Conference championships are won on the road.

[tower912]

1.  Anybody who thought this was going to be an easy win is a...    never mind.   Not going to call names.   
2.  IU part II   Motivated home team that was quicker at nearly every position.   
3.   Markus couldn't shoot.    The rest of the team was not able to pick him up.   
4.   Sam being a non-factor offensively until late was a double whammy.
5.  Of course SJU got the calls.    They were the aggressor in their bandbox gym.    Officiating usually favors the aggressive home team.   
6.   Rowsey is gone.    But most teams are still going to post up against Markus.      And it doesn't matter who he guards, they will look to make him defend down low.   Smart coaching. 
7.  SJU spread out MU's defense, took away the help, and then either drove or shot the 3 well.     All of the schemes in the world do not allow help on a 5-out set.   Have to have the lateral quickness to defend the dribble one on one.     MU is improved defensively, but are still not quick.
8.  Also got out-quicked (or out-hustled) on the boards. 
9.  I have never been on the fire Wojo bandwagon, and am not now.   I also did not give in to what I viewed as irrational exuberance forecasting MU's conference record.    MU has now played two road games and gotten rolled twice.   I think that IU and SJU are both very good teams, particularly at home.     Both times, MU looked slow and lost.    Every conference road game is tough.    MU is going to have to figure out how to bring the same energy and shooting they have at Fiserv to these hostile venues.      I predicted 12-6.    I am still feeling that.   
10.  All that is left to do is learn from this.   
11.   The most important game is the next one.   

[willie warrior]

What will we have learned? That we can't play on the road?

[brewcity77]

If conference championships are won on the road, I'm changing my pick for Big East champ to Pat Driscoll.

[tower912]

What will we have learned? That we can't play on the road?

Can't play on the road YET.    Another step in the process.   

[GGGG]

1.  Anybody who thought this was going to be an easy win is a...    never mind.   Not going to call names.   
2.  IU part II   Motivated home team that was quicker at nearly every position.   
3.   Markus couldn't shoot.    The rest of the team was not able to pick him up.   
4.   Sam being a non-factor offensively until late was a double whammy.
5.  Of course SJU got the calls.    They were the aggressor in their bandbox gym.    Officiating usually favors the aggressive home team.   
6.   Rowsey is gone.    But most teams are still going to post up against Markus.      And it doesn't matter who he guards, they will look to make him defend down low.   Smart coaching. 
7.  SJU spread out MU's defense, took away the help, and then either drove or shot the 3 well.     All of the schemes in the world do not allow help on a 5-out set.   Have to have the lateral quickness to defend the dribble one on one.     MU is improved defensively, but are still not quick.
8.  Also got out-quicked (or out-hustled) on the boards. 
9.  I have never been on the fire Wojo bandwagon, and am not now.   I also did not give in to what I viewed as irrational exuberance forecasting MU's conference record.    MU has now played two road games and gotten rolled twice.   I think that IU and SJU are both very good teams, particularly at home.     Both times, MU looked slow and lost.    Every conference road game is tough.    MU is going to have to figure out how to bring the same energy and shooting they have at Fiserv to these hostile venues.      I predicted 12-6.    I am still feeling that.   
10.  All that is left to do is learn from this.   
11.   The most important game is the next one.   

Can't argue with a single word of this.  This is the type of team MU still doesn't match up well against. 

[skianth16]

The way this team fluctuates from dominating to clueless is bizarre. I get that playing on the road is tough, but home court advantage is usually only worth about 3-5 points. Why is it worth 20 for us? Doesn't make sense.

[MattyWarrior]

Outcoached on D by an offensive guy Mullin

[Dish]

In that mess, I was glad to see Woj switch to a zone, if nothing else to switch up the tempo and take St Johns out of their rhythm. It worked for 5-6 straight possessions, MU made a brief run. I think against an overly aggressive team like the Johnnie's, you have to do that.

I think MU beats them up pretty good in Milwaukee, but MU better start learning to win away from Fiserv.

[nyg]

Two steps forward, one step back.  Have protected home court, but spanked on road again.  I didn't think SJU would do that.

Markus had two NBA body players and good defenders in Simon and Heron guarding him, mainly Simon.  Height advantages at 6ft 5 each showed tonight. 

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Can't play on the road YET.    Another step in the process.

Process?  Whatever we got blown out.  Move on—one night, tough gym, road, etc. But don't pretend like this was part of some plan—this isn't buzz's goofy sweet 16 test.   

[GGGG]

The way this team fluctuates from dominating to clueless is bizarre. I get that playing on the road is tough, but home court advantage is usually only worth about 3-5 points. Why is it worth 20 for us? Doesn't make sense.

It isn't just a home / road thing.  SJU and IU are athletic teams filled with players who can switch every screen without losing much of a beat, and who can beat MU off the dribble with proper spacing. 

[We R Final Four]

7.  SJU spread out MU's defense, took away the help, and then either drove or shot the 3 well.     All of the schemes in the world do not allow help on a 5-out set.   Have to have the lateral quickness to defend the dribble one on one.     MU is improved defensively, but are still not quick.

I think we will see a lot of games where STJ does NOT shoot the ball well. I don't think their team is all that. I think it was a perfect storm of sorts for them. It's easy and en Vogue for some to say the refs didn't effect this game, but they certainly did.

[StillWarriors]

Ran into a hungry team that shot lights out, and we were off. I suspect this will be one of the better games St. John's plays and one of the worst we play all year. It's snowballed on us, and we have to learn that teams will come after MU just like MU went after KState, WI and Buff. The fact we are 0-2 without being competitive in true road games is a bit disconcerting, but I'm gonna believe these games will be anomalies at the end of the year.

[Floorslapper]

Good post Tower. Solid analysis.

[wadesworld]

Our 2 best players were no-shows in what will be one of our two toughest conference games.  That'll result in a blowout 100% of the time.  Thankfully I think this is probably the toughest matchup in the Big East for Marquette.  I trust Markus and Sam won't play this poorly in every road game.  If they do we'll still be a 9-12 win conference team.  If they play better on the road every so often we'll get 12-14 conference wins.  First road game since November.  Nice wakeup call.  Take it out on Xavier and go from there.

[Johnny B]

Atrocious offense and a lost defense. Embarrassing effort. What else.can ya say.

[Newsdreams]

Their 3 point shooting was an anomaly just insane

[Boston Warrior]

Markus and happ have a lot in common. When they play next level talent they get sped up. They don't quite play as well. When and If they overcome those challenges so do they overcome the next level questions....

[Class71]

Can't play on the road YET.    Another step in the process.

Agree. This team has improved significantly since the beginning of the year. STJ is fast, talented and a poor match-up for us. Mullen is likely useless but they way this STJ plays one on one do they need a coach?

We will eventually win on the road and the defense will continue to improve. Markus will have good and bad days as all pure shooters do. No need to worry. MU will come around.

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Two steps forward, one step back.  Have protected home court, but spanked on road again.  I didn't think SJU would do that.

Markus had two NBA body players and good defenders in Simon and Heron guarding him, mainly Simon.  Height advantages at 6ft 5 each showed tonight.


This game illustrates why he really does not have a legitimate nba shot.  Short of a curry type of tourney performance. The long quick nba sized 2s i fear will shut him down. 

Kid got an extra helping of quick release fire but was not blessed with that ever so critical height. 

Hes a way better basketball player than some of our recent nba level alums but man he really needed that body!

[GGGG]

Agree. This team has improved significantly since the beginning of the year. STJ is fast, talented and a poor match-up for us. Mullen is likely useless but they way this STJ plays one on one do they need a coach?

We will eventually win on the road and the defense will continue to improve. Markus will have good and bad days as all pure shooters do. No need to worry. MU will come around.

Why do you think Mullen is "likely useless?"  I think he has done well.

[Johnny B]

Oh btw, have you ever assumed a team would beat another team comfortably and been wrong? Its bound to happen sometimes. Get outta here buddy. Call all the names you want.

[tower912]

I never assume a conference road game is easy.   

[geps]

Interesting TO's not actually the problem tonight. If you said we would have only 12 and still get blown out? D really the problem.

[GGGG]

Interesting TO's not actually the problem tonight. If you said we would have only 12 and still get blown out? D really the problem.

Same problem as last year.