Holding (Fi) serv at home, with a big Koby beef steak.

[Cheeks]

Tell me Mr Wise one, how difficult is it to win on the road?? I just gave you SEVERAL Examples of teams that did it just this week. There are PLENTY more I can give you if you need them. That's all you got?? You better bring it better then that. How come you didn't comment on the teams that won ON THE ROAD just this week, including two of them today over RANKED teams?? Because you can't...I made my point. It is NOT an EXCUSE...EVER. What it is for fans is a flat out cop out. Period. Have a good night. 

You will always be able to find some examples.

Big East road teams are are 3-6 on the road.  Two of the road wins are over DePaul, the other road win is Butler by 2 point over St John's.

I suspect you will see this trend continue all year long in this league.

Look for Nova to fall at Creighton this week.

[Cheeks]

I mean, I don't have a dog in this fight but Gonzaga has been awfully consistent, and so has Auburn(since they are undefeated). That's just a couple of examples.

2 out  of 353....ok.

I'd expand it to maybe another 5 or 6 teams including SDSU....but just last week OSU was supposed to be the best team in the country and they are licking wounds.  Kansas.  Duke.  Michigan State.  Maryland.  Baylor.  Arizona...lost to St John's.  I could go on for hours.   But yes, every year you can identify some and in some years there will even be dominant teams, not the case this year...no dominant teams.

[MU82]

Tell me Mr Wise one, how difficult is it to win on the road?? I just gave you SEVERAL Examples of teams that did it just this week. There are PLENTY more I can give you if you need them. That's all you got?? You better bring it better then that. How come you didn't comment on the teams that won ON THE ROAD just this week, including two of them today over RANKED teams?? Because you can't...I made my point. It is NOT an EXCUSE...EVER. What it is for fans is a flat out cop out. Period. Have a good night. 

Of course teams can win on the road. As MU did at K-State this season, at Butler, X, Providence and Creighton last season, etc.

But only you would claim that we should win every road game, regardless of the quality of an opponent.

It's not an excuse, it's a fact that it's not easy to win on the road, one that has been confirmed year after year after year.

I could give you SEVERAL examples of great teams -- teams ranked No. 1 in the nation -- that have lost on the road already this season. Oh, and No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Nova lost at MU in '17.

So? What does that any of that "prove"?

And it's Koby. He's a starter on your supposedly favorite team. Learn how to spell his name.

[f/k/a humanlung]

Tough day for you today....relax, you will get another chance to complain as we will lose more games.

Cheeks, if the team is prepared for the opponent, is put in a position to win by the coaching staff, and gives 100% effort, losses still happen.  It's a fact and something we all accept.

What has me, and others, bothered is that too often at least one of the things I mentioned above is missing.  And it has happened a lot over the last few years.  Wojo gets a pass on the first two years for reasons we all know but since then, with the talent he has recruited, the reasons why this team is missing something has less to do with players and more with coaches.

This is a talented group of young men who deserve to enjoy the success that they are capable of achieving.  I (and others here) simply have little confidence Wojo can (or is willing to do) the things needed so these men can achieve that success.

As I have said many times, I hope I am wrong.  I will be the first to admit it if Wojo succeeds consistently. I love big wins, like this one, I just think our program, with this talent, is capable of making today's win the "norm" on a far more regular basis.

[muguru]

Of course teams can win on the road. As MU did at K-State this season, at Butler, X, Providence and Creighton last season, etc.

But only you would claim that we should win every road game, regardless of the quality of an opponent.

It's not an excuse, it's a fact that it's not easy to win on the road, one that has been confirmed year after year after year.

I could give you SEVERAL examples of great teams -- teams ranked No. 1 in the nation -- that have lost on the road already this season. Oh, and No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Nova lost at MU in '17.

So? What does that any of that "prove"?

And it's Koby. He's a starter on your supposedly favorite team. Learn how to spell his name.

Alright, now you are just being a bold faced liar...but that's what journalists are known for so not surprised. Find ONE single example, ONE of where I have EVER said MU should win EVERY single road game...Nothing like lying your ass off to try to make a point. FAIL.

I EXPECT MU to lose road games, every team does it. But I will tell you what I have stated MANY times over..Losing home games is Unacceptable, especially as many as MU has under Wojo. If you can't take care of business at home, you end up not being as successful as what probably everyone thinks you should be. EVERY single Coach in America will tell you the ABSOLUTE most important thing to do is defend your home court. As many coaches have stated, the formula is: Take care of business at home, steal a road win or two and you're in great shape.

While I understand losing games on the road, I do NOT understand getting your door blown off and showing terrible effort, against a team that is NOT much more talented than you, if at all. That isn't specific to the Creighton game, that's any game.

I will accept your apology for lying.

I know it's Koby, you have never had a typo Mr Journalist?? I suppose not, you have editors etc.

[MU82]

Alright, now you are just being a bold faced liar...but that's what journalists are known for so not surprised. Find ONE single example, ONE of where I have EVER said MU should win EVERY single road game...Nothing like lying your ass off to try to make a point. FAIL.

I EXPECT MU to lose road games, every team does it. But I will tell you what I have stated MANY times over..Losing home games is Unacceptable, especially as many as MU has under Wojo. If you can't take care of business at home, you end up not being as successful as what probably everyone thinks you should be. EVERY single Coach in America will tell you the ABSOLUTE most important thing to do is defend your home court. As many coaches have stated, the formula is: Take care of business at home, steal a road win or two and you're in great shape.

While I understand losing games on the road, I do NOT understand getting your door blown off and showing terrible effort, against a team that is NOT much more talented than you, if at all. That isn't specific to the Creighton game, that's any game.

I will accept your apology for lying.

I know it's Koby, you have never had a typo Mr Journalist?? I suppose not, you have editors etc.

Dribble.

We Are Marquette!

[tower912]

I think you meant 'drivel.'

[Uncle Rico]

Alright, now you are just being a bold faced liar...but that's what journalists are known for so not surprised. Find ONE single example, ONE of where I have EVER said MU should win EVERY single road game...Nothing like lying your ass off to try to make a point. FAIL.

I EXPECT MU to lose road games, every team does it. But I will tell you what I have stated MANY times over..Losing home games is Unacceptable, especially as many as MU has under Wojo. If you can't take care of business at home, you end up not being as successful as what probably everyone thinks you should be. EVERY single Coach in America will tell you the ABSOLUTE most important thing to do is defend your home court. As many coaches have stated, the formula is: Take care of business at home, steal a road win or two and you're in great shape.

While I understand losing games on the road, I do NOT understand getting your door blown off and showing terrible effort, against a team that is NOT much more talented than you, if at all. That isn't specific to the Creighton game, that's any game.

I will accept your apology for lying.

I know it's Koby, you have never had a typo Mr Journalist?? I suppose not, you have editors etc.

Fart noises

[MU82]

I think you meant 'drivel.'

Nah. Somebody else here used "dribble" years ago and I liked it. So I have stolen it.

What I won't do is get into the whole name-calling and personal-attack thing, as guru did just because he doesn't understand intentional hyperbole.

[tower912]

When you were a professional journalist, you knew which sources to take seriously and which ones couldn't ever be taken seriously.   Same concept.

[muguru]

Nah. Somebody else here used "dribble" years ago and I liked it. So I have stolen it.

What I won't do is get into the whole name-calling and personal-attack thing, as guru did just because he doesn't understand intentional hyperbole.

Then speak normal...your style has always been a sarcastic ass. Can you ever post anything that isn't dripping with hyperbole/sarcasm?? I'm sarcastic as the next guy believe me, but when it's EVERY single time, it gets to be a bit much. I apologize for the attacks, as they were unnecessary and I'm VERY happy with today's result. I hope they get another Tuesday night.

[tower912]

Box score
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401168413

For those of you hoping the rotation would get shortened, today was your day.    No Jayce.    Obviously because there was no one on Villanova for him to guard.

[bilsu]

The defensive rotations were flawless. Our D was great today. Theo was great. Can't quite understand how we looked so bad at Creighton and so good today. Creighton does have talented guards, yet it was night and day how we played these last two games.

That is easy to figure out. Wojo was playing mind games with Villanova. He set them up by  purposely making us look bad against Creighton.

[WarriorFan]

It was a complete game defensively and a good enough game offensively to beat a good but not as great as they have been recently Nova team.   I think their ranking is based more on reputation than quality but in what portends to be a year of parity in the top 40-50 D1 teams beating any ranked team while they are ranked is important.

I only saw 3 clear "game plan" aspects that helped the win:   The Rest was effort and execution.
- get Markus going early/ Markus on the ball early
- penetrate and draw fouls
- switch everything 1-4 and force Theo to recover quickly when he shades the screen.  (Although at times it was switch 2-4 as Markus stayed with his man)

Wojo took advantage of the fact that Nova doesn't have a dominant big guy which gave Theo time to recover and also meant that even when he switched to a smaller guy it wasn't a big threat.

The plays called exclusively for Koby were nice as well.

Mostly though it was execution.  This team could beat almost anyone when they play this well.

[Lennys Tap]

You will always be able to find some examples.

Big East road teams are are 3-6 on the road.  Two of the road wins are over DePaul, the other road win is Butler by 2 point over St John's.

I suspect you will see this trend continue all year long in this league.

Look for Nova to fall at Creighton this week.

Generally agree home/road but last year the road team won 40% of their games in Big East play.

[WhoaJoe2020]

Cheeks, if the team is prepared for the opponent, is put in a position to win by the coaching staff, and gives 100% effort, losses still happen.  It's a fact and something we all accept.

What has me, and others, bothered is that too often at least one of the things I mentioned above is missing.  And it has happened a lot over the last few years.  Wojo gets a pass on the first two years for reasons we all know but since then, with the talent he has recruited, the reasons why this team is missing something has less to do with players and more with coaches.

This is a talented group of young men who deserve to enjoy the success that they are capable of achieving.  I (and others here) simply have little confidence Wojo can (or is willing to do) the things needed so these men can achieve that success.

As I have said many times, I hope I am wrong.  I will be the first to admit it if Wojo succeeds consistently. I love big wins, like this one, I just think our program, with this talent, is capable of making today's win the "norm" on a far more regular basis.

First off...As hard as you fight to be right I highly doubt you hope to be wrong.
Second... There are so many variables with college basketball( injuries, transfers, egos, strength of opponents, officiating, etc, consistent success is never guaranteed. Considering the roster Wojo inherited when Buzz left IN ADDITION to all the variables mentioned a reasonable person might conclude that Wojo HAS CONSISTENTLY succeeded in fielding a competitive team with a decent winning percentage and several postseason appearances. All while being a first time head coach in a very competitive conference. Last year should have been something special but Sams hip injury, Markus' injury, Gregs thumb injury, and Joey hitting the wall late in the season took care of that.
We're about where we were last year with everything still right in front of us this season and a highly rated incoming class for next year. Oh yeah, Wojo and his staff have been CONSISTENTLY  good on the recruiting front too.
The fact is Wojo has already proven himself by most metrics. Winning in the tournament would be great but depending on the seed and the opponent, team health at the end of the season, officiating, venue, etc, there's no guarantee of victory. That doesn't mean it wasn't another successful season. And it's not accepting mediocrity, it's accepting reality.

[Small Orange Soda]

Last year should have been something special but Sams hip injury, Markus' injury, Gregs thumb injury, and Joey hitting the wall late in the season took care of that.

Wojo's inability to manage egos took care of that, actually.  Sad folks are still trying to rewrite history.

[MU82]

Then speak normal...your style has always been a sarcastic ass. Can you ever post anything that isn't dripping with hyperbole/sarcasm?? I'm sarcastic as the next guy believe me, but when it's EVERY single time, it gets to be a bit much. I apologize for the attacks, as they were unnecessary and I'm VERY happy with today's result. I hope they get another Tuesday night.

guru, we want the same thing for MU hoops: success.

Glad to hear you are able to enjoy games like today's. That puts you ahead of a lot of Scoopers who posted the last few days.

[wadesworld]

MU beats top 10 Nova yet some people can't help but continue to cry. Can't even lay off of it for the 11 hours left of the day.

Insufferable.

[Jockey]

EVERY thread I look at, chico is arguing with one or more posters.

For the love of God, quit feeding this creep. He does not want to discuss - he just wants to argue. And you guys give him the fuel he cries for.

Ignore him until he goes back on his meds. This board is becoming almost unreadable. It doesn't have to be this way!!!!!!

[f/k/a humanlung]

First off...As hard as you fight to be right I highly doubt you hope to be wrong.
Second... There are so many variables with college basketball( injuries, transfers, egos, strength of opponents, officiating, etc, consistent success is never guaranteed. Considering the roster Wojo inherited when Buzz left IN ADDITION to all the variables mentioned a reasonable person might conclude that Wojo HAS CONSISTENTLY succeeded in fielding a competitive team with a decent winning percentage and several postseason appearances. All while being a first time head coach in a very competitive conference. Last year should have been something special but Sams hip injury, Markus' injury, Gregs thumb injury, and Joey hitting the wall late in the season took care of that.
We're about where we were last year with everything still right in front of us this season and a highly rated incoming class for next year. Oh yeah, Wojo and his staff have been CONSISTENTLY  good on the recruiting front too.
The fact is Wojo has already proven himself by most metrics. Winning in the tournament would be great but depending on the seed and the opponent, team health at the end of the season, officiating, venue, etc, there's no guarantee of victory. That doesn't mean it wasn't another successful season. And it's not accepting mediocrity, it's accepting reality.

I think you just mentioned the largest number of excuses for NOT succeeding in Scoop history.

[cheebs09]

I definitely made some posts out of frustration after the Creighton game. The team bounced back very well. The second half wasn't a work of art, but I thought they showed a lot of toughness. Sacar stepped up big with a few buckets to end the scoring drought. Koby made some big free throws.

Hopefully this is a nice spark for the rest of the season.

[muguru]

Forgot about this, I don't know who here was at the game...but I can tell you during introductions, Wojo was boo'd. It was pretty audible inside the arena. I was actually quite shocked when I heard that.

[rocky_warrior]

Forgot about this, I don't know who here was at the game...but I can tell you during introductions, Wojo was boo'd. It was pretty audible inside the arena. I was actually quite shocked when I heard that.

Mentioned here:
https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=59625.msg1188522#msg1188522

And if you read through - apparently The Lens was one of them (Or okay with it).

[WhoaJoe2020]

Wojo's inability to manage egos took care of that, actually.  Sad folks are still trying to rewrite history.

Nothing I wrote was historically inaccurate. Wojo wasn't hired to be a pediatric psychologist. If Wojo had stroked Joeys ego until he purred it wouldn't have fixed his lack of defense, Sams hip, Gregs thumb or Markus'  various ailments. Hopefully we stay relatively healthy this year and the younger athletic guys continue to improve as the season goes along. Then Wojo can spread out the minutes and keep everyone fresh for the postseason if there is one.