Seton (on the edge of my seat) Hall thoughts

[jesmu84]

All around  the Big East, teams, coaches, and fans are looking  at Theo and saying 'bleep.  That bleeping  bleeper  is only a bleeping sophomore and is only bleeping going to bleeping stronger and bleeping meaner around the bleeping  basket.  Bleepity bleep bleep.'

Timeout huddle @creighton demonstrated this when McDermott told his guys not to even go inside and challenge theo.

But it was with less swearing

[ATWizJr]

13. We beat ourselves and still won.

exactly. Almost gave it away. Glad we could pull it out at the end.

[Floorslapper]

All around  the Big East, teams, coaches, and fans are looking  at Theo and saying 'bleep.  That bleeping  bleeper  is only a bleeping sophomore and is only bleeping going to bleeping stronger and bleeping meaner around the bleeping  basket.  Bleepity bleep bleep.'

Yep.  Heard McDermott say in the In the Huddle segment  - Don't challenge the monster.  Come to jump stop, pivot, pass out of the lane after forcing help.

Theo's rim protection and post defense are a HUGE asset to the team and the likes of which we haven't had in a LONG time.  Jae was a great defender, physical, but nowhere near the rim protector Theo is. 

Theo is Faisal Abraham 2.0, but even taller and more physical.  Been 20+ years since we've had a player like Theo.

[PGsHeroes32]

We got a huge gift when the ref didn't call a foul on Markus on the Seton three point attempt near the end.  Forgot what Seton player it was.  Replay showed Markus hit him on the forearm.  I think we got some home cooking today from the Refs.  Won't get that on the road.

No we didn't.

Refs let them play all game, that benefited the SHU physicality.

Cain was mugged twice. Bang bang charges went on us. We were banged on numerous defensive rebounds.

Powell had a pretty weak leg kick out called on Markus in the 1H.

Refs mostly let them play. There wasn't home cooking.

[MUMountin]

All around  the Big East, teams, coaches, and fans are looking  at Theo and saying 'bleep.  That bleeping  bleeper  is only a bleeping sophomore and is only bleeping going to bleeping stronger and bleeping meaner around the bleeping  basket.  Bleepity bleep bleep.'

No kidding.  He will be a force by his senior season. 

And, I think as refs continue to get used to him, his size, and strength, he won't get called for as many bogus fouls, which will help him stay on the floor more.

[Boston Warrior]

I thought this was a tough game for MU coming from the emotional high of the Creighton game. Glad to see the boys tough it out and win this one. It will pay off down the stretch as the games get won by the mentally tough.

[StillWarriors]

[quote author=CTWarrior link=topic=57475.msg1075949#msg1075949

If Sam gets it going like last year we are going to be awfully good.  He and Joey missed many high percentage 3s today.  SHU reminded me a bit of SJU.  Very athletic, made it very hard on Markus.
[/quote]

Exactly. The missed wide open looks in the first half (Sam 2or 3 and Markus) when SH was turning it over repeatedly
and a 12 pt lead should have been 20, and the many wide open looks in the second half made it a much closer game than it needed to be even with all the TOs. Guys are going to miss shots, but I thought we did a good job finding wide open looks and just didn't convert. I thought Markus did a good job distributing for the most part when bogged down. 

[willie warrior]

13. We beat ourselves and still won.

Hmmmmm...."We beat ourselves?" Inquiring minds want to know more.

[willie warrior]

We got a huge gift when the ref didn't call a foul on Markus on the Seton three point attempt near the end.  Forgot what Seton player it was.  Replay showed Markus hit him on the forearm.  I think we got some home cooking today from the Refs.  Won't get that on the road.

The calls sucked both ways.
Disagree.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Ring out a ahoya.  Good win Warriors.

[MU82]

0 for 9 from three in second half.
Shot 30% overall in second half.
SHU had 19 fouls, MU had 12.  SHU was 6 for 9 and MU was 20-24 from the line.  16 point differential.
20 turnovers and the 4 on Joe C. and 3 on Cain were well, not good.
Still win, thats two games in a row, could have gone the other direction.

Great summary, nice amplification of some of tower's points. I'll throw out a few, too:

++ If I'm not mistaken, this victory (and the previous 2) eliminates the whole "Wojo can't get 3 straight Big East wins" angle for his critics. I thought he coached an excellent game today -- some nice X's and O's, a good call to foul at the end rather than take a chance on SH shooting a 3, and most importantly he got the guys settled down and re-focused after we gave up the lead. We didn't have Red Hot Markus to bail us out today -- heck, in the second half, we didn't have red-hot anybody -- but still found a way to win against an opponent that has been a tough out for nearly every team they've played.

++ Sacar had 14 points (including two 3s), 2 steals, the assist on the game's most important basket, and made Powell work hard all game long (and held Powell below his scoring average). This just 6 days after Sacar had 20 pts, 7 rebs against Xavier. But Sand-Knit says Sacar is the worst player in the history of mankind ... or at least the worst since he said Luke was the worst player in the history of mankind. So I guess Sacar really must suck.

++ It was ugly at times (OK, much of the time), but I think it says a lot about the guys' mental toughness to be able to win a game like this. I'm 98.6% sure that we lose this game last season.

++ We can win games with our D now. As others have said ... Theo is a difference-maker.

++ Jeezus ... I'm not sure JC and JC can play any worse than they did today, but they've given us some good games this season and I have confidence that they'll contribute the rest of the way. I liked how Wojo gave each of them a couple of chances before giving them permanent pine.

++ Wonder why Bailey didn't play at all, given the JC's struggles.

++ I didn't think we really got much home cooking from the refs, even though I agree Markus fouled the 3-point shooter on that late attempt. Cain was mugged, the charge call on Markus was horrendous, and SH was allowed to climb up our backs on the glass all game. I was pleasantly surprised they called the late shove to send Theo to the line.

++ Was wondering where Morrow was, because he played pretty well early on. I hope it's not serious. Definitely could use him against Georgetown.

++ Methinks we might be a top-15 team now, my friends!

[Jockey]

Sigh.

For the bajillionth time. FTsNoMatta is short for "Team FT% matters very little in terms of winning a basketball game."

I disagree (or maybe just semantics?). To me it is macro vs. micro.

Over the course of the season (or even most games), FT NO matta. Over the last couple minutes of a close game, they often matter more than any other factor.

[muwarrior69]

Great summary, nice amplification of some of tower's points. I'll throw out a few, too:

++ If I'm not mistaken, this victory (and the previous 2) eliminates the whole "Wojo can't get 3 straight Big East wins" angle for his critics. I thought he coached an excellent game today -- some nice X's and O's, a good call to foul at the end rather than take a chance on SH shooting a 3, and most importantly he got the guys settled down and re-focused after we gave up the lead. We didn't have Red Hot Markus to bail us out today -- heck, in the second half, we didn't have red-hot anybody -- but still found a way to win against an opponent that has been a tough out for nearly every team they've played.

++ Sacar had 14 points (including two 3s), 2 steals, the assist on the game's most important basket, and made Powell work hard all game long (and held Powell below his scoring average). This just 6 days after Sacar had 20 pts, 7 rebs against Xavier. But Sand-Knit says Sacar is the worst player in the history of mankind ... or at least the worst since he said Luke was the worst player in the history of mankind. So I guess Sacar really must suck.

++ It was ugly at times (OK, much of the time), but I think it says a lot about the guys' mental toughness to be able to win a game like this. I'm 98.6% sure that we lose this game last season.

++ We can win games with our D now. As others have said ... Theo is a difference-maker.

++ Jeezus ... I'm not sure JC and JC can play any worse than they did today, but they've given us some good games this season and I have confidence that they'll contribute the rest of the way. I liked how Wojo gave each of them a couple of chances before giving them permanent pine.

++ Wonder why Bailey didn't play at all, given the JC's struggles.

++ I didn't think we really got much home cooking from the refs, even though I agree Markus fouled the 3-point shooter on that late attempt. Cain was mugged, the charge call on Markus was horrendous, and SH was allowed to climb up our backs on the glass all game. I was pleasantly surprised they called the late shove to send Theo to the line.

++ Was wondering where Morrow was, because he played pretty well early on. I hope it's not serious. Definitely could use him against Georgetown.

++ Methinks we might be a top-15 team now, my friends!

Only if we are capable of not turning the ball over. It seems to be our only weakness as a team.

[79Warrior]

The bench with a whopping two points. I get Ed got hurt, but that is pretty brutal.

[MU82]

Only if we are capable of not turning the ball over. It seems to be our only weakness as a team.

I was speaking literally of the next rankings, not about whether we actually are the 15th best team in the nation right now.

We certainly have the ingredients to be a top-15 (or better) team: great shooting, toughness,  defensive ability, rebounding, coaching, versatility, depth, etc. Just gotta put most of those areas together with a little more consistency -- and yes, we have to take care of the basketball.

The good news is we still have 2 months to get there. The better news is that our "teaching moments" are coming in games we're winning despite our flaws. Much, much, MUCH better feeling to teach after wins than after losses!

[Mr. Nielsen]

Paid Attendance- 17,180.

Crowds have been excellent this season. People coming out in huge numbers. That said, Marquette look good in the 1st half. Had it's problems scoring in the 2nd half. We as a crowd need to bring it! I lost my voice in the final 7 minutes getting people to their feet for defense of stops. Wojo felt the same as he was himself trying to get the crowd going. I hope we are not taking winning at Fiserv Forum for granted.

[Jockey]

Another fun game. Sure, we were sloppy at times. But to win a close game where Marcus is shut out over the last 6 minutes was outstanding and exciting.

Good teams win this kind of game.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Terrible game for the guys. Take the W and run.

[muwarrior69]

Paid Attendance- 17,180.

Crowds have been excellent this season. People coming out in huge numbers. That said, Marquette look good in the 1st half. Had it's problems scoring in the 2nd half. We as a crowd need to bring it! I lost my voice in the final 7 minutes getting people to their feet for defense of stops. Wojo felt the same as he was himself trying to get the crowd going. I hope we are not taking winning at Fiserv Forum for granted.

At least now Milwaukee has something to be excited about to get them through the winter.

[pbiflyer]

The calls sucked both ways.
Disagree.

Agree. And they let a ton of calls go where we were fouled.

[Herman Cain]

Fun game . Seton Hall is a high quality and very physical  team and MU definitely worked hard to earn the victory. Kudos to the players and coaches on a job well done. Looking forward to the rematch on the road should be very hard fought.

[Jockey]

ALL wins are good wins. Carolina lost by 21 at home today.

[MU82]

Paid Attendance- 17,180.

Crowds have been excellent this season. People coming out in huge numbers. That said, Marquette look good in the 1st half. Had it's problems scoring in the 2nd half. We as a crowd need to bring it! I lost my voice in the final 7 minutes getting people to their feet for defense of stops. Wojo felt the same as he was himself trying to get the crowd going. I hope we are not taking winning at Fiserv Forum for granted.

I'll be at the next 2 home games (as I know I've mentioned before). Can't wait to get my first look at our new place, and my first in-person look at our Warriors this season. I won't take it for granted!

ALL wins are good wins. Carolina lost by 21 at home today.

Yep, yep, yep.

[wadesworld]

I thought the refs made bad calls both ways.  Markus fouled the 3 point shooter at the end but did not foul Powell on the 3 point leg kick that the refs called.  The charge calls on Markus and Sam (which wiped out a bucket) were both terrible calls (though Markus probably travels if the charge isn't called anyways).  The travel they did call early in the 2nd half on Markus where the defender flopped and nothing was called, forcing Markus's feet to slide, was a blocking foul on the defender.

These things tend to even out over the course of a game.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Some on here have suggested that Willard can't coach and that Seton Hall would be bad this season.  Care to reassess?

Guilty in thinking Hall would be poor this year after graduating that senior class.  Willard has them playing very hard, which makes up for some of their talent deficiencies.