Final Four Thread

[MUEng92]

So. There was a hillbilly that called in on Sirius XM before the West Virginia-Villanova game. Running his mouth, saying Villanova would finish in the middle of the Big 12.

According to a tweet I just saw the hillbilly was Doug Gottlieb

[NickelDimer]

According to a tweet I just saw the hillbilly was Doug Gottlieb

Link?

[MUEng92]

Link?

Hope this works. If not look at Anonymous Eagle's retweet

[chapman]

Was kind of funny that everyone on TBS thought it was surprising Nova won so easily.  I suppose they need to say that.  I'd expect a few teams to play a close game, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Nova blow out anybody.

[MU82]

I don't think any team was beating Nova tonight. A great team that also played effen great. However ...

I hated the way Kansas played on both offense and defense.

On D, they just let Nova keep shooting open 3s. I don't think they challenged a single one of 'em in the first 10 minutes. Grant Hill finally said something like, "I think Kansas needs to get out there and guard them a little bit." Yeah, ya think? OK, so maybe that leads to interior buckets, but you can't just let a hot team stand out there chuckin' wide-open shots.

On O, Kansas either would make 1 pass or no passes, and the player with the ball (usually Graham or Newman) would go one-on-one with the total intent of shooting. There was no drive-and-kick, no dribble handoffs, no pick-and-rolls, no nuthin'. Very disappointing to watch.

And I'm a Bill Self fan. Good guy, sensational recruiter, not a bad coach. But that really sucked.

[Lennys Tap]

Honestly, I think it all comes down to Nova. If Nova is on, they win. If Nova and Michigan are both off, Nova wins. If Nova is off and Michigan is on, the Wolverines have a chance.

Agreed. Nova's "A" game is better than anyone else's - by more than a little. If they shoot it well they should win.

[GooooMarquette]

Agreed. Nova's "A" game is better than anyone else's - by more than a little. If they shoot it well they should win.

Yep - easy win if they play their game.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I just looked at Nova's roster, and noticed that of their main 6 players (Brunson, Bridges, Booth, Paschall, Spellman, DiVincenzo), Brunson is the only one who did not take a red shirt year.  That speaks volumes.  Has that always been Jay Wright's MO, or a more recent development?  How do we convince more guys to invest the time?

Well Booth and DiVicenzo both had injuries that lead to their redshirts, Paschall was a transfer, and Spellman had a clearinghouse/academic issue.

Bridges was the only voluntary redshirt.  That worked out well. The rest are circumstantial; not any kind of trend.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I just looked at Nova's roster, and noticed that of their main 6 players (Brunson, Bridges, Booth, Paschall, Spellman, DiVincenzo), Brunson is the only one who did not take a red shirt year.  That speaks volumes.  Has that always been Jay Wright's MO, or a more recent development?  How do we convince more guys to invest the time?

Well, 4/5 were mandatory redshirts (transfer, injury x2, academically ineligible). Only Bridges was a "voluntary" redshirt. So Wojo has convinced twice as many guys as Wright to redshirt!

[brewcity77]

If Michigan plays great they could give Nova a game, but it wouldn't surprise me at all to see another 20 point blowout. Michigan has faced maybe the easiest road in modern NCAA history to a title game. They haven't played a top-5 seed the entire tournament. Playing in the Big Ten likely didn't prepare them for a team like this either. Beilein and Yaklich have done a great coaching job, and Michigan is much better at challenging shots than Kansas, but Michigan has gone from playing JV games to varsity.

I just don't see how Michigan is prepared for this. They played the softest road possible to get here, played in a diluted Big Ten, and have only played one high seed outside their own league (UNC curbstomped them by 15).

[Marcus92]

Nova shooting 45% from long distance is incredible, although not unprecedented or totally unexpected. But they also scorched Kansas by hitting an unbelievable 72% on 2-pointers. 72 percent. Ran the Jayhawks out of the gym pretty much from the tip-off.

[LloydsLegs]

Highlight of the night - post game at an establishment on the river walk.  2 Syracuse clad fellows walked passed a group of nova supporters, who immediately started a "new big east" chant.   Delightful.  Go Nova.  Go BE.   (And sorry to see LU lose, but not sorry about making MI work). 

[willie warrior]

That was a heckuva press break. Wish we could do that once of twice.

Just be patient. Several here have pointed out that Wojo and Wright were about equal 4 tears in. So we will be at the lofty heights of Wright/Villanova very soon. We just must be patient. After all, Wright has many more resources than Wojo.

[willie warrior]

They could return everyone, barring NBA early entrants.

BTW. Villanova has already 3 top 50 guys coming in next year, so there could be some more redshirts.

[tower912]

Villanova has it going on.   Wright has built a heck of a program, one that is a model of what any Big East program, not just Marquette, should aspire to.   He didn't do it in 4 years.   I don't know if Wojo is the one to take Marquette to those heights.   I have doubts, but I have seen flashes.    I do know that 4 years in, Villanova didn't know what Jay Wright would turn out to be.     I hope Wojo is taking notes.    I hope he can figure out how to take what he learned at Duke and incorporate what Villanova does.   Because Villanova isn't going anywhere.   

[Lennys Tap]

Just be patient. Several here have pointed out that Wojo and Wright were about equal 4 tears in. So we will be at the lofty heights of Wright/Villanova very soon. We just must be patient. After all, Wright has many more resources than Wojo.

You're right, Willie. This false syllogism - Wojo had a mediocre first 4 years, Wright had a mediocre first 4 years, ergo Wojo =Wright - is, at this point, a Scoop pipe dream. Tons of coaches have mediocre first four years. Most turn out to have mediocre careers. Those who turn out to be Jay Wrights are winning lottery tickets - so possible, but unrelated and highly unlikely.

[Dr. Blackheart]

You're right, Willie. This false syllogism - Wojo had a mediocre first 4 years, Wright had a mediocre first 4 years, ergo Wojo =Wright - is, at this point, a Scoop pipe dream. Tons of coaches have mediocre first four years. Most turn out to have mediocre careers. Those who turn out to be Jay Wrights are winning lottery tickets - so possible, but unrelated and highly unlikely.

Year 5 will be the litmus test as Jay finished tied for first in the BE.  Pending the off season free agent wire, this should be Wojo's best. 

Jay had a Top 15 rated offense AND defense in Year 5. Wojo has the O down pat. He has to get the D there or his PPT plan will hit the shredder.

Jay's real genius is that he has both offenses and defenses that can adapt to any style of play. He does this via building team energy and continuous attention to detail.

[real chili 83]

What is the Nova equivalent of Scoop?

[Dr. Blackheart]

The B1G has not won since 2000, the only championship since 1989. The Conference of Champions have flopped since 1997.

[ATL MU Warrior]

You're right, Willie. This false syllogism - Wojo had a mediocre first 4 years, Wright had a mediocre first 4 years, ergo Wojo =Wright - is, at this point, a Scoop pipe dream. Tons of coaches have mediocre first four years. Most turn out to have mediocre careers. Those who turn out to be Jay Wrights are winning lottery tickets - so possible, but unrelated and highly unlikely.

exactly nobody has said this

[GGGG]

You're right, Willie.

Anytime you start a post like this, you should probably reassess what you are about to say.

[jsglow]

I remember saying to chick when Nova came out with their game face on against us in the BEast tourney.  'These guys are winning it all.'  They are a great basketball team.  Michigan is going to have to play their best game of the year just to hang in there.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Wojo had a mediocre first 4 years, Wright had a mediocre first 4 years, ergo Wojo =Wright

Absolutely no one has said that.  But you built yourself a lovely strawman to knock down.

[willie warrior]

You're right, Willie. This false syllogism - Wojo had a mediocre first 4 years, Wright had a mediocre first 4 years, ergo Wojo =Wright - is, at this point, a Scoop pipe dream. Tons of coaches have mediocre first four years. Most turn out to have mediocre careers. Those who turn out to be Jay Wrights are winning lottery tickets - so possible, but unrelated and highly unlikely.

Except Wright did not have a mediocre first 4 years, especially compared to Wojo. In Wright's fourth year, I believe he was 24-8 with a visit to the Sweet 16. Wojo has not sniffed anywhere near there. So those that espouse to that false narrative are sniffing glue.

[Lennys Tap]

Absolutely no one has said that.  But you built yourself a lovely strawman to knock down.

When people here have been critical of Wojo, some Scoopers have used the "Jay Wright (or Al McGuire) didn't set the world on fire his first four years either" meme. They never bring up the hundreds of coaches who started slowly and didn't become legendary.