Conference championships are won on the road.

[nyg]

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.

Four SJU players much quicker than each MU player.  The fifth, Clarke stayed outside and hit the open three while Theo/Morrow stayed down low to protect Markus from getting posted up down low by Simon.  Which happened on more than one occasion.
Sam got beat by Heron, Joey by Figueroa and Sacar by Ponds going to the basket and most of their fouls were on the drives.  That's just the way SJU plays. 

[tower912]

Same problem as last year.

   Tonight, SJU was effective running high pick and roll.   Probably the most effective an opponent has been this season.    They also focused on posting up whoever Markus was guarding and then clearing a side.    A very good coaching job.     MU has been better on defense this season.   But they have been exposed by teams that put a lot of speed on the floor.   

[connie]

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.

I tend to agree that this was largely matchup driven, but the road woes are concerning.  At some point you have to outperform your competition on the road to advance and move on, and we just can't seem to get that dome. 

[MU82]

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.

Agree with this, and with tower's excellent OP.

Sometimes, the game just gets away from a team, and that's what happened in both this game and the IU game.

We have a good team, but we do still have some proving to do. And that's OK. It's what a season is for.

There's no way to sugarcoat this, and I won't try. But only a non-fan would panic and scream about how much we suck.

Still confident that we're going to have a fun, satisfying season.

[vogue65]

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.

Correct, they don't need a coach,  and thanks to Tower, now I have a name for the offence, 5-out.

[MU82]

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....

Both Kansas State and Buffalo have excellent defensive guards and both have played good defense all season. Neither team had lost a game when we played them. Markus put up 45 on each of them, in great part because he shot like a couple of the St. John's players did tonight.

Markus and Happ have zero in common. Happ needs somebody else to get him the basketball. He is a liability if fouled. He has a shooting range of 3 feet. Markus can beat a team from 25 feet, from in the lane, and from at the basket. He can get an inbound pass after the other team scores, take the ball down the court, and shoot without ever giving up the rock.

Neither their games nor their happenstances could be any more different.

Markus had a bad game tonight. He's had a few this season, and he'll probably have a few more. That happens with every good shooter. If you refuse to look at his history of doing well against good opposition, let the season play out and see if you still think he can't play against good opposition.

[We R Final Four]

Correct, they don't need a coach,  and thanks to Tower, now I have a name for the offence, 5-out.

Our offense was offensive.

[brewcity77]

Our offense was offensive.

Shots didn't fall, but we did what we were supposed to do. We attacked inside, to the point where we took 9 more shots inside and took a higher percentage of shots inside. We tried to be the aggressor, but didn't get any calls until the game was no longer in doubt.

We had a 41-32 edge in 2PFGA, which would typically lead to more fouls drawn and more FTs. Markus drew one foul on 8 drives. Somehow, the team shooting jumpers was the one that spent the night on the line.

[We R Final Four]

What I meant was our offence was offencive.😉

[muguru]

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.   

12-6 in a down BE with the best team Wojo has ever had...would be a monumental disaster because 12-6 is NOT winning them the BE, not even close.

[Cheeks]

12-6 in a down BE with the best team Wojo has ever had...would be a monumental disaster because 12-6 is NOT winning them the BE, not even close.

Everything to you is a monumental disaster.  There's still time to make a New Year's Resolution.

[GoldenEagle323]

We are SO slow st johns was way quicker than us

[Boston Warrior]

Both Kansas State and Buffalo have excellent defensive guards and both have played good defense all season. Neither team had lost a game when we played them. Markus put up 45 on each of them, in great part because he shot like a couple of the St. John's players did tonight.

Markus and Happ have zero in common. Happ needs somebody else to get him the basketball. He is a liability if fouled. He has a shooting range of 3 feet. Markus can beat a team from 25 feet, from in the lane, and from at the basket. He can get an inbound pass after the other team scores, take the ball down the court, and shoot without ever giving up the rock.

Neither their games nor their happenstances could be any more different.

Markus had a bad game tonight. He's had a few this season, and he'll probably have a few more. That happens with every good shooter. If you refuse to look at his history of doing well against good opposition, let the season play out and see if you still think he can't play against good opposition.

[GoldenEagle323]

Also i think Ed should be starting hes a man on the rebounds

[CountryRoads]

12-6 in a down BE with the best team Wojo has ever had...would be a monumental disaster because 12-6 is NOT winning them the BE, not even close.

I'd take 12-6 seven days of the week. That would be close to winning the league as well imo. Finishing the league 12-5 from here on out will be a tall order but think the team can get it done. A 23-8 finish would put us in a good position to succeed in March and give us a legit shot at the sweet 16 in the 5-6 seed range. Far from a monumental disaster.

[Boston Warrior]

Markus and happ are similar in that both are elite college players who struggle against nba length and athleticism.

They both have proved that against wkus  Bassey and St. John's guards.

[Silent Verbal]

Honest question, how many Big East wins do you guys think we need to be a lock for the Tournament?  With how the league is this year, do we need to finish 11-7 or better?

[MUfan12]

I think 11 is the number.

[BM1090]

10

[GoldenEagle323]

Honest question, how many Big East wins do you guys think we need to be a lock for the Tournament?  With how the league is this year, do we need to finish 11-7 or better?

hopefully we go 12-6 or 13-5. gotta protect the fiserv and not lose stupid games

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Honest question, how many Big East wins do you guys think we need to be a lock for the Tournament?  With how the league is this year, do we need to finish 11-7 or better?

Hard to say because of the NET. Still need to feel out how the selection committee is going to work from now on. I would say we did enough in the non-conference to get in with 10 Big East wins, 9 is a possibility. This is provided that our four big non-con wins don't tank.

As "down" as the Big East is, it is overall still a very solid conference. It is down at the top but strong in the middle and very strong at the bottom. This is problematic for teams like St. John's who didn't get in any big wins in the non-conference....but since we already have some big time wins, the lack of potential disastrous losses works to our advantage.

Fortunately, I think is all academic anyway. I think we go 12-6, maybe even 13-5. I think 10-8 is worse case scenario barring major injuries.

[muguru]

Everything to you is a monumental disaster.  There's still time to make a New Year's Resolution.

You know what?? Screw you...leave me alone. I have HIGH expectations for the program...the fact you are totally okay with mediocrity, is your prerogative. Just because I(and others) don't share that view or have such low expectations, is no reason for you to attack me.

[Boston Warrior]

I believe Marquette needs to win 10 in the big east to get to the ncaa.

I believe they will win 12 or 13.

[Herman Cain]

Honest question, how many Big East wins do you guys think we need to be a lock for the Tournament?  With how the league is this year, do we need to finish 11-7 or better?

The league is down from its own performance in prior years , however on a relative basis to other conferences it is roughly in the same position. PAC 12 is definitely down and the AAC is up. The key for MU is going to be how teams like Creighton , Providence and Butler perform. They need to be good enough to keep the quality of the league strong, but not so good that they pass MU. I think 12 wins for MU is a  tourney lock, 11 is probable  and it starts to get dicey at 10.

I know RPI is not being used any more but it still an interesting reference point and Big East is still hanging in there at 3rd this year.
http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_conf_Men.html

[Cheeks]

You know what?? Screw you...leave me alone. I have HIGH expectations for the program...the fact you are totally okay with mediocrity, is your prerogative. Just because I(and others) don't share that view or have such low expectations, is no reason for you to attack me.

Happy New Year


I assure you I don't have low expectations or accept mediocrity...they will get back at it and do better.  Adversity happens, how one deals with it determines how one lives.

I honestly wish you would be happier in life.