Marcus at the end of the STJ Game

[NotAnAlum]

Wojo pulled Marcus towards the end of the game and never put him back in.  I don't recall exactly when but it was sometime between the 8 and 5 minute mark.  I realize that Marcus had been pretty ineffective, that he had 4 fouls and that probably the game was lost at that point but still its odd that Wojo would take him out and sit him for the rest of the game.  Marcus is the only one with enough offensive fire power to have closed the gap to make the final score look more respectable.  Was Wojo making a statement directed at Marcus specifically, the team in general or what? 

[#UnleashSean]

He was 2 for 15. He was 0 for 3 on a single possession in which he got off one good shot and never looked to pass at all.

The pull was justified.

[skianth16]

It could have been a number of things, but between the large deficit and Markus' cold shooting, I'm guessing this was Wojo giving Markus some rest and eliminating any potential for him to get hurt.

[GooooMarquette]

The game was out of hand and Markus was just off. If Markus had sustained a significant injury during garbage time, this board would be tearing Wojo apart right now.

[Warrior1969]

He sucked!  and its MARKUS!!!

[tower912]

The game was out of hand and Markus was doing nothing.  Fold and fight another day.

[We R Final Four]

A respectable loss is still a loss, no?
L is an L. I don't think closing the gap in an assumed loss is the look Wojo was going for.

[Silkk the Shaka]

The game was out of hand and Markus was doing nothing.  Fold and fight another day.

Yeah he never caught a rhythm and the chances we'd come back were slim to none. Do not risk the golden goose on an ultimately meaningless pipe dream.

[fjm]

Thought he got pulled right after he went for a block and went flying to the ground, bouncing off the hoop stand and rolling into photographers. And then Cain landed on him. Soooo down 20, I would have pulled him too. Don't need him hurt trying to make a hero play block down 20 with 7 min left and getting hurt for the season.

[NotAnAlum]

OK makes sense.  The prudent thing to do rather than message

[Stretchdeltsig]

I am still stunned from the loss.  Markus had looked so good in the previous games that I thought he was unstoppable.  Disappointed Sam didn't step up and score more.  Thought we were ready for a big run in the BE. Now, who knows?

[brewcity77]

I am still stunned from the loss.  Markus had looked so good in the previous games that I thought he was unstoppable.  Disappointed Sam didn't step up and score more.  Thought we were ready for a big run in the BE. Now, who knows?

Sometimes a result goes against you, but it hasn't changed my personal expectations. The league is still there to be won and there's no reason we won't still be the team that wins it.

[willie warrior]

I am still stunned from the loss.  Markus had looked so good in the previous games that I thought he was unstoppable.  Disappointed Sam didn't step up and score more.  Thought we were ready for a big run in the BE. Now, who knows?

The secret is out now on how to kick our ass. Put 2 aggresive defenders an Markus and Sam, giving them no room to breathe, and let the rest of the team see if they can beat you.

[Its DJOver]

The secret is out now on how to kick our ass. Put 2 aggresive defenders an Markus and Sam, giving them no room to breathe, and let the rest of the team see if they can beat you.

Wasn't this kinda known before the season even started?  It's a lot easier said than done.

[MUfan12]

The secret is out now on how to kick our ass. Put 2 aggresive defenders an Markus and Sam, giving them no room to breathe, and let the rest of the team see if they can beat you.

This is where they miss a scorer like Rowsey. You had to make a choice last year on who to take away.

[rocket surgeon]

The secret is out now on how to kick our ass. Put 2 aggresive defenders an Markus and Sam, giving them no room to breathe, and let the rest of the team see if they can beat you.

Is that double teaming both?  Well that would leave one guy to defend our other 3?  Even if they continuously slide 2 over to Markus and/ Sam, anyone including wojo would think to just put either one on opposite sides of the floor.  They would still have Joey to deal with and sacar is also a very capable scorer.  Then I would counter their aggression with going agressive and hoping to draw fouls.  Depending on what you mean by "2 aggressive defenders" I think that could be picked apart fairly easily.

[avid1010]

Sometimes a result goes against you, but it hasn't changed my personal expectations. The league is still there to be won and there's no reason we won't still be the team that wins it.

Agreed.  I can't believe a fix was in with officials to ensure St. John's got a win after the blown call...but they took MU out of the game from the start.

I liked that Wojo came out looking to go run sets and get the ball in the post/extended post for Joey/Sam/Theo. 

I liked that MU scored often out of timeouts/dead ball situations.

Markus had a terrible game...if he puts up a 50% shooting night we're in the game.  We should be at the top of the conference at seasons end. 

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Sacars man can always be in help mode

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

He was at best terrible leading up to him being taken out for the last time.  You gotta love Markus, but it can be hard.  Coming in cold, knowing your struggling so far u might think make a pass or get to the line.  But not Marcus, three no pass step back threes in a row with a bigger defender in his face.
Love it when it going in, but i cant remember when if ever MU has had a player with such a huge deviation from the mean from one game to another. 
The 45s are great but the st johns n wiskys where he does or almost shoots us out of the game can be rolaids specials

[MU82]

The game was out of hand and Markus was just off. If Markus had sustained a significant injury during garbage time, this board would be tearing Wojo apart right now.

This. Very smart move by Wojo.

Frankly, I would have taken Sam and Joey out a lot earlier than he did.

[willie warrior]

Wasn't this kinda known before the season even started?  It's a lot easier said than done.

Really? St. John made it look easy.

[tower912]

They did.  Hopefully, Markus and the team learn from it.

[Its DJOver]

Really? St. John made it look easy.

If that's your opinion, that's fine, I just don't think StJ really re-invented the wheel with their defensive gameplan.  Markus and Sam have been on the top of every scout sheet all year and even in our losses they haven't performed as bad as they did against StJ. 40% shooting against I4, 34% against Kansas, and only 21% against StJ. Considering that they've combined to shoot almost 45% and each have an ef% north of 50 (Markus' ef% against StJ was 20) I think it was more of a one off than a regular occurrence.

Put it this way, if it were actually as easy as it looked to you, do you think the #6 scoring defensive team in the country would have allowed 45 points to Markus?

[MU82]

St. John's did not defend Markus any harder than Buffalo did.

[Its DJOver]

St. John's did not defend Markus any harder than Buffalo did.

Exactly.  I don't think Mullin is a bad coach by any means, but do I think that he came up with some magic formula that Archie, Self, Mack, Weber, Gard, Oats didn't have? No.  Both Markus and Sam have had better offensive showings against better defensive's this year, which suggests that this is more likely a one off than the new normal.