Why I am not concerned

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

1.  This team beat Milwaukee by 15 and was apparently competitive against Northwestern in the scrimmage.  Human nature kicked in and MU thought they would coast over a lowly D-2 school...except Lindenwood approached this game like their Super Bowl.  So we saw Marquette's worst vs Lindenwood's best and Marquette still won.

2.  No Rowsey.  Marquette missed their only senior and his leadership.  They missed having their best PG and one of their best players.

3.  Practically no Theo John.  I'm guessing Wojo wanted to take it easy since John is recovering from the sprained ankle.  Theo's toughness and hustle was missed today.

4.  No Froling.  We still don't know what his contributions will be but MU was down Rowsey, Froling, and essentially John today.  Those are a lot of contributions that we'll have come February.

5.  Lindenwood won the 3FG battle 14 to 4.  That is 30 points right there.  Let's say Lindenwood misses two more and Markus makes two.  Suddenly it's a comfortable double digit win.  I see today as a statistical anomaly.  Beware of projecting a small sample size for an entire season.

[Herman Cain]

1.  This team beat Milwaukee by 15 and was apparently competitive against Northwestern in the scrimmage.  Human nature kicked in and MU thought they would coast over a lowly D-2 school...except Lindenwood approached this game like their Super Bowl.  So we saw Marquette's worst vs Lindenwood's best and Marquette still won.

2.  No Rowsey.  Marquette missed their only senior and his leadership.  They missed having their best PG and one of their best players.

3.  Practically no Theo John.  I'm guessing Wojo wanted to take it easy since John is recovering from the sprained ankle.  Theo's toughness and hustle was missed today.

4.  No Froling.  We still don't know what his contributions will be but MU was down Rowsey, Froling, and essentially John today.  Those are a lot of contributions that we'll have come February.

5.  Lindenwood won the 3FG battle 14 to 4.  That is 30 points right there.  Let's say Lindenwood misses two more and Markus makes two.  Suddenly it's a comfortable double digit win.  I see today as a statistical anomaly.  Beware of projecting a small sample size for an entire season.

I agree with this analysis.

[B. McBannerson]

The result was good in the sense it allows the staff to get their heads on straight, teach valuable lessons not to take opponents lightly, guard the perimeter and find ways to win when some of your better players aren't hitting shots.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Fans might be more happy with a 30 point win but from a coaching standpoint todays win will go alot farther for making the team better over the next week or so.

[DCHoopster]

I am a little concerned that Marcus Howard really is not a point guard.  Had trouble on double teams, could not guard there quicker guards and then shot the ball like
crap.  Rowsey and Cheatham might be the answer here and just play Marcus as the 2 guard.  In saying that, not sure what will happen the following year.  i would be
looking for a graduate point in spring if there is an opening.  Marcus in the scrimmage at the Bradley Center did not shoot the ball well either.  Needs to make that first shot to get going.  Also, one thing that Rowsey brings is toughness. The team that played today was soft.

[TheyWereCones]

1.  This team beat Milwaukee by 15 and was apparently competitive against Northwestern in the scrimmage.  Human nature kicked in and MU thought they would coast over a lowly D-2 school...except Lindenwood approached this game like their Super Bowl.  So we saw Marquette's worst vs Lindenwood's best and Marquette still won.

2.  No Rowsey.  Marquette missed their only senior and his leadership.  They missed having their best PG and one of their best players.

3.  Practically no Theo John.  I'm guessing Wojo wanted to take it easy since John is recovering from the sprained ankle.  Theo's toughness and hustle was missed today.

4.  No Froling.  We still don't know what his contributions will be but MU was down Rowsey, Froling, and essentially John today.  Those are a lot of contributions that we'll have come February.

5.  Lindenwood won the 3FG battle 14 to 4.  That is 30 points right there.  Let's say Lindenwood misses two more and Markus makes two.  Suddenly it's a comfortable double digit win.  I see today as a statistical anomaly.  Beware of projecting a small sample size for an entire season.

I agree with a lot of this too, and I would add that our entire bench today was pure freshman and one of our starting 5 hasn’t played in about 20 months, and barely played before that.  So you are going to see us working through a lot of inexperience in the early part of this season.  We’re going to drop some before conference play, but the goal is to hit our stride around then.  Also, I think this game really showcased how important Rowsey will be to this team this year, both for his ability to run our offense and for his general toughness/attitude.

It’s a small victory but I was happy to see them battle back from down 11 and find a way to win, with Greg & Sacar being a big part of that...again, two players who’ve never been in that position before.  So from one perspective, it was great exhibition experience, much more meaningful than a blowout.

[genious expert]

I am a little concerned that Marcus Howard really is not a point guard.  Had trouble on double teams, could not guard there quicker guards and then shot the ball like
crap.  Rowsey and Cheatham might be the answer here and just play Marcus as the 2 guard.  In saying that, not sure what will happen the following year.  i would be
looking for a graduate point in spring if there is an opening.  Marcus in the scrimmage at the Bradley Center did not shoot the ball well either.  Needs to make that first shot to get going.  Also, one thing that Rowsey brings is toughness. The team that played today was soft.

It’s Markus, not Marcus

[Nukem2]

I'm still concerned about the defense.

[muwarrior69]

1.  This team beat Milwaukee by 15 and was apparently competitive against Northwestern in the scrimmage.  Human nature kicked in and MU thought they would coast over a lowly D-2 school...except Lindenwood approached this game like their Super Bowl.  So we saw Marquette's worst vs Lindenwood's best and Marquette still won.

They were prepared, we were not and that is an area of concern.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Anyone who actually believes that yesterday's performance was a good sign for the upcoming season is obviously pumping sunshine. It's ok to have concerns based on only beating Lindenwood by 2. But anyone who actually believes that yesterday's performance is a definitive sign that we are going to have a bad season is also delusional.

I don't know any specific examples, but D1 teams have lost to D2 teams in exhibition and then gone on to have terrible seasons. Not too long ago, Syracuse lost to a D2 team in exhibition and then earned a #1 seed and made the Final Four. Given that we won yesterday, I can safely conclude that we are somewhere between a losing season and winning a national championship.

[brewcity77]

Anyone who actually believes that yesterday's performance was a good sign for the upcoming season is obviously pumping sunshine. It's ok to have concerns based on only beating Lindenwood by 2. But anyone who actually believes that yesterday's performance is a definitive sign that we are going to have a bad season is also delusional.

I don't know any specific examples, but D1 teams have lost to D2 teams in exhibition and then gone on to have terrible seasons. Not too long ago, Syracuse lost to a D2 team in exhibition and then earned a #1 seed and made the Final Four. Given that we won yesterday, I can safely conclude that we are somewhere between a losing season and winning a national championship.

They lost to Le Moyne and went to the Sweet 16, but you are correct that it is not a definitive indicator of our floor or ceiling.

[bilsu]

It’s Markus, not Marcus

Not the way he played yesterday.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I think it means Lindenwood would kick UWMs ass!!!

[bilsu]

We would of won by 30, if Lindenwood was missing their shots. Then, we would be talking today about how good our defense was, when it was not.
The other thing Rowsey brings to the table is that he is totally disruptive to the other teams defense. He is capable of hitting from 25' and is willing to shoot it from almost anywhere.

[wadesworld]

They lost to Le Moyne and went to the Sweet 16, but you are correct that it is not a definitive indicator of our floor or ceiling.

Edit: nevermind, Wikipedia has the correct Final Four listed (Butler, West Virginia, Duke, MSU) but has a bracket showing Kansas over Syracuse in the Final Four.

[4th and State]

I am a little concerned that Marcus Howard really is not a point guard.  Had trouble on double teams, could not guard there quicker guards and then shot the ball like
crap.  Rowsey and Cheatham might be the answer here and just play Marcus as the 2 guard.  In saying that, not sure what will happen the following year.  i would be
looking for a graduate point in spring if there is an opening.  Marcus in the scrimmage at the Bradley Center did not shoot the ball well either.  Needs to make that first shot to get going.  Also, one thing that Rowsey brings is toughness. The team that played today was soft.

Agreed on looking for grad transfer at the PG.  Didn't Elliott play point in HS?  Perhaps he could play PG next year, but would probably still be a bit raw.

[MUBigDance]

Great learning game and fun to watch. But they count now. I think this team will be a test for the coaching. Can they squeeze wins out of a young team and create chemistry. D is uncertain, point is a question, and the 5 is by committee. Need a few games to see how it shakes out.

[skianth16]

Great learning game and fun to watch. But they count now. I think this team will be a test for the coaching. Can they squeeze wins out of a young team and create chemistry. D is uncertain, point is a question, and the 5 is by committee. Need a few games to see how it shakes out.

Dear God. Did we watch the same game? I had a hard time sitting through the whole thing, partly due to our less-than-inspiring play, partly due to questionable officiating. The first half was just frustrating watching a mediocre D2 team take a double digit lead while we allowed them to take open 3's over and over. Then the second half just had no flow. Fouls were called non-stop. I think there was a stretch in the first 10 min of the 2nd half where 6 fouls were called in one minute of play. Weren't we in the double bonus about 8 minutes into the half? And all without really drawing fouls in the lane. For me, that was one of the least enjoyable MU games I've watched in years.

[Jay Bee]

FWIW, LWU shot 68.5% eFG% this weekend. MU's defense allowed a higher eFG% only once last season (vs. Nova). LWU shot ridiculously well.

It was a unique game where LWU was hitting their shots at a high rate. Nonetheless, we know MU's defense is not good. It's completely reasonable to be very concerned about MU's D (nh). The fact that LWU hit so well doesn't make me believe MU's defense is not good... but it certainly didn't raise my hopes.

My main concern is how/where I'm going to watch Friday's game.

[jsglow]

FWIW, LWU shot 68.5% eFG% this weekend. MU's defense allowed a higher eFG% only once last season (vs. Nova). LWU shot ridiculously well.

It was a unique game where LWU was hitting their shots at a high rate. Nonetheless, we know MU's defense is not good. It's completely reasonable to be very concerned about MU's D (nh). The fact that LWU hit so well doesn't make me believe MU's defense is not good... but it certainly didn't raise my hopes.

My main concern is how/where I'm going to watch Friday's game.

It is true that in the first half it seemed like every shot went in as if they had 5 Novak's launching.