Road Warriors

[MU82]

I’ll tack on the something subtle Wojo did that had a huge impact; subbing in Theo, who had struggled most of the night for Morrow who up to that point had been our best big man. I remember thinking why Wojo?? Then Theo did Theo things. Great instincts by Wojo.

On a side note; how great was McDermott’s huddle where he basically told his team (paraphrasing) don’t even try to attack that beast (Theo) in the middle because you have no shot

Wait ... but the Johnnies fan said Theo was soft!

I mentioned that sub-out in another thread. Even when he was struggling to find his footing as a major-conference basketball coach, Wojo had a good feel about how to deploy his centers. I'm guessing that came from being Duke's "big men coach" under K. He is still very good at it, and this was a prime example. Right after Theo got in the game, he received that beautiful pass from Sacar and turned it into a 3-point play.

Bravo, Theo. Bravo, Sacar. Bravo, Wojo.

[skianth16]

He has hit some timely 3s but his 3 point shooting is really really bad.  I like Sacar, his effort and energy are great and he appears to be a great teammate.  My criticisms are purely objective.  How many 2 guards in the BE, let alone the country shoot the ball as poorly from the FT line and 3 line as Sacar? If we didnt run the curl set for him 3 times a game which often results in a layup what would his shooting percentage be?
The 2 spot is a huge weakness for us, its really unfortunate.

We're built a little funny compared to other teams. Our PG turns the ball over too  much, our 2 guard isn't much of a shooter, our wing isn't all that athletic, and our starting big man averages as many rebounds per game as our shortest player.

BUT...

Our PG is one of the best scorers in the country. And our 2 guard is a helluva defender and does a nice job of getting to the rim through traffic (still working on finishing, though). Our wing is grabbing 7 boards a game and is has been one of the best shooters in the conference since he came to MU. Our 4 has earned himself a few freshman of the week awards and plays well beyond his year. And our big man has become an absolute monster in the paint, forcing teams to adjust game plans around him.

So, are we a perfectly built team? Nah, not really. But it all works. And our coach has figured out how to make the pieces fit together. There are things to nit pick about how we could be better, but we're pretty darn good. Personally, I'm happy with that.

[MU82]

We're built a little funny compared to other teams. Our PG turns the ball over too  much, our 2 guard isn't much of a shooter, our wing isn't all that athletic, and our starting big man averages as many rebounds per game as our shortest player.

BUT...

Our PG is one of the best scorers in the country. And our 2 guard is a helluva defender and does a nice job of getting to the rim through traffic (still working on finishing, though). Our wing is grabbing 7 boards a game and is has been one of the best shooters in the conference since he came to MU. Our 4 has earned himself a few freshman of the week awards and plays well beyond his year. And our big man has become an absolute monster in the paint, forcing teams to adjust game plans around him.

So, are we a perfectly built team? Nah, not really. But it all works. And our coach has figured out how to make the pieces fit together. There are things to nit pick about how we could be better, but we're pretty darn good. Personally, I'm happy with that.

Wouldn't argue with any of this, ski. Superbly stated.

[drewm88]

Sacar is simple not very good at all.  His early 3s are brutal.  His free throws are terrible and his defense is average at best.  Worst 2 in BE by far. 

If this were written by someone else, I'd assume it was a weird, failed joke. What a bad opinion. Sacar is a valuable piece of this team.

[Its DJOver]

If this were written by someone else, I'd assume it was a weird, failed joke. What a bad opinion. Sacar is a valuable piece of this team.

Notice how this was brought up after a 7 point foul out performance, rather than a 20 point 7 board SOTG performance.  It's easy to call out players when they have bad games (which I don't think Sacar had last night).  Somewhat surprised that MSK wasn't ripping Sam after the X game.

[MU82]

Notice how this was brought up after a 7 point foul out performance, rather than a 20 point 7 board SOTG performance.  It's easy to call out players when they have bad games (which I don't think Sacar had last night).  Somewhat surprised that MSK wasn't ripping Sam after the X game.

Outstanding point.

But what did you expect, given the source?

[The Thing]

I thought the final foul on Sacar was a bad call too. The offensive player ducked his head right into him. Should have been a no call or offensive foul.

[MU82]

I thought the final foul on Sacar was a bad call too. The offensive player ducked his head right into him. Should have been a no call or offensive foul.

Thought the same. I allowed at the time that maybe I was just being biased, but I like you giving me cover!

[PGsHeroes32]

I really don’t get some of the Sacar hate(I’ve seen it by others as well over the year)

Yeah he’s flawed and yeah the missed free throws drive me nuts sometimes. But a slasher whose willing to play D is a major asset on a team.

It might not be crazy frequent. But any player that’s capable of going for 15+ multiple times vs high major opponents has value to a team.

[JakeBarnes]

I thought the final foul on Sacar was a bad call too. The offensive player ducked his head right into him. Should have been a no call or offensive foul.

At least 2 of the fouls against Sacar were head-scratchers. I keep saying "it's a tight whistle" in game threads, but I am starting to think that the foul for NCAAB is to a "catch" in the NFL.

[Its DJOver]

I really don’t get some of the Sacar hate(I’ve seen it by others as well over the year)

Yeah he’s flawed and yeah the missed free throws drive me nuts sometimes. But a slasher whose willing to play D is a major asset on a team.

It might not be crazy frequent. But any player that’s capable of going for 15+ multiple times vs high major opponents has value to a team.

Pretty much all of my Sacar frustration comes from his offensive inconsistencies.  He had a great game against X, but that was coming off a 6 point performance against StJ.  It took him until K-St to have a double digit scoring game, but that was shortly followed by a 1-10 game against Buffalo. I would gladly trade the occasional 20 point bursts for 10-12 every night.

[wyoMUfan]

That was a LONG game but well worth the 3 hours!
I've been riding a high since it wrapped up!

GO MU BABY!

[PGsHeroes32]

Pretty much all of my Sacar frustration comes from his offensive inconsistencies.  He had a great game against X, but that was coming off a 6 point performance against StJ.  It took him until K-St to have a double digit scoring game, but that was shortly followed by a 1-10 game against Buffalo. I would gladly trade the occasional 20 point bursts for 10-12 every night.

I hear ya but that’s not really his make up. Tough to have consistent 12 point games when he’s mostly a secondary slasher.

Also it’s tough when you have a player with Markus usage and 2 other guys who are legitimate starters on just about any team in the country.

Sacar has a lot of flaws. But really he’s only expected to have the occasional big game along with everyone outside our main 3.

[StillAWarrior]

I would gladly trade the occasional 20 point bursts for 10-12 every night.

I'm right there with you.  I'd love to have all of our guys who average 7 ppg score 10-12 every night.   

[Marcus92]

Sacar definitely has his limitations. For his career, he shoots under 25% from 3-point range and under 60% from the line. Neither stat really bothers me, though.

He's only made 26 three attempts so far this year. That's 6th most on the team -- behind Markus (150), Sam (100), Joey (44), Brendan (29) and Joseph (28). And he only takes one when he has a wide-open look. So it's not as though he's jacking up ill-advised shots.

For comparison, Vander Blue was a 27.7% career three-point shooter. His best performance was 30.3% during the 2012-13 season.

Sacar's free throw shooting is a similar story. He's made just 32 attempts on the season. That's 4th most on the team -- behind Markus (107), Joey (47) and Sam (33) and tied with Theo (32). If Sacar had made 3 more free throws over the first 16 games to raise his average to 65.6%, would that have made a difference in any game so far?

The point is, Sacar isn't a primary option in our offense. His usage rate is lower than everyone on the roster besides Brendan Bailey and Matt Heldt. That's okay. Because we have better offensive options to go to. Sacar earns his playing time (4th on the team in minutes) by playing hard, defending multiple positions, rebounding and not turning the ball over.

Not every player is Markus or Sam. Sacar knows his role on the team. And it's a critical one. Wojo wouldn't play him otherwise.

[Its DJOver]

I hear ya but that’s not really his make up. Tough to have consistent 12 point games when he’s mostly a secondary slasher.

Also it’s tough when you have a player with Markus usage and 2 other guys who are legitimate starters on just about any team in the country.

Sacar has a lot of flaws. But really he’s only expected to have the occasional big game along with everyone outside our main 3.

2015-16 Duane, playing next to extremely high usage Henry. 11 points per, season high only 19, but only 6 games all year scoring less than 8.  I would be over the moon if Sacar could develop that kinda consistency.  Duane did that shooting (fg/3pt/ft) 42/34/65.  Even with Sacar's game more orientated towards slashing, while Duane was also playing more PG, that should be an attainable goal for a 4th year Junior.

[jsglow]

Another thought that I don't think has been mentioned.  Markus clearly had an imperfect game.  He made multiple unforced errors, most notably 2 turnovers in I believe the final 3 possessions prior to 8.9 seconds.  Half of the arena left and half of you probably turned off your TVs.  It was 'over'.

Wait.  No it wasn't.  His teammates picked him up just like they had the entire night.  All game long someone else made a very solid play just when one of his mistakes was about to be one too many.  Had we lost, that would have been a major story line.  But it's not because a very tight knit team pulled together and overcame against impossible odds.

And in the OT, it's like Markus repaid the favor.  He was not about to let his teammates incredible effort to 'have his back' go to waste.  All ten active scholarship players have a role.  All ten filled that role last night.

[PGsHeroes32]

2015-16 Duane, playing next to extremely high usage Henry. 11 points per, season high only 19, but only 6 games all year scoring less than 8.  I would be over the moon if Sacar could develop that kinda consistency.  Duane did that shooting (fg/3pt/ft) 42/34/65.  Even with Sacar's game more orientated towards slashing, while Duane was also playing more PG, that should be an attainable goal for a 4th year Junior.

Henry was rarely dropping 30 a game tho. Much less 3 games of 45+ with at least 15 games to go.

Markus scoring far more than Henry did.

Sam and Joey are also better players than anyone else Henry had.

[skianth16]

He's only made 26 three attempts so far this year. That's 6th most on the team -- behind Markus (150), Sam (100), Joey (44), Brendan (29) and Joseph (28). And he only takes one when he has a wide-open look. So it's not as though he's jacking up ill-advised shots.

So Brendan basically attempts one three point shot for every two minutes played? How the heck has he taken more threes than both Chartouny and Sacar?

[Its DJOver]

Henry was rarely dropping 30 a game tho. Much less 3 games of 45+ with at least 15 games to go.

Markus scoring far more than Henry did.

Sam and Joey are also better players than anyone else Henry had.

I agree that it's not a perfect comparison, but at the same time, I don't think that it is at all unrealistic to expect a 4th year Junior (even a defensive minded one) to be more consistent on the offensive end. To have a 5 game stretch where you score 3, 2, 4, 16, 14 is far too inconsistent.  He's shown the ability to score (X this year, CU last year), I'd just like to see him string together a couple of games without laying an egg. 

[Marcus92]

So Brendan basically attempts one three point shot for every two minutes played? How the heck has he taken more threes than both Chartouny and Sacar?

Not quite. Brendan has played 199 minutes this season (12.4 mpg). So his 29 three-point attempts translates to taking a three every 6.9 minutes on the court.

To answer your question another way -- Markus has attempted more threes (150) than Joey, Brendan, Joseph, Sacar and Jamal combined. If Brendan has one more 3-point attempt than Joseph or Sacar, that's a drop in the ocean when you consider Marquette's offense as a whole.

[brewcity77]

Wojo should get more credit than he has for last night.    Subtle changes to the defense, knowing when to chuck the playbook, Sam knowing to not tough the ball on the pass after the Creighton guy missed it, the 3 second huddle on the way back up the floor that got them into that play..... nice work.

Wojo really handled the game well. That was one of the best technical results I can remember. Yeah, we gave up the point on the 1/2 FT trip, but they already would've had possession and it did impact the way the game seemed to be reffed from that point on. I mentioned on Twitter with a minute or so to go that however it turned out, that T helped turn the game.

There have been bumps, but I think since the KU loss Wojo has really handled this team and game management really well. It's easy to point at St. John's, but I truly don't think any buttons he could've pushed would've changed how that game was officiated that made defending and scoring so difficult. Can't wait to see it continue to play out.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I thought the final foul on Sacar was a bad call too. The offensive player ducked his head right into him. Should have been a no call or offensive foul.

I agree good defensive positioning on sacar.  He had a few calls against him last night that were unfortunate.  I do not dislike Sacar one bit.  Hes just not very good and plays a position that usually affords a team  a really good player.  95% of the time we pkay at a deficit from that position this year. 
Yes he had a very very nice game against xavier.  However looking at our big east games, id take Heron or Simon over Sacar in a hearbeat, Scruggs from X also, and Ballock or Alexander as well.  Same will be true against pretty much every other BE team this year.
Basically inept offensively and avg on def.  now you can go all mother hen all you care to but it dors not change the fact that MU will lose the matchup at the 2, 9 times out if 10 this year.  And if we had a more capable 2 guard we would be an even more dangerous team.
Wail away,  im sure the computer numbers are stark in this regard.

[jsglow]

Wojo really handled the game well. That was one of the best technical results I can remember. Yeah, we gave up the point on the 1/2 FT trip, but they already would've had possession and it did impact the way the game seemed to be reffed from that point on. I mentioned on Twitter with a minute or so to go that however it turned out, that T helped turn the game.

There have been bumps, but I think since the KU loss Wojo has really handled this team and game management really well. It's easy to point at St. John's, but I truly don't think any buttons he could've pushed would've changed how that game was officiated that made defending and scoring so difficult. Can't wait to see it continue to play out.

It was a great T when the team was just about to lose heart after one or two swallowed whistles.  Al would have been incredibly proud.

[cheebs09]

I think it was Joey who knew not to touch the ball.

To me it looked like Joey was more concerned with trying to draw a foul than anything. It worked out well.