while both the guard and HE are out of position.  Maddening.

Too many of the looks in the second half run were wide open looks... or our defenders, as has been pointed out, were out of position. You give a team enough wide open looks and they erase a 17 point lead.

The single biggest reason we're in the pickle we're in record-wise is our defense. I agree to some point that Luke is in foul trouble because he's the last line of defense and is required to step up and defend a guard that had driven past our first line (though that fifth foul last night was mind boggling). This is one of the areas where inexperience has affected us. College level defense takes time -- only a few very, very good players grasp it fully as freshmen. Dean Smith wrote about it when Michael Jordan came to UNC -- that Jordan was a rare exception who picked defense up almost immediately.

The refs didn't help last night, I'll agree. But, you learn to adapt. The fact that we have given up 90 points four times in a row tells me it is not just the refs.

[MUfan12]

The single biggest reason we're in the pickle we're in record-wise is our defense.

Statistically, MU's defense has been above average this season.

The two areas I would blame are turnovers and outside shooting. If MU was consistently better in those areas, this would be a tournament team.

[MU82]

Two of Luke's fouls were offensive fouls (one legit, one flop) and another was an over-the-back call on a rebound he had zero chance of getting.

We need Luke to save his fouls for aggressive defensive plays, not those kind of "unforced errors." Just his presence on the court makes our defense somewhat better.

As others have said, our guards are not very good at keeping opponents in front of them (Haanif is OK, others less so), and we also tend to give up lots of wide-open 3s. We also can't even try to play zone when both bigs are out there because neither can play wing.

We need X to have one of its bad-shooting games tonight! Especially Bluett. Last time we played, we had Henry on Bluett and Bluett got pretty much any shot he wanted all night.

[MerrittsMustache]

Statistically, MU's defense has been above average this season.

The two areas I would blame are turnovers and outside shooting. If MU was consistently better in those areas, this would be a tournament team.

For the entire season, I'd believe that but primarily because the cupcakes skewed the stats.

Defensively in BE play MU is...
8th in Points allowed
8th in Opp FG%
7th in Opp 3FG%
1st in Steals
7th in Rebounding

Are steals highly-weighted in advanced stats? Asking because I truly don't know.

MU forces a lot of TOs but when they don't force a TO, the opponents typically scores.

[GGGG]

I personally think Wojo has been playing much more aggressively in the half court to create turnovers, and that in turn is sacrificing some "soundness" on defense.  The offense has bogged down so much in the half court at times, that he probably thinks it plays to the strength of the backcourt.  Which is pretty hard to disagree with.

[jficke13]

...

Are steals highly-weighted in advanced stats? Asking because I truly don't know.

MU forces a lot of TOs but when they don't force a TO, the opponents typically scores.

I think steals are. They represent a full net +1 possession. So if you're averaging 1 point per possession, a steal is worth a point. (Stat-philes feel free to correct me.)

[MU82]

I personally think Wojo has been playing much more aggressively in the half court to create turnovers, and that in turn is sacrificing some "soundness" on defense.  The offense has bogged down so much in the half court at times, that he probably thinks it plays to the strength of the backcourt.  Which is pretty hard to disagree with.

Good observation, Sultan.

In fact, when Wojo was asked before the game what he thought the team needed to do, he said something about creating offense by "getting out and running."

[GGGG]

Good observation, Sultan.

In fact, when Wojo was asked before the game what he thought the team needed to do, he said something about creating offense by "getting out and running."

By the way, for those who don't think Wojo ever makes adjustments, there ya go.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

They are giving up 90 pts a game over their last 4 games. I get that last night they were never in doubt until the last few minutes since we were up by 15+ for most of the game but I have never seen a stretch where a team has given up 90 pts over 4 straight games.

We've given up 90+ in two straight games. Not four. NOVA and GTWN were close but they were 89 and 87 respectively. Last night was a product of the officiating. There were over 50 fouls called in the game. That's going to lead to a lot more points. Nova is one of the most efficient offenses in the nation so I don't really hold that against MU. GTWN we won in a high tempo contest so I don't really care about giving up 87. The Butler game was the only bad one IMHO but even then the officiating played a role in inflating the score.

[Marcus92]

No. They don't try.

Perhaps this is Wojo's intended strategy. We focus 100% on offense, while the opposing team divides its focus between offense and defense. Divide and conquer. Winning.