Seton Hell

[WarriorHal]

Who cares?  None of them were going to step up.  The SHU fans behind us would respond “Down Five” when we would chant “We are”.  No one in this league respects us because we’re soft.

You sure do hate this Marquette team. "We're soft." What exactly does that mean? Too many student-athletes? No thugs? Not athletic enough ... too many white guys?

[JakeBarnes]

You sure do hate this Marquette team. "We're soft." What exactly does that mean? Too many student-athletes? No thugs? Not athletic enough ... too many white guys?

I think it means he's a SHU troll.

[shoothoops]

Tower, this is spot on except for #7. You suggest MU got drawn into the scrum but I’d say it was the opposite—oddly enough it was Theo who exemplified that (calmly walking away after being pushed, trying to pull Sacad away, basically being a chill mofo). The team handled some real “injustices” like seasoned pros.

Theo calmly walked away because he knew he was “guilty” of putting his hands on an airborne player. It wasn’t much but he did, and that is an auto ejection if called. Zero chance in my opinion that Theo is that calm in that situation otherwise.  Powell seemed to fly into the air mostly on his own. Almost nothing from Sacar there. And, the only player Powell was ulset with at that moment was Theo, not Sacar. Powell’s emotions got him a few calls. That’s poor officiatingto be affected by that.

[shoothoops]

I’m a big Wojo fan, but why didn’t we foul with 38 seconds left? Seton Hall had theee back ups in and Markus was getting to the line at will the last 2 minutes.  Why not continue the free throw shooting contest?

This has happened a few times this season. I believe it was 38 seconds vs 26 seconds on the shot clock.  Puts a lot of pressure on getting the stop, as well as the all important rebound. 

[NickelDimer]

Theo calmly walked away because he knew he was “guilty” of putting his hands on an airborne player. It wasn’t much but he did, and that is an auto ejection if called. Zero chance in my opinion that Theo is that calm in that situation otherwise.  Powell seemed to fly into the air mostly on his own. Almost nothing from Sacar there. And, the only player Powell was ulset with at that moment was Theo, not Sacar. Powell’s emotions got him a few calls. That’s poor officiatingto be affected by that.

Nah. Theo was calm the way someone’s calm when the the person coming at them poses no real threat at all.

[shoothoops]

One trait I wish Markus had a little more was the Rousey esque ability to pump fake and force contact with the defender, espcially from deep. Even when initiated by the offensive player, the foul gets called a great deal lf the time in the college game.  It isn’t something Howard looks for enough in his game on the perimeter. It can come handy from time to time, especially when being overplayed from deep and needing a bailout. 

For the team, turnovers, not being strong with the basketball, valuing the basketball each possession, was a big problem in the first half especially.  Long been a pattern.  These are both soft/loose passes or ill advised passes, along with ball handling under pressure. 

[goinUptown]

I'm a cardholding "Fire Wojo" Wojo hater, but I don't think you can necessarily blame him for this loss.  Powell went Super Saiyan and the referees dictated the flow for the last 10 minutes - nothing you can do about that.  My only critique is that I wish he would have had the team attack the rim more with all of Seton Hall's lineup at 4 fouls.  However, that's not the strength of the team (which, now that I'm typing it - is at least indirectly Wojo's fault?).  Whatever, we weren't meant to win the BET this year.

so, are you writing that you want Coach Wojo fired, really?  why?

goinUptown

[muguru]

They lost...bottom line. 5 of the last 6. What started as a potentially magical season, has gone downhill quickly. Seems to be no answers for it either. Love the tourney, but their spiral has really REALLY killed my enthusiasm. I will watch and root for them, but not expecting much at this point. Never seen a team fall so hard...so fast. Guess who that's on?? Everyone's wonder boy...Wojo. You all love the fact he brings in "good kids"...well...this is what a team of good kids gets you..no toughness, no physicality...just incredibly soft. And that equates to losing games. Seton Hall knew their chippyness and chirping would get into MU's heads because EVERYONE knows they are soft and mentally weak based on the meltdowns in the last 5 minutes of games. Guess what?? they were absolutely right, and it worked...to perfection for them.

What kind of meltdown is this team going to have if they are down in the last 5 minutes in the tourney when the stage is bigger, the lights are brighter, and you win or go home?? I shudder to think about that. Never want to see a season end...but this one..the way it's spiraled out of control...I just want this bad taste and dead feeling I have to go away..

[willie warrior]

They lost...bottom line. 5 of the last 6. What started as a potentially magical season, has gone downhill quickly. Seems to be no answers for it either. Love the tourney, but their spiral has really REALLY killed my enthusiasm. I will watch and root for them, but not expecting much at this point. Never seen a team fall so hard...so fast. Guess who that's on?? Everyone's wonder boy...Wojo. You all love the fact he brings in "good kids"...well...this is what a team of good kids gets you..no toughness, no physicality...just incredibly soft. And that equates to losing games. Seton Hall knew their chippyness and chirping would get into MU's heads because EVERYONE knows they are soft and mentally weak based on the meltdowns in the last 5 minutes of games. Guess what?? they were absolutely right, and it worked...to perfection for them.

What kind of meltdown is this team going to have if they are down in the last 5 minutes in the tourney when the stage is bigger, the lights are brighter, and you win or go home?? I shudder to think about that. Never want to see a season end...but this one..the way it's spiraled out of control...I just want this bad taste and dead feeling I have to go away..

And that is all on Wojo...his team, his players, his "adjustments".

[tower912]

MU played the last several minutes without 3 starters and with Markus playing one handed.  There weren't many options to be had.

[RushmoreAcademy]

Who cares?  None of them were going to step up.  The SHU fans behind us would respond “Down Five” when we would chant “We are”.  No one in this league respects us because we’re soft.

Well nobody on this board respects you, so in that way, maybe you are the Marquette of scoop. You’ve become what you hate.

[jesmu84]

They lost...bottom line. 5 of the last 6. What started as a potentially magical season, has gone downhill quickly. Seems to be no answers for it either. Love the tourney, but their spiral has really REALLY killed my enthusiasm. I will watch and root for them, but not expecting much at this point. Never seen a team fall so hard...so fast. Guess who that's on?? Everyone's wonder boy...Wojo. You all love the fact he brings in "good kids"...well...this is what a team of good kids gets you..no toughness, no physicality...just incredibly soft. And that equates to losing games. Seton Hall knew their chippyness and chirping would get into MU's heads because EVERYONE knows they are soft and mentally weak based on the meltdowns in the last 5 minutes of games. Guess what?? they were absolutely right, and it worked...to perfection for them.

What kind of meltdown is this team going to have if they are down in the last 5 minutes in the tourney when the stage is bigger, the lights are brighter, and you win or go home?? I shudder to think about that. Never want to see a season end...but this one..the way it's spiraled out of control...I just want this bad taste and dead feeling I have to go away..

This is up there with the scoopiest of takes.

[SERocks]

I get that the refs were awful and the ejections bad luck etc. But my god this game really sucked the life out of me.

Yes.  After the whole 10 minute pause in the game, I lost interest.  Not to say I did not watch, but it wasn't like we (the team) were going to decide who wins the game.  The refs were in control (but had totally lost control) and at that point either team could win, but it was less about what the teams were doing and more about what the refs were doing.   Not real sure what I witnessed out there but that game was totally Donaghy'd (or is it Donaghied?).

Bring on the madness. 

[1318WWells]

I honestly can’t believe a flagrant 1 on its own combined with a technical on its own is not an ejection. It’s absurd.

+ a million. His two incidents were far more aggregious than Sacar’s.

[muwarrior69]

Theo calmly walked away because he knew he was “guilty” of putting his hands on an airborne player. It wasn’t much but he did, and that is an auto ejection if called. Zero chance in my opinion that Theo is that calm in that situation otherwise.  Powell seemed to fly into the air mostly on his own. Almost nothing from Sacar there. And, the only player Powell was ulset with at that moment was Theo, not Sacar. Powell’s emotions got him a few calls. That’s poor officiatingto be affected by that.

I seen players have their hands on an airborne player and just get called for the foul; not ejected. How many times has Howard been fouled while in the air attempting a 3 pointer, yet the player was not ejected.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

This has happened a few times this season. I believe it was 38 seconds vs 26 seconds on the shot clock.  Puts a lot of pressure on getting the stop, as well as the all important rebound.

Nah, it was 38 seconds on the clock and 30 seconds on the shot clock. I hated the no foul there. With the way the game was being officiated, extend the game. Make Hall make their free throws. Instead we wasted 30 seconds of valuable time, eventually still put a guy at the line, and were left with only 1 opportunity to tie the game.

[CTWarrior]

Calling a timeout means you let them setup their D, means we have to inbound ball because no more timeouts left.  We got a good look, can't complain.

If we called a timeout we would have just done the same thing anyway (give it to Howard and get out of the way).  Better to do it against a scrambling defense rather than a planned one.  I agree with no timeout there.

[MUfan12]

The time to call a timeout is in between the FTs. Set up what you want to run then.

With no TOs left I'd worry about them getting the ball in a decent spot from a sideline inbounds pass.

[Its DJOver]

Call a TO so you can advance the ball hey?

[StillWarriors]

His best option to pass to was BB in the corner, who had previously airballed 2 corner threes earlier. Sad part is...this was the best shot.

Rough night for BB for sure when we could have really used a lift.

[mug644]

MU was down two, and the refs were calling fouls every time Howard drove towards the end of the game. I thought he should've drove to the hoop. Despite the fact that he'd already missed 6 free throws, I think he had a better chance getting to the line and tying the game than he did winning the game on a 3, what with the way he was shooting.

[MU82]

Interesting thread so far. Now that I let the game sink in and have read all of this ...

1. If Markus ever had a worse-shooting game than this, he probably wasn't even a teenager yet. It was painful to watch. Even a layup, 3 or 4 floaters that he usually makes easily, free throws. Just a bad offensive night. And it started well before he hurt his wrist. I certainly can understand why most folks would want anybody but him shooting our final shot. I haven't watched the replay, and I trust TAMU very much, so I'll take his word that there wasn't much of a chance to pass to Sam there. Frankly, Markus ended up getting a better look than I thought he would. I didn't think he was fouled; I certainly wouldn't have called it.

2. Having Markus continually driving the ball down the stretch actually was the right strategy because the refs were calling everything. He got so many FTs. If he had anywhere near his typical shooting night ...

3. I'll take Markus on my team anytime. The guy who "never" comes through in the clutch has had some huge performances in OT and down the stretch of regulation the last couple of years. People are frustrated so they exaggerate.

4. Sam shot well from 3 but took several shots while on the move -- leaners, floaters, etc -- and missed them all. That's not his game. I'd love to know why he doesn't post up a little more. Is it his decision? Wojo's? Is it a matter of him and whoever the 5 is getting in each other's way? All I know is that he almost always gets off a very good shot when he posts up; he made a couple last night. He's too good a 3-point shooter to post up constantly; I just wish he'd do it more.

5. There was nothing "manly" or "fighting for his team" about Sacar clapping in Powell's face. All it did was give SH 2 FTs, get him his second foul of the half (so he had to sit the rest of the half) and then put himself in position to get tossed later. He did a great job of getting under Powell's skin and drawing the elbow; he's a fourth-year player who should have been mature enough to walk away -- or at least to celebrate with his teammates, and not clap at Powell. I'd have T'd him up there, too.

6. I didn't really see anything Sacar did that was T-worthy after the 2H altercation, but the refs were trying desperately to get control. Sacar was the best player on the court for us in the 2H before that happened, and losing him was significant.

7. Gus and Jimmy Jackson actually said that SH losing Mamu was more significant than us losing Sacar and Theo, which is wrong bordering on ridiculous.

8. I didn't know it was an automatic ejection for pushing an airborne player. Theo certainly didn't shove Powell that hard, but Powell's momentum was carrying him that way so it probably looked worse than it was.

9. It is a stupid rule that, for ejection sake, treats clapping hands in an opponent's face more harshly than maliciously throwing an elbow at an opponent.

10. Morrow was an absolute beast in the first half. He has played very well the last month-plus. I just wish he was a better finisher and that he had a shooting range longer than a dunk.

11. We sure could have used a real good game from Bailey and/or Chartouny. They've given us a few. This wasn't one of them.

12. I have reffed a couple of games that my partner and I could feel getting away from us due to physical play. And when that happens, you definitely call things more tightly and are quicker with T's. But as many other Scoopers have said, that was a pretty poorly officiated game right there.

13. I'm guessing Willard got the T for being about 20 feet out of the coach's box. Coaches are told before the game to respect the coach's box. They are given some leeway, but not that much. Willard was closer to Wojo's coaching box than his own.

14. I probably wouldn't have T'd up the SH player who skipped his way down the court after the call he didn't like. But, again, by that time the refs were trying to maintain control. I thought the hanging-on-rim call the SH player got was pretty weak.

15. Powell definitely outplayed Markus in the "battle of stars." Anybody who denies that didn't watch the game. He is a stone-cold assassin down the stretch of games. He didn't quite top what he did to Kentucky, but he came close. Which, of course, doesn't mean he's anything but a giant pud.

16. I'm not sure how some Scoopers can watch that game and conclude that we aren't tough or physical or aggressive. We played very hard, we didn't back down from SH (often to our detriment) and we certainly didn't quit.

17. I wouldn't have called a TO at the end of the game, either. 6 seconds is plenty of time to get a good shot -- which we did get. I know some folks wish anybody but Markus had taken it, but it was a good look given the situation. It's hard to believe we would have gotten a better shot had SH been allowed to set up its defense.

18. I agree with the few Scoopers about fouling SH with just under 40 seconds left. I was yelling, "Foul! Foul!" Even with Markus struggling from the line, I would have taken my chances in a FT-shooting contest. It did end up working out reasonably OK, though, as far as the situation we ended up with -- a good look at a game-winning 3 from a great shooter (albeit one who was having a terrible game).

19. I was exhausted at the end of the game, but for I didn't feel quite as bad about it as I did after the Georgetown or Creighton games.

20. I still think our guys have another run in them this season. Despite losing 5 out of 6 games, we have played well for significant stretches in each of those games. We will be rested and hopefully healed, and we have shown many times this season that are good enough to get on a roll for a few weeks. But yes, I am an optimist.

[muwarrior69]

Interesting thread so far. Now that I let the game sink in and have read all of this ...

1. If Markus ever had a worse-shooting game than this, he probably wasn't even a teenager yet. It was painful to watch. Even a layup, 3 or 4 floaters that he usually makes easily, free throws. Just a bad offensive night. And it started well before he hurt his wrist. I certainly can understand why most folks would want anybody but him shooting our final shot. I haven't watched the replay, and I trust TAMU very much, so I'll take his word that there wasn't much of a chance to pass to Sam there. Frankly, Markus ended up getting a better look than I thought he would. I didn't think he was fouled; I certainly wouldn't have called it.

2. Having Markus continually driving the ball down the stretch actually was the right strategy because the refs were calling everything. He got so many FTs. If he had anywhere near his typical shooting night ...

3. I'll take Markus on my team anytime. The guy who "never" comes through in the clutch has had some huge performances in OT and down the stretch of regulation the last couple of years. People are frustrated so they exaggerate.

4. Sam shot well from 3 but took several shots while on the move -- leaners, floaters, etc -- and missed them all. That's not his game. I'd love to know why he doesn't post up a little more. Is it his decision? Wojo's? Is it a matter of him and whoever the 5 is getting in each other's way? All I know is that he almost always gets off a very good shot when he posts up; he made a couple last night. He's too good a 3-point shooter to post up constantly; I just wish he'd do it more.

5. There was nothing "manly" or "fighting for his team" about Sacar clapping in Powell's face. All it did was give SH 2 FTs, get him his second foul of the half (so he had to sit the rest of the half) and then put himself in position to get tossed later. He did a great job of getting under Powell's skin and drawing the elbow; he's a fourth-year player who should have been mature enough to walk away -- or at least to celebrate with his teammates, and not clap at Powell. I'd have T'd him up there, too.

6. I didn't really see anything Sacar did that was T-worthy after the 2H altercation, but the refs were trying desperately to get control. Sacar was the best player on the court for us in the 2H before that happened, and losing him was significant.

7. Gus and Jimmy Jackson actually said that SH losing Mamu was more significant than us losing Sacar and Theo, which is wrong bordering on ridiculous.

8. I didn't know it was an automatic ejection for pushing an airborne player. Theo certainly didn't shove Powell that hard, but Powell's momentum was carrying him that way so it probably looked worse than it was.

9. It is a stupid rule that, for ejection sake, treats clapping hands in an opponent's face more harshly than maliciously throwing an elbow at an opponent.

10. Morrow was an absolute beast in the first half. He has played very well the last month-plus. I just wish he was a better finisher and that he had a shooting range longer than a dunk.

11. We sure could have used a real good game from Bailey and/or Chartouny. They've given us a few. This wasn't one of them.

12. I have reffed a couple of games that my partner and I could feel getting away from us due to physical play. And when that happens, you definitely call things more tightly and are quicker with T's. But as many other Scoopers have said, that was a pretty poorly officiated game right there.

13. I'm guessing Willard got the T for being about 20 feet out of the coach's box. Coaches are told before the game to respect the coach's box. They are given some leeway, but not that much. Willard was closer to Wojo's coaching box than his own.

14. I probably wouldn't have T'd up the SH player who skipped his way down the court after the call he didn't like. But, again, by that time the refs were trying to maintain control. I thought the hanging-on-rim call the SH player got was pretty weak.

15. Powell definitely outplayed Markus in the "battle of stars." Anybody who denies that didn't watch the game. He is a stone-cold assassin down the stretch of games. He didn't quite top what he did to Kentucky, but he came close. Which, of course, doesn't mean he's anything but a giant pud.

16. I'm not sure how some Scoopers can watch that game and conclude that we aren't tough or physical or aggressive. We played very hard, we didn't back down from SH (often to our detriment) and we certainly didn't quit.

17. I wouldn't have called a TO at the end of the game, either. 6 seconds is plenty of time to get a good shot -- which we did get. I know some folks wish anybody but Markus had taken it, but it was a good look given the situation. It's hard to believe we would have gotten a better shot had SH been allowed to set up its defense.

18. I agree with the few Scoopers about fouling SH with just under 40 seconds left. I was yelling, "Foul! Foul!" Even with Markus struggling from the line, I would have taken my chances in a FT-shooting contest. It did end up working out reasonably OK, though, as far as the situation we ended up with -- a good look at a game-winning 3 from a great shooter (albeit one who was having a terrible game).

19. I was exhausted at the end of the game, but for I didn't feel quite as bad about it as I did after the Georgetown or Creighton games.

20. I still think our guys have another run in them this season. Despite losing 5 out of 6 games, we have played well for significant stretches in each of those games. We will be rested and hopefully healed, and we have shown many times this season that are good enough to get on a roll for a few weeks. But yes, I am an optimist.

21. When the refs take 10 minutes to decide you know Marquette is always going to get screwed.

[connie]

I'm with you MU82, but I don't think they have another "run" left.  Hope I'm wrong.

[WarriorFan]

Missed the game yesterday because I was on a flight.  Watched replay just now.
- Sacar really is glue on this team.  A lot of things fell apart after he was ejected.
- Marquette needs to do a "nice guy" campaign for Theo...  Maybe he should show up with a flat-top, short shorts, low-tops and high socks as well... because he's getting 3-4 "profile" fouls per game, and now a "profile" T with ejection.  It's the equivalent of DWB what's happening to him. 
- Marcus is not a PG
- Powell is a stud.  6'2" beats 5'11".  I don't like him, but he came through in the 2nd half.
- Morrow gets a lot of garbage buckets.  I saw 1 play for him this game... and he got a dunk off an inbound because he didn't make the handoff.  Why not 3-4 plays for him each game?
- It goes without saying now... but MU got absolutely hosed by bad officiating.  It was bad both ways, but the two ejections were both without merit, and Powell should have been ejected in the first half.  That Powell was allowed by the Big East to play today is a travesty.  The BEAST should have reviewed the 1st half elbow and suspended him.  Now it appears that premeditated elbows to opponents are perfectly OK.  Also, you can see Powell - before the elbow - look to see if the baseline ref is watching.  It was 100% intentional.