BE POY Watch

[GooooMarquette]

MU is 11-2 when MH is the leading scorer.
3-3 when he is not.

Shoot all you want, young fella.

Yup.

[jsglow]

MU is 11-2 when MH is the leading scorer.
3-3 when he is not.

Shoot all you want, young fella.

Word.  There was a segment in last night's game where Markus was trying to be unselfish.  At that instant he had a quality mid-lane floater at his disposal but tried to force feed Theo and a turnover resulted.  Put up the shot kid!

Anyway, what I have seen lately is MU doing a much better job of putting m2N in good position for shots.  All of the guards and wings are starting to move the ball much more effectively.  Our BEST shot every trip is an open Markus look. (Honestly, it should be counted like a double assist or something.)  Our second best shot is a quality shot by one of our other guys.  Our third best shot is something forced by Markus when nothing else worked.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Elon

IMO, Maryland and SH are much, much better than Nova. I believe aside from SH, the BE is a bunch of teams that can beat each other on a given night. I agree on your appraisal of Nova. This is a year to beat them twice, which does not happen often.

The Big East is deeper than any conference besides the B10.  The B10 is similar to the BE in that any team can beat anyone on any given night, besides NW and Nebraska who are both very bad.  The Big East is much better top to bottom than the B12, P12, SEC and ACC this season.  Realistically, there aren't any great team this year and about 75% of high majors can beat anyone on any given night. So if the BE is filled with "7 bubble teams", then so is every other conference. 

[brewcity77]

The Big East is deeper than any conference besides the B10.  The B10 is similar to the BE in that any team can beat anyone on any given night, besides NW and Nebraska who are both very bad.  The Big East is much better top to bottom than the B12, P12, SEC and ACC this season.  Realistically, there aren't any great team this year and about 75% of high majors can beat anyone on any given night. So if the BE is filled with "7 bubble teams", then so is every other conference.

That alone is why the Big East is deeper than any conference period. I firmly believe if any Big East team was in the ACC, they would comfortably make the tournament this year. The only reason we won't get 8-9 bids is because the league will cannibalize itself.

[Herman Cain]

Markus has improved over the course of the year .  He is playing beautifully at the 2. Has learned how to break free from the athletic defenders . Has developed a beautiful tear drop floater, excellent mid range game and has expanded his court vision to include the pocket passes and hockey assist type plays . Getting cleaner looks on the three and driving when it makes sense . Enjoying it while it last. 

The last time I personally saw a kid dominate over The course of the year was about 45 years ago with Michigan State and Terry Furlow.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Markus' little stutter dribble to split a double team is money. Looks like a turnover every time he does it but it usually results in points. If he could improve his passing from there we could be very deadly

[burger]

Playing Markus as the off-guard makes it possible that he does not get hard doubled.....

I am surprised we have not seen the Box and one yet.....

That has given Markus problem in previous years....

[lawdog77]

Playing Markus as the off-guard makes it possible that he does not get hard doubled.....

I am surprised we have not seen the Box and one yet.....

That has given Markus problem in previous years....

If one or two of Sacar, Brendan, and Koby can hit the 3, a box in one is not a good defense. Also, Markus would rub his man off of Theo, and that guy would be in serious pain.

[Goose]

J5

I would take BE bubble teams against Big 10 bubble teams more times than not. The BE is a better conference at this moment. I think we can agree the BE is deep and only lacking a couple of upper level teams this year.

My main point is that I believe Howard could carry MU against a lot of teams and cannot against several teams. That said, he has to be on or get help every game to pull out a win.

[Goose]

TAMU

I agree with your post. If he can split the double team, without a turnover, and other guys can connect, they can win some games.

IMO, Friday night is a pivotal game for the fellas. I have no problem with a well played loss tomorrow night, but hoping for win. If they can put together a nice game it bodes well moving forward. A bad loss and I am back on skeptical wagon.

Last year I said fools gold and still believe that. This year I said one trick pony and beginning to be swayed. For what is worth, if these guys can play solid for remainder of season I will be far more on the positive train moving forward. I am cautiously optimistic for first time in a long time.

[Cfollow]

Heard the fools Lavin and Donny Marshall both claim Powell is better than Markus. Markus is so much better and it's really not even close. Powell is proving my point this morning. Howard is the leading scorer in the country in a high major league that is the leading scoring team in that league.

[JWags85]

Powell's percentages are what people think of when they bag on Markus. He was awful against DePaul before hitting a couple shots late. He was average against Providence.  He wasn't especially good against Marquette. He's shooting 27% from 3 on over 8 attempts in BEast plays. Hes a streaky chucker

[rocket surgeon]

Everyone in the building knows markus is going to shoot...and he still scores 30+ with a mask on too!!

[tower912]

And Powell had a terrible game.  Which surely improves Powell's chances.

[JWags85]

And Powell had a terrible game.  Which surely improves Powell's chances.

The PR campaign is already rolling for him. The announcers in the SH game were like "HERE WE GO!" When he hit a 3 to move to 1-6 on the day. Then Miles raving about him in the MU game followed by the halftime feature.  Unless Marquette finishes top 2, I feel like Powell is a given. Cause he's been inefficient and not great since conference play started, and the buzz is still so strong

[Elonsmusk]

Agree with all above about all the hype and love given for Powell to win POY.

Markus is having a much better year. Powell doesn't make his teammates any better than does Markus - so that argument should be thrown out too.

If we finish on Top 4 in Big East, Markus should get it, but he probably won't if Hall wins league.

[mileskishnish72]

I think that there's a big east coast bias. I think that there is a promotion in place to project Powell as clutch and Markus as the opposite.

If it doesn't go to the nation's leading scorer (and his team finishes in the top four) then it a screw job.

Kicking SHU's ass in the BET would go a long way (of course, I don't know if they decide the POY before or after the BET).

[Cfollow]

The PR campaign is already rolling for him. The announcers in the SH game were like "HERE WE GO!" When he hit a 3 to move to 1-6 on the day. Then Miles raving about him in the MU game followed by the halftime feature.  Unless Marquette finishes top 2, I feel like Powell is a given. Cause he's been inefficient and not great since conference play started, and the buzz is still so strong

This is right on the mark in addition to being utterly ridiculous. I keep hearing how Powell lets the game come to him an makes his teammates better. How does he do this? He isn't dropping dimes and SHU barely manages to get  70 half the time. In addition to the fact he plays so far under the rim it's comical.

[Elonsmusk]

Random fun fact:  KenPom lists Andrew Rowsey's 2015 season as a comp for Markus this year.