It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves.

[MUfan12]

Sam picked him up when he should have, but that's a team breakdown.

With 6 seconds, someone has to be in the backcourt to at least make the guy work a bit.

[MUDPT]

First half, Kansas hedged the high screen leading to wide open 3s for the screener. 2nd half they switched. Now you have to take advantage of the switches, which MU didn't do. Also too many turnovers. Our defense is better, but we aren't forcing turnovers, leading to lots of extra possessions for the opponent.

[MUfan12]

First half, Kansas hedged the high screen leading to wide open 3s for the screener. 2nd half they switched. Now you have to take advantage of the switches, which MU didn't do.

Need a PG that sees something other than his next shot to do that.

[wadesworld]

I'll take Duke (I know they lost tonight) to win the NCAA and give you Kansas. Name your number.

1 year self ban from Scoop.

[Lennys Tap]

1 year self ban from Scoop.

Done.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Had someone point out to me at the game that the first player of the second half may have been the key play. Marquette plays solid D and funnels Devon Dotson into an easy stuff by Theo. Block happens to bounce right to Dedric Lawson in perfect position for a layup. That block goes to one of our players and maybe the momentum never swings like it did. Ifs and buts eh?

Final score was better than I anticipated though we didn't get there how I expected. I was expecting a 15-20 point blowout and it was single digits. Was definitely not expecting the 24-0 run. Hard to know what to do with that. Saw a lot to be encouraged by and a lot to be concerned with. Markus going 6/23 (26%) is a problem. The rest of the team going 19/37 (51.4%) is encouraging. I understand you want your best players taking the most shots but taking 40% of the shots when you're shooting 26% is not acceptable.

Record wise we are exactly where I expected to be. I predicted that we would win out the rest of our non-conference from here (though Kansas State at home I was 50/50 on, went with heart over head). Gotta to go 3-1 against the 4 remaining non-conference games. Friday isn't a must win, but losing leaves no room for error. Hope this team responds by crushing the Cards.

[HutchwasClutch]

/quote]

Really? You counted rebuilding and young IU as a loss?  I sure didn't given expectations.  And to be blown out of Assembly Hall is a major red flag for team thought to be ready to challenge Villanova

I'm sick of this tonight their record is what I expected. That's completely sanitizing two butt kickings and that inspired 2nd half comeback against Presbyterian.  This looks nothing like a team ready to make run at Big East title let alone upper half league finish.

[wadesworld]

[quote author=TAMU Eagle link=topic=56978.msg1057291#msg1057291 date=154286245

Record wise we are exactly where I expected to be.


Really? You counted rebuilding and young IU as a loss?  I sure didn't given expectations.  And to be blown out of Assembly Hall is a major red flag for team thought to be ready to challenge Villanova

I'm sick of this tonight their record is what I expected. That's completely sanitizing two butt kickings and that inspired 2nd half comeback against Presbyterian.  This looks nothing like a team ready to make run at Big East title let alone upper half league finish.

So Kansas didn't try until they had to but we tried really hard all game against Presbyterian all game.

Classic.

[JTBMU7]

Would have loved a Rowsey head-fake 3pt foul to help stop that 22-0 run...

[HutchwasClutch]

So Kansas didn't try until they had to but we tried really hard all game against Presbyterian all game.

Classic.

Yeah, correct. Kansas totally dominated both ends from first possession of 2nd half.   We were almost 8 minutes into 2nd half against Presbyterian before finally outplaying them.  And we didn't go on a 24-0 run holding Presbyterian scoreless through 2 media timeouts in that memorable comeback.

[Jockey]

Because they lost to the #1 team in the country on a neutral court? Lol.

They played Kansas. Not Gonzaga

[Jockey]

I'll take Duke (I know they lost tonight) to win the NCAA and give you Kansas. Name your number.

I'm with you, Lennie. Kansas ain't gonna win it all.

[wadesworld]

Yeah, correct. Kansas totally dominated both ends from first possession of 2nd half.   We were almost 8 minutes into 2nd half against Presbyterian before finally outplaying them.  And we didn't go on a 24-0 run holding Presbyterian scoreless through 2 media timeouts in that memorable comeback.

And yet despite all of that we won by more than what Kansas best us by.

But sure. Kansas didn't try.

[wadesworld]

I'm with you, Lennie. Kansas ain't gonna win it all.

Sure. If it's Kansas or the field I'll take the field.

[1SE]

6pm (12am) tips are tough for me on a school night so I couldn't watch - but am gut-shot by that run. What kind of line-up(s) did we have in? What kind of set plays did we run out of the TOs? Those kinds of runs seem emblamatic of all sorts of different Wojo-era losses -this wasn't just a fluke.

Would love to know what percentage of games, nationally, feature 9 minutes scoreless stretches.

Aside: Box score for Tuny looks like what we'd want - 8 to 3 A/TO, and hit a 3 to keep them honest. What stretches was he in for?

Other boxscore note - a total of 2 rebounds in 35 minutes from our three-headed F/C? Were 8 of Lawson's 26 second chance pts?

[HutchwasClutch]

And yet despite all of that we won by more than what Kansas best us by.

But sure. Kansas didn't try.

The spread of the final score alone  tells you Kansas didn't give a half hearted first half effort?  How many times did Sam have completely wide open first half looks?  Think Kansas staff didn't preach you can't leave Sam open?  Example they were not fully engaged until 2nd half. Wide open looks suddenly disappeared for Sam and everyone else.  That's simply effort.

[Herman Cain]

The spread of the final score alone  tells you Kansas didn't give a half hearted first half effort?  How many times did Sam have completely wide open first half looks?  Think Kansas staff didn't preach you can't leave Sam open?  Example they were not fully engaged until 2nd half. Wide open looks suddenly disappeared for Sam and everyone else.  That's simply effort.

So what did MU tell its kids at halftime?

[#UnleashSean]

HAHA omfg...how dense are you? We lost because of terrible shooting in the second half. Kansas scored 2 more points in the second half than they did in the first. It wasn't a "Whoa they totally adjusted".

Adjustments come on both ends, Kansas adjusted and ran to a 22-0 run. Marquette stayed the same.

[skianth16]

I've been as big a Wojo supporter as anyone, but this was bad. Losing by the point spread isn't the issue. Having a 9-point halftime lead and never being in the game in the second half is disgraceful. That game felt over even before we lost the lead.

We just needed a basket and kept throwing up bad looks. We didn't attack inside. Markus took contested looks too early. Then after falling down 14, we get it back to single digits with about a minute left and go inside when only threes would give us a chance.

Maybe we shouldn't have won, but we should've been in that game. And asking "what adjustments?" is a copout response. That's literally Wojo's job. To answer that question. Go inside, draw fouls, attack Azubuike, chirp at the refs and take a technical when Azubuike and Lawson are traveling or Cain is getting hacked inside without a whistle.

The first half was great, but that second was one of the worst coached halves I've seen in a long time. And I feel like second half adjustments is somewhere we are always at a disadvantage.

We should've won that game, but at the minimum, we certainly should've been in it. We weren't from the 20:00 mark of the second half, even when we still had the lead. That's sad.

Adamantly agree with the above. Every word. +1,000,000

[skianth16]

If you cut down on turnovers a bit and redistribute shots a little more optimally, Sacar and J. Hauser 3 get more looks each, Morrow goes to work in the low post a bit, and Bailey two 3pt shots from the wing. That makes a big difference. And considering Morrow, Charoutny and J. Hauser have never played together, and Cain was just trading minutes with Greg Elliot last year, its going to take time.

Wojo has to realize this too, though. He needs to find ways to get more guys involved. Whether it's through play calling or a few talking points on the sideline, as the coach, he needs to manage this roster better. Roles will begin to naturally form as the season goes on, but we can't just wait around for it to happen. Guys need to at least have the confidence to try something on offense instead of just passing around the perimeter until Markus heaves one up.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Really? You counted rebuilding and young IU as a loss?  I sure didn't given expectations.  And to be blown out of Assembly Hall is a major red flag for team thought to be ready to challenge Villanova

I'm sick of this tonight their record is what I expected. That's completely sanitizing two butt kickings and that inspired 2nd half comeback against Presbyterian.  This looks nothing like a team ready to make run at Big East title let alone upper half league finish.

Yes I expected a loss at IU. So did every non scooper in the country, including objective sources like KenPom and Vegas.

IU was a butt kicking and I didn't expect that. I expected a bigger loss to Kansas. We've sufficiently blown out the cupcakes. Net result is unchanged expectations moving forward.

Honestly,  I don't buy those saying "how we  lost" is why they are mad. Losing a lead is no worse than failing to comeback from a deficit or trailing by a few possessions coast to coast. Basketball is a game of runs. We had a great one in the first half,  they had a better one in the second. I do appreciate that our guys did get off the mat, kept fighting, and won the last ten minutes. I'd be more concerned if they just rolled over

[NorthernDancerColt]

Frustrating as that was a very winnable ballgame tonight. Self adjusted in the second half to just attack attack attack, MU just doesn't have guys who can defend that or do that on the offensive end.

Post of the night.

I would amend by saying that we couldn't defend KANSAS or attack KANSAS. Going forward, we have guys who CAN defend '18-'19 BigEast attacks and go on offense and attack this watered-down conference. Runners train for speed by running downhill, not uphill. Swinging a weighted club in golf used to be the way to train. Now, it's ultra lightweight trainers like the Orange whip to develop speed ..I know, counter-intuitive.... I'd bet by March were we to face this same KU team, we could put two halves together. Confidence comes from results. I think results are coming. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

[GGGG]

I don't have to, but you do. Either that or defense is as lost on you as it is Wojo and staff

The problem was they put Sam back on the floor with two fouls for the offensive possession.  He was the one best able to stop the penetration, but didn't because he didn't want to pick up his third.

BTW, your "Kansas wasn't trying" in the first half line of thinking is really not a smart one.

[CTWarrior]

Did you see anything from Wojo that suggested he could coach? I saw a coach that told Sam and Markus to shoot whenever they could and hoped for the best. Every time a player caught the ball it was 1-5. No actual offense. Defense is the same it's been for 5 years.

I thought overall the defense was pretty good.  They got a lot of runouts in the second half off of turnovers and bad shots, so I guess you could say our transition defense wasn't good.  But I thought overall we did what we could.  Our bigs were pretty strong inside on D, I thought, even Hauser when called upon.

But in the second half they decided to pressure the perimeter passes, not leave the shooters and force us to beat them going to the basket.  We didn't really try to go hard to the rim for a while and weren't too good at it when we did.  And the one on five mentality was a real thing.

[NickelDimer]

Did you see anything from Wojo that suggested he could coach?

I've been waiting for an answer to this question since year one (I believe we all have). At some point not being able to answer with a definite "yes" is the same as a no