Shooting the lights out!

[MU82]

With our non-conference schedule finished, Marquette's .42657 percentage from 3-point range ranks third nationally behind McNeese (.44275) and St. Mary's (.44268).

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/3-points

We are No. 1 among P6 teams -- well ahead of Ohio State (.409) and Oregon (.408), both of whom play today. Nobody else is at 40%.

When factoring games involving only two D1 schools, we are No. 1.

https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/three-point-pct

If you had told me before the season that any of the above would be the case, I wouldn't have believed you. 3-point shooting, rebounding and taking care of the basketball were my three main concerns going in. We aren't a great rebounding team and we have had way too many turnovers (ranked 246th in TO per game!), but we have shot the lights out most games -- despite McEwen being in a deep, deep slump.

Only 3 times all season have we shot under 35%. Eight times .375 or better ... and fully half our games have been at .474 or better.

Our second-worst shooting game from 3 came against Purdue (.280) but we were able to win it anyway, which I take as a positive sign. Our worst was against Robert Morris (.250), when Wojo seemingly made Markus a decoy to prove a point. (Markus took only four 3s, and the team took 16, both season lows.)

We are 111th in 3-point attempts per game (23.833) but 11th in 3s made per game (10.167). This would suggest that, if anything, we aren't taking enough of 'em!

Individually: Markus is at .484, Elliott .480, Sacar .459, Bailey .409, Cain .409, Symir .357, Koby .319.

Our opponents are shooting .296, ranking us 49th in 3-point defense. We are outscoring opponents by about 12 ppg from behind the arc.

Obviously, we are about to start facing some really good Big East defenses in some super-competitive games. Can we keep up this pace? Here's hoping!

[tower912]

I am not surprised we are shooting so well from 3.   I am surprised how we are getting them and I am surprised we are not doing better from 2.    Wojo has shown that he can implement an offense that gets good looks from 3.    The ball is moving and no one is forcing it.  And before anyone says Markus, (a) he has earned the ultimate green light and (b) with others out there dribbling, cutting and moving he is not playing nearly as much hero ball this year.

[GooooMarquette]

So much for the theory that the departure of the letter-writers would kill our outside shooting....

[Dr. Blackheart]

I just want to point out the reverse as 82 touched on it...to date, MU's opponents eFG% is 10th in KPom and at the lowest level since the 1997 Mike Deane team. Two point defense is at 41%, which is the second best to that 1997 team which led the country.

Two stats stand out to me: 1) MU is 349th (higher number is better) in 2 foul participation with only 0.1% of the minutes played with two fouls in the first half,  and 2) opponent average possession length is 17.5 seconds (215th) versus  15.7 for MU (fast). Depth, switchables, and protecting the paint by delaying the initiation of opponents' offense has made a difference.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

we have had way too many turnovers (ranked 246th in TO per game!)

On this point, the TOs look worse than they actually are. We play at a blistering tempo (top 20 in the country) meaning there are a lot of possessions in the game. Our per game stats, both the good and the bad, are going to be exaggerated as a result. You gotta look at the tempo free stats to get the true story. Our TO% is 19.9% which ranks 199th. Still not good, but at lot better than 246th.

[Elonsmusk]

I just want to point out the reverse as 82 touched on it...to date, MU's opponents eFG% is 10th in KPom and at the lowest level since the 1997 Mike Deane team. Two point defense is at 41%, which is the second best to that 1997 team which led the country.

Two stats stand out to me: 1) MU is 349th (higher number is better) in 2 foul participation with only 0.1% of the minutes played with two fouls in the first half,  and 2) opponent average possession length is 17.5 seconds (215th) versus  15.7 for MU (fast). Depth, switchables, and protecting the paint by delaying the initiation of opponents' offense has made a difference.

This is encouraging as it is likely more sustainable than being able to count on being Number 1 in 3pt shooting.  As has been said:  "Defense travels."

That aside I was not expecting us to shoot so well from 3 this season.  Helps with Markus taking 40% of all of our shots and him being up 8% on the year over last - yet Sacar, Bailey, Cain and Elliott all +40% from 3?  Incredible.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I am surprised we are not doing better from 2.

I am also surprised by this but we have found an interesting way to make up for it. Our FTR is currently 44.6 which is good for third in the nation. The D1 average is 31.9 so that is an absurd number. Unfortunately, we are also in the bottom third for opponent's FTR. So if it seems like all of our games have been whistle happy foul fests, you aren't wrong. As annoying as that is, rosters with depth like ours have an advantage in those types of games.

[Johnny B]

With our non-conference schedule finished, Marquette's .42657 percentage from 3-point range ranks third nationally behind McNeese (.44275) and St. Mary's (.44268).

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/3-points

We are No. 1  vs p5 teams -- well ahead of Ohio State (.409) and Oregon (.408), both of whom play today. Nobody else is at 40%.

When factoring games involving only two D1 schools, we are No. 1.

https://www.teamrankings.com/ncaa-basketball/stat/three-point-pct

If you had told me before the season that any of the above would be the case, I wouldn't have believed you. 3-point shooting, rebounding and taking care of the basketball were my three main concerns going in. We aren't a great rebounding team and we have had way too many turnovers (ranked 246th in TO per game!), but we have shot the lights out most games -- despite McEwen being in a deep, deep slump.

Only 3 times all season have we shot under 35%. Eight times .375 or better ... and fully half our games have been at .474 or better.

Our second-worst shooting game from 3 came against Purdue (.280) but we were able to win it anyway, which I take as a positive sign. Our worst was against Robert Morris (.250), when Wojo seemingly made Markus a decoy to prove a point. (Markus took only four 3s, and the team took 16, both season lows.)

We are 111th in 3-point attempts per game (23.833) but 11th in 3s made per game (10.167). This would suggest that, if anything, we aren't taking enough of 'em!

Individually: Markus is at .484, Elliott .480, Sacar .459, Bailey .409, Cain .409, Symir .357, Koby .319.

Our opponents are shooting .296, ranking us 49th in 3-point defense. We are outscoring opponents by about 12 ppg from behind the arc.

Obviously, we are about to start facing some really good Big East defenses in some super-competitive games. Can we keep up this pace? Here's hoping!

[MuMark]

I just want to point out the reverse as 82 touched on it...to date, MU's opponents eFG% is 10th in KPom and at the lowest level since the 1997 Mike Deane team. Two point defense is at 41%, which is the second best to that 1997 team which led the country.

Two stats stand out to me: 1) MU is 349th (higher number is better) in 2 foul participation with only 0.1% of the minutes played with two fouls in the first half,  and 2) opponent average possession length is 17.5 seconds (215th) versus  15.7 for MU (fast). Depth, switchables, and protecting the paint by delaying the initiation of opponents' offense has made a difference.

My take on the 2 point participation is that when our guys get 2 fouls they sit...not that they hardly ever got 2 fouls.

We are fouling quite a bit. We rank 247 in FTA/ FGA defensively.

Fortunately we are 3rd in the country offensively in that category.

[Jay Bee]

My take on the 2 point participation is that when our guys get 2 fouls they sit...not that they hardly ever got 2 fouls.

Well, yeah.. the calculation takes into account what happens WHEN they get 2 fouls. So, uh.. by definition... yeah

[Jay Bee]

With our non-conference schedule finished, Marquette's .42657 percentage from 3-point range ranks third nationally behind McNeese (.44275) and St. Mary's (.44268).

lol, ust noticed St. has played FOUR flippin games against non-DI teams.. and shot 60/114 from deep - 52.6% - in those games. They drop to #27 when looking at D-I games only. 1 D-I victory all season. Shameful!

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

When will all the summer panickers admit i was correct about the loss of the turnstile brothers?
I basicallly predicted this entire thread sans the ftr n turnover rates

[Elonsmusk]

When will all the summer panickers admit i was correct about the loss of the turnstile brothers?
I basicallly predicted this entire thread sans the ftr n turnover rates

Might be prudent to see where rankings end at season's end. 

We are currently 37th in Pomeroy in Defense, we finished last year at 45th.

We are a very "old" team this season..we should be solid on defense.  Sacar and Ed in 5th years, Markus, Jayce, Koby in their 4th years, Bailey's 22, Jamal, Theo, Greg in year 3. 

[MU82]

On this point, the TOs look worse than they actually are. We play at a blistering tempo (top 20 in the country) meaning there are a lot of possessions in the game. Our per game stats, both the good and the bad, are going to be exaggerated as a result. You gotta look at the tempo free stats to get the true story. Our TO% is 19.9% which ranks 199th. Still not good, but at lot better than 246th.

Still need to take care of the ball better, and you seemingly agree.

Also encouraged by our defense, as others noted, but it was the 3-point shooting that surprised me so much and inspired this thread.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

When will all the summer panickers admit i was correct about the loss of the turnstile brothers?
I basicallly predicted this entire thread sans the ftr n turnover rates

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

[Pakuni]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

Sam, for sure.
Joey ... not so sure. I kind of like the length, defense and athleticism we have with Brendan and Jamal on the court instead.

[PGsHeroes32]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

Unlikely we are significantly better if both are still here.

Might be a stretch even if you assume both stayed because they are completely happy here.

[tower912]

If S&J had stayed others may have left.  maybe Symir doesn't reclassify.    Maybe Jayce stays away.   Maybe the team looks like the 23-4 start, maybe the team looks like the 1-6 finish.

[wadesworld]

They gowne.

Go Marquette.

[MU82]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

Maybe, but what if 3-4 others left because of it? Or if they and Markus feuded?

We'll never know.

I wish Sam had stayed, but it doesn't matter what I would have liked or you or anybody else. They're not walking back through that door.

I like our team, filled with Warriors who want to be Warriors.

[GooooMarquette]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

It appeared that Sam and Joey had decided they would stay only if Markus declared for the draft. So no - we would not be a better team if Sam and Joey had stayed.

[MU1980]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

Completely 100% disagree. I enjoy watching this years team much better than last years team with better athletes, higher intensity, more team chemistry and more entertaining basketball.  The fact that MU is potentially better than last years team or what this years team would have been with the Hauser's, makes the transfers all the better for Marquette.  Also, as others have stated, if the Hauser's had stayed, others were going to leave and not only would this years team be worse, it would have very likely been significantly worse.  Nice to see something that at that the time seemed a huge negative for Marquette, turn out to actually be a positive.  Lastly, them leaving has obviously not hurt recruiting  and has potentially helped it.  Imagine someone wanting to play with Joey Hauser as a teammate.  I do not think we get all three recruits that have signed if Joey had stayed. 

[brewcity77]

We would be a significantly better team this season if Sam and Joey had stayed.

Hard to know this for sure. Entirely possible other players may have left for larger opportunities, and Jayce likely wouldn't be here.

I think we would have been better to start the year, but we may have a higher ceiling with the team that stayed. But ultimately impossible to know.

[Class71]

No point in looking back at the what if's, particularly when the conference games have not started. The real tests are yet to come.

[MU82]

And furthermore ... this thread isn't about the effen Hausers.

How 'bout that 3-point shooting?!?!