ESPN thinks the Big East is rough

[tower912]

http://www.espn.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/120580/weekend-lookahead-big-east-parity-could-claim-more-victims-soon

Fake news!    There are no good teams in the Big East!    Any time MU loses a conference road game to these patsies there should be floggings!    Shame!

[wadesworld]

I don?t think it?s that big of a problem to complain about a loss at Butler. We went up 7 in the second half, we had all the momentum, and we played absolutely brutal from there on out. To be completely honest we played horrendous for about 32 minutes and had 8 or so very good minutes of basketball.

It?s one thing for people to hide and only pop up after losses. And to sit around complaining when the best team in the country simply controls a game from start to finish as they typically do.

In my opinion, talking about how awful the defense was or how much Jordan out game planned Wojo or how terrible Rowsey?s decision making was in a game that we very easily could?ve won on the road is completely fair game. Just because the BE is tough doesn?t mean we should just accept losing by 11 when we had a 7 point second half lead.

[Ardmore Mug]

Test?s ??   

[skianth16]

I don?t think it?s that big of a problem to complain about a loss at Butler. We went up 7 in the second half, we had all the momentum, and we played absolutely brutal from there on out. To be completely honest we played horrendous for about 32 minutes and had 8 or so very good minutes of basketball.

It?s one thing for people to hide and only pop up after losses. And to sit around complaining when the best team in the country simply controls a game from start to finish as they typically do.

In my opinion, talking about how awful the defense was or how much Jordan out game planned Wojo or how terrible Rowsey?s decision making was in a game that we very easily could?ve won on the road is completely fair game. Just because the BE is tough doesn?t mean we should just accept losing by 11 when we had a 7 point second half lead.

I'm with you on this. With ten minutes to play, I would assume our probability of winning the game was greater than Butler's. Being frustrated with Wojo's continued struggle to help our defense find answers midgame is not irrational. Cringing when we give up big runs late in a game is to be expected.

Is a loss to Butler at Hinkle a bad loss? Of course not. But any loss coming after holding a 7 point lead midway through the second half is painful and unexpected.

[GGGG]

Blowing a seven point lead with 10:06 to go isn't unheard of.  Blowing it in 74 seconds however...

[Loose Cannon]

I don?t think it?s that big of a problem to complain about a loss at Butler. We went up 7 in the second half, we had all the momentum, and we played absolutely brutal from there on out. To be completely honest we played horrendous for about 32 minutes and had 8 or so very good minutes of basketball.

Couldn't agree more, similar to last year execution after the Villanova win.

[wadesworld]

 

Blowing a seven point lead with 10:06 to go isn't unheard of.  Blowing it in 74 seconds however...

No doubt. It?s not the most absurd loss ever. It?s not a bad loss. But it?s a loss we could?ve had as a win. Same with Xavier. And we certainly could?ve lost at Providence.

But this was by far the most frustrating game of the season to me. Rowsey?s unwillingness to look for anything other than a head down drive into 3 defenders for what felt like a giant number of possessions was tough to watch and our willingness to just concede switches defensively and give up mismatches seemed way too easy.

What Hauser is doing offensively is quite amazing to me given how tough he defends every team?s best forward offensive player. But yesterday I thought MU was far too willing to let Martin get the switch when it wasn?t necessary and it put the team in bad spots defensively.

And in my opinion any offensive possession that ends up with the ball never leaving Rowsey?s hand before either a shot attempt or turnover is a win for the defense. Yes, he?s an awesome scorer. But if I?m the opposition I?m making him take a lot of shots and not letting others get involved. Rowsey is by far at his best when he?s catching the ball off of a pass and can shoot off the catch or use his shot fake while still having his dribble. Just watching him call for a high screen, getting hedged out to half court, and recall the screen is ridiculous. Opponents defend our high pick and roll the same way our fans so angrily see us defend theirs, but their ball handlers actually keep their head up and the ball actually moves to the open guys. I?ll take the Vermont version of Rowsey (12-17 points, 5-8 assists on like 6-12 shooting and a couple trips to the line) over a 31 point night on 22 shots with 3 assists and 5 turnovers any day of the week.

[tower912]

Up 7, I did not feel we were going to win.    When Harry blew the left handed scoop, there was no doubt in my mind we would lose.   Winning on the road requires not missing bunnies.    That stopped MU's momentum.     Butler did what a good team should do at home.   They took advantage of the mistake, pressed their advantage, and used the momentum of the home floor to pull away.   

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

We got down huge in the first half (14 IIRC). It would have been very easy to fold and end with a coast to coast beatdown. I give Wojo and the boys credit for answering the bell and answering back. Butler had a few more runs early in the 2nd half and Marquette answered every one and eventually took a 7 point lead. Credit to Butler, they didn't break and had a massive counterpunch ready. Our boys looked like they had spent everything they had just to get that lead.

Tough loss last night. Still feel like I have whiplash from all the runs. I think we get them back in Milwaukee.

[rocket surgeon]

Up 7, I did not feel we were going to win.    When Harry blew the left handed scoop, there was no doubt  in my mind we would lose.   Winning on the road requires not missing bunnies.    That stopped MU's momentum.     Butler did what a good team should do at home.   They took advantage of the mistake, pressed their advantage, and used the momentum of the home floor to pull away.   

   easy big guy  that swing did take the wind out of us fans but it happened like a seasoned pick-pocket straight outta oliver twist.  harry's miss did sting, but man, we needed something to stop the bleeding and no one stepped up.  hinkle field house is a tough tough place to play-just ask the south bend central bears,  not making excuses, but...

[tower912]

Agreed.

[Eye]

Pomeroy had MU with a 75 percent chance to win when up 67-60 Friday.

[brewcity77]

Pomeroy had MU with a 75 percent chance to win when up 67-60 Friday.

What was interesting was how quick that spike happened on both ends. Butler had a 69.8% chance of winning with under 12:00 to play. Less than 2 minutes later Marquette had a 75.8% chance of winning. And just over a minute after that, it was back to Butler with a 60.5% chance of winning.

As bad as it is that we gave up a huge run that buried us, let's not forget it took a similar run to put us in that position in the first place. We went 11-2 on them in 71 seconds, they responded with the 10-0 run in 104 seconds (that continued to grow, but that put us behind).

That loss sucked, but as others have noted, there have been worse, and really we never had control of that game. Just need to beat DePaul and get Butler back when they come here at the end of the month. It took a huge run and a career night from Kelan Martin to beat us. It happens, we still just have to get to 10 to be locked in. We're in great shape regardless of how disappointing that finish was. And yes, it was probably just as disappointing to fans in the building when we went 11-2 in the blink of an eye to establish that 7-point lead in the first place.

[tower912]

Well done, brew. 

[MU82]

Rowsey was frustrating, the missed shot by Froling was brutal and momentum-sapping, and the defense was often non-existent. Still, I largely agree with both TAMU and brew on the big picture.

[Tugg Speedman]

Rowsey was frustrating, the missed shot by Froling was brutal and momentum-sapping, and the defense was often non-existent. Still, I largely agree with both TAMU and brew on the big picture.

Deja Vu ... Erik Williams missing a layout at Louisville when up by 18?

[brewcity77]

Deja Vu ... Erik Williams missing a layout at Louisville when up by 18?

No. No one has ever put that epic collapse on Erik Williams. It was a cacaphony of catastrophe that allowed that. If any one player bears that blame, it's Dwight Buycks, but the reality is that was really a complete team effort from the coaching staff on down.

[#UnleashSean]

Deja Vu ... Erik Williams missing a layout at Louisville when up by 18?

I remember Dwight buyckes missing a wide open layup while in the lead with something like 20 seconds left and could have just held the ball.

But Wisconsin people love to put the blame on one person.

[Eye]

Agreed Buycks was the guy I was screaming at at the YUM Center that day.