Nova Thoughts

[CTWarrior]

Funny about the officiating.  I didn't think it was egregious against us.  What's funny is that the call that bothered me the most is the first one against Rowsey.  Rowsey was guarding Brunson, and Brunson backed him down by repeated shouldering into him, backing him up a little each time, and when Rowsey finally bumped back, they called a foul on Rowsey, which was probably a deserved foul.

The reason that call bothered me the most of all the calls is that because Rowsey is not heavy/strong enough to hold his ground every time Brunson bumped him to back him up a little, Rowsey had no legal way to defend that play.  Brunson was clearly repeatedly initiating contact with his shoulder.  I think that should be an offensive foul.  Its never called that way, though, unless the defender flops and hopes for a call, which is a very risky play.

[CTWarrior]

Harry had a few nice plays in the paint; needed more from him on the glass today.

I think Harry is going to have to play more than Heldt down the stretch.  Teams are going to go all in to keep Rowsey/Howard/Hauser off the three point line.  That is going to open up a lot of penetration and opportunities for the drive and dish, and we need a big who can catch the tough pass and score, and Harry will do that better than Heldt.

I like the energy Theo brings, but once he gets the ball down low he is going to get a shot up come hell or high water whether he has one or not.  We need him to be a more willing passer when the shot is not there.  To do that, he needs confidence he'll get the ball back if he re-establishes good position. 

Heldt is probably the best defender man to man, but he isn't that great, Theo is the best help defender though he is foul-prone, and Froling is the best guy with the ball in his hand and probably the best rebounder, but is the worst defender.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I think Harry is going to have to play more than Heldt down the stretch.  Teams are going to go all in to keep Rowsey/Howard/Hauser off the three point line.  That is going to open up a lot of penetration and opportunities for the drive and dish, and we need a big who can catch the tough pass and score, and Harry will do that better than Heldt.

I like the energy Theo brings, but once he gets the ball down low he is going to get a shot up come hell or high water whether he has one or not.  We need him to be a more willing passer when the shot is not there.  To do that, he needs confidence he'll get the ball back if he re-establishes good position. 

Heldt is probably the best defender man to man, but he isn't that great, Theo is the best help defender though he is foul-prone, and Froling is the best guy with the ball in his hand and probably the best rebounder, but is the worst defender.

I think Wojo agrees.  Harry played 27 minutes to Heldt's 8 yesterday.

[Big tuna]

Marquette has now given up 85+ points in 7 games:

Purdue (86-71 L)
Xavier (91-87 L)
Providence (95-90 W)
@ Nova (100-90 L)
@ Butler (94-83 L)
@ Xavier (90-70 L)
Nova (85-82 L)

So we're 1-6 in those games for the season. This team can score with anybody. But the single biggest thing holding them back is the defense.

For the season, MU scores 82.4 ppg and gives up 76.8 ppg. So yesterday was pretty much a typical game offensively — even with significantly lower free throw attempts, we actually shot higher than our season averages for both 2-pointers and 3-pointers, kept turnovers in check and did reasonably well on the boards.

But we gave up 8 more points than usual on defense. Nova shot an astounding 58.3% (21-36) on 2-pointers. That accounted for half their points, with lots of layups on fast breaks and drives to the basket after switches. And they put us away at the line. MU's defensive FT rate isn't good to start with (a FTA/FGA of 36.3% according to KenPom.com, 241st in the country), and the Wildcats managed to slightly top that — finishing with with 40.0% (on 24 FTA/60 FGA).

The story was much the same earlier this month at Villanova, only worse. MU scored 90, but gave up a season-high 100 points — including 65.7% shooting on 2-pointers (!) and an eye-popping 56.1% FTR (OMG, 32 FTA/57 FGA). That's right, 32 free throw attempts. Getting to the line is a big part of Nova's game, and they definitely know how to do it against Marquette.

[GooooMarquette]

Funny about the officiating.  I didn't think it was egregious against us.   

I agree.  The officials were NOT biased against us.  They missed a few calls that should have gone our way and they missed a few that should have gone Nova's way.  It happens in every game.