Take the win and run against NIU thoughts

[Dr. Blackheart]

Bad snarl up on 94 before the curve. So much oil on the road, almost lost it trying to accelerate it after the wreck.

Got off before the backup as they closed all the lanes. 

[🏀]

Got off before the backup as they closed all the lanes. 

Tried getting off at Holt, couldn't make it over in time. Looked like a Mercedes tried to fancy between two semis

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Any actual word on Rowsey?

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Any actual word on Rowsey?

According to Dr. Bardo its potentially an achilles.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Tom Eades may have edged out James Breeding as the worst major conference official.  Les Jones looked like was trying to burn off all his excessive Thanksgiving Day calories. If there was ever a worst set of officials in one game, I would be stunned.

Poor Roger Ayers being matched with these two. If Eades shows up at a Big East Conference game, Stu Jackson should be fired.  I trust Stu.

[Oldgym]

Any actual word on Rowsey?

Wojo said "tests tonight" in his postgame presser.  Nothing further.  It sounded ominous, but I might be reading in too much.

[rstein27]

Don't know anything, but I'd think that if they were worried about it, you'd think they'd have wrapped it up and iced it?

[🏀]

Don't know anything, but I'd think that if they were worried about it, you'd think they'd have wrapped it up and iced it?

Probably thought they would just chop it off in the tunnel

[We R Final Four]

Tried getting off at Holt, couldn't make it over in time. Looked like a Mercedes tried to fancy between two semis

Illinois plates, hey?

[wadesworld]

Illinois plates, hey?

Amen.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Illinois plates, hey?

If so, then a MU fan. Stay classy.

[alexius23]

I noticed two powerful looking guys dressed in street clothes on the bench. Who were they?

[Dr. Blackheart]

I noticed two powerful looking guys dressed in street clothes on the bench. Who were they?

Ed and Ike?

[dgies9156]

A couple of thoughts from last night:

1) The officiating wasn't just bad, it was inconsistent. You can get into a rhythm with even bad officiating, but when the refs are inconsistent as they were last night, it's tough to watch a game. Period.

2) Bardo made an interesting point about halfway through the game in that Theo was so strong and powerful, it's outside what the officials are used to seeing. He suggested that once the refs see more of him and what he can do, the fouls will go down. Probably some truth to Dr. Bardo's thoughts.

3) If Rowsey were really hurt, he would not have been back on the bench at the end of the game.

4) The defense NIU put on us was interesting and suggests a formula for Big East Play. They were in our face a good part of the evening. Bad news: cuts down on the 3s. Good news: opens up the lanes to drive. I actually suspect Wojo went into this game with the goal of getting AR and Markus to drive the basket rather than park out in never ever land and drop 3s.

[muwarrior69]

I hope Harry gets to play on Thursday as the NIU game was more competitive than expected. We need all 9 guys this season. I was surprised Wojo did not put him in when we were up 12-14 point with about 2 minutes to play.

Theo is our banger on the boards.

[jsglow]

Key to the game was switching Sacar on to German.  Markus simply could not deny him the ball and could not stay in front of him.

And that's what happens when our shots don't fall.

[CTWarrior]

We took a lot of bad threes last night.  I hate those threes where we're sprinting away from the hoop to catch the pass then wheel and fire.  Those and the "What the hell, I guess I'll shoot" threes.  We do not need to force those.  We can run more offense and look for something better.  We shot a good percentage on the in rhythm attempts, though Hauser (who seemingly never takes a bad shot) missed some excellent in-rhythm opportunities.

I officially get a little nervous now when Howard goes to the line.  I don't want him to miss.  He had a couple actually bounce on the rim last night.

Like everyone else, very disappointed in how little we saw of Froling and how uncomfortable he looked on the floor.

NIU very quick and athletic, certainly more so than us. 

The freshmen played well last night.  I think they are all destined to be valuable role players rather than stars, the kind of guys you need to be successful.

Rust game, didn't play well, but the game wasn't in doubt last 6 minutes or so.  Take it and move on.

[MUDPT]

A couple of thoughts from last night:

1) The officiating wasn't just bad, it was inconsistent. You can get into a rhythm with even bad officiating, but when the refs are inconsistent as they were last night, it's tough to watch a game. Period.

2) Bardo made an interesting point about halfway through the game in that Theo was so strong and powerful, it's outside what the officials are used to seeing. He suggested that once the refs see more of him and what he can do, the fouls will go down. Probably some truth to Dr. Bardo's thoughts.

3) If Rowsey were really hurt, he would not have been back on the bench at the end of the game.

4) The defense NIU put on us was interesting and suggests a formula for Big East Play. They were in our face a good part of the evening. Bad news: cuts down on the 3s. Good news: opens up the lanes to drive. I actually suspect Wojo went into this game with the goal of getting AR and Markus to drive the basket rather than park out in never ever land and drop 3s.

The fact that he was on the bench, doesn't mean he doesn't have a major injury. I will say, the fact he wasn't using crutches is a good sign.

[jsglow]

We took a lot of bad threes last night.  I hate those threes where we're sprinting away from the hoop to catch the pass then wheel and fire.  Those and the "What the hell, I guess I'll shoot" threes.  We do not need to force those.  We can run more offense and look for something better.  We shot a good percentage on the in rhythm attempts, though Hauser (who seemingly never takes a bad shot) missed some excellent in-rhythm opportunities.

I officially get a little nervous now when Howard goes to the line.  I don't want him to miss.  He had a couple actually bounce on the rim last night.

Like everyone else, very disappointed in how little we saw of Froling and how uncomfortable he looked on the floor.

NIU very quick and athletic, certainly more so than us. 

The freshmen played well last night.  I think they are all destined to be valuable role players rather than stars, the kind of guys you need to be successful.

Rust game, didn't play well, but the game wasn't in doubt last 6 minutes or so.  Take it and move on.

CT, that 'wheel route' play is one of our most productive.  The problem last night is that our shooters were rushing it too often and not getting squared up.  Some nights our elite shooters' shots won't fall.  Last night was one of those nights.

The key was that despite this, we held NIU to 38% from the field.  We won't lose many (any?) games when we successfully accomplish that.  Credit to Sacar, Matty, Theo, Sam and Jamal for that nice effort at the defensive end.

[Dr. Blackheart]

>Wojo not pleased with the offensive flow.
>The rebounding effort was substandard to say the least, letting NIU in the game.
>Seemed like German walked on just about every play. Thought the trap slowed him down and allowed MU to build their cushion.
>Hope Andrew's knee checks out with the MRI. Curtains if he is out.
>Continue to like the freshmen minutes.
>Sam does not make many errors.  Markus still made it happen on not his best shooting night--that is what stars do.
>Late arriving but pretty good turnout, especially with students gone. So, is MU really going to put students courtside?  Will be a ghost town for the break Big East games.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

A couple of thoughts from last night:

1) The officiating wasn't just bad, it was inconsistent. You can get into a rhythm with even bad officiating, but when the refs are inconsistent as they were last night, it's tough to watch a game. Period.

2) Bardo made an interesting point about halfway through the game in that Theo was so strong and powerful, it's outside what the officials are used to seeing. He suggested that once the refs see more of him and what he can do, the fouls will go down. Probably some truth to Dr. Bardo's thoughts.

3) If Rowsey were really hurt, he would not have been back on the bench at the end of the game.

4) The defense NIU put on us was interesting and suggests a formula for Big East Play. They were in our face a good part of the evening. Bad news: cuts down on the 3s. Good news: opens up the lanes to drive. I actually suspect Wojo went into this game with the goal of getting AR and Markus to drive the basket rather than park out in never ever land and drop 3s.

Wrong Theo fouls a lot.  Last night he had some very bad calls on him but he also had a few fouls that were not called

[Dawson Rental]

1.   So, Froling doesn't walk on water. 
2.  Other than getting the win, the most important thing is that Rowsey was walking under his own power.  That was scary.   
3.   I hate having only 9 scholarship players.   Dammit, Haanif.  Could've used you tonight. 
4.   Dear lord, the officiating was spectacularly crappy.
5.   Once again, flashes from the freshmen.   I hope they all stay around 4 years.   I look forward to watching their growth.
6.   Amazingly, it was a defensive push that turned the game.   
7.  Heal quickly, Andrew.

FIFY

[Marcus92]

One concern I have is that Greg and Sacar are shooting 11.1% (1-9) and 8.3% (1-12) from three-point range.

Granted, it's a small sample size and there's lots of season left to play. Hit a couple in a row and triple your percentage. Plus, offense doesn't seem to be an issue with this team. But that's just awful. Two seasons ago, I was criticizing Henry for shooting under 30% on 3-pointers.

[forgetful]

The fact that he was on the bench, doesn't mean he doesn't have a major injury. I will say, the fact he wasn't using crutches is a good sign.

Agreed.  I've torn two ligaments in my knees.  One, I could walk on under my own power after the injury, but clearly knew it was injured.  The other (only partial tear), after about 30 seconds, I was able to get back up and play basketball for another 15 minutes. 

Hoping he is ok.

[barfolomew]

One concern I have is that Greg and Sacar are shooting 11.1% (1-9) and 8.3% (1-12) from three-point range.

Granted, it's a small sample size and there's lots of season left to play. Hit a couple in a row and triple your percentage. Plus, offense doesn't seem to be an issue with this team. But that's just awful. Two seasons ago, I was criticizing Henry for shooting under 30% on 3-pointers.

I'm perfectly fine with those guys taking one or two wide open 3s per game, regardless of their percentage right now.
Need to keep the defense honest to open driving lanes.