#MUWBB

[The Lens]

What Megan Duffy & Co have done is simply amazing.  Picked 9th, finished 2nd, playing for a BET. 

So much fun to watch.  Took St. John’s to the woodshed tonight.  Incredible considering the minutes that walked out the door with Coach K. 

[mu_eyeballs]

And they make their layups

[Marquette Fan]

What Megan Duffy & Co have done is simply amazing.  Picked 9th, finished 2nd, playing for a BET. 

So much fun to watch.  Took St. John’s to the woodshed tonight.  Incredible considering the minutes that walked out the door with Coach K.

Only 1 point away from being picked last also.  80% of the scoring from last season graduated.  And here they are 24-7 with an RPI of 24 before today's game and will play DePaul in the BET final for the 4th straight season.  They have their 4th straight 20+ win season and will go the NCAA Tournament for the 4th straight season also.

They play DePaul at Wintrust Arena tomorrow night at 7P central and the game will be on FS1.  The teams split in the regular season with DePaul winning in Chicago in the first BE game of the season and MU winning in Milwaukee in the last BE game of the season one week ago.

Go Marquette!

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Lets hope they can get payback fir the heartbreaking loss in the title game last year.
Lost the seniors but also list top recruit

[SaveOD238]

It's a shame that the best run in Marquette's women's basketball history has been overshadowed by the dumpster fire finishes by the men's team.  Gotta give a lot of credit to Kieger for turning the program around and to Duffy for continuing that growth.

[Markusquette]

Their team is more fun to watch than the men.

[pbiflyer]

Their team is more fun to watch than the men.

The Washington Generals are more fun to watch than the men's team.

[Warrior1969]

Yes win or lose tonight Megan Duffy has done a great job!  They lost 80 PERCENT of there scoring when losing the 6 seniors from last year.  They talked on the game about how she has a SYSTEM, a plan and they do it every game.  Duffy wants to get even bigger in the next few years.  Pound the ball inside.  They have a 10+ rebound margin.  they stay in front of the man on defense!  They play smart and don't turn the ball over etc.

[Marquette Fan]

Yes win or lose tonight Megan Duffy has done a great job!  They lost 80 PERCENT of there scoring when losing the 6 seniors from last year.  They talked on the game about how she has a SYSTEM, a plan and they do it every game.  Duffy wants to get even bigger in the next few years.  Pound the ball inside.  They have a 10+ rebound margin.  they stay in front of the man on defense!  They play smart and don't turn the ball over etc.

I can agree with most of this except the last part.  They turn the ball over a ton.  They averaged 16 turnovers a game this year and in the two DePaul games they had 26 and 24 turnovers.  Last night they shot incredibly well in the first half but only had a 5 point halftime lead - a big factor in that was all the points St. Johns had gotten off MU turnovers in the first half. 

[Warrior1969]

Fan....what recruits does Duffy have for next year?

[oldwarrior81]

Fan....what recruits does Duffy have for next year?

I think there are still 4 incoming for next season.   None rated in the top 100, but the three from the US all were top 200.   At least one was recruited by Duffy when she was at Miami (O).
A couple are tall.  Including a 6'5" girl from Denmark.


https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2019/11/13/20961101/marquette-golden-eagles-basketball-recruiting-fall-signing-period

[Marquette Fan]

I think there are still 4 incoming for next season.   None rated in the top 100, but the three from the US all were top 200.   At least one was recruited by Duffy when she was at Miami (O).
A couple are tall.  Including a 6'5" girl from Denmark.


https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2019/11/13/20961101/marquette-golden-eagles-basketball-recruiting-fall-signing-period

That is correct.  Additionally they will have a transfer eligible - she’ll have 3 years of eligibility remaining.

[Markusquette]

I think there are still 4 incoming for next season.   None rated in the top 100, but the three from the US all were top 200.   At least one was recruited by Duffy when she was at Miami (O).
A couple are tall.  Including a 6'5" girl from Denmark.


https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2019/11/13/20961101/marquette-golden-eagles-basketball-recruiting-fall-signing-period

6'3 and 6'5. Now that's some size.

[BCHoopster]

It would be nice to have Wojo and his assistants watch how they play!

[Marquette Fan]

I think there are still 4 incoming for next season.   None rated in the top 100, but the three from the US all were top 200.   At least one was recruited by Duffy when she was at Miami (O).
A couple are tall.  Including a 6'5" girl from Denmark.


https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2019/11/13/20961101/marquette-golden-eagles-basketball-recruiting-fall-signing-period

One broadcast indicated that Jordan King would move to shooting guard next season which is her more natural position from what I hear.  Although Selena Lott actually led the team in assists this year - 163 to King's 99.  If what was said on that broadcast was correct, I would think they would look to Rose Nkumu to run the point if they are looking for a frosh to do so. 

I'm excited about the tall post players coming next season - should be a nice compliment to BE all-frosh team member Camryn Taylor. 

I'm not really sure what to expect from their transfer Antwainette Walker. 

They will need someone to replace Izzy Spingola's outside shooting. 

I'm excited to see what the future holds for MU with Duffy running things - for however long they're able to keep her here...

[The Lens]

She’ll be here as long as Muff is at ND.

I don’t seeing her running off to Penn State.  Win at MU, assume Muff’s gig when it opens. 

[shoothoops]

She’ll be here as long as Muff is at ND.

I don’t seeing her running off to Penn State.  Win at MU, assume Muff’s gig when it opens.

Niele Ivey is likely first in line to be the next head coach for ND's women's program. She won a National Title there as a player and as an assistant. She recruited and developed their guards during their elite stretch this past decade. Many are WNBA players now.

She left this past season to be an assistant with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, where she works with Ja Morant and others. She is very close to the staff at ND, and would likely be their first choice. And, she would likely take the ND job if offered. (her son Jaden is a Purdue hoops commit) Ivey spent 17 years at ND as player and assistant. She was a part of all 9 Final Four teams.

As for Duffy, if she continues to be successful and improve the next few to several years, she will get other power 5 opportunities elsewhere.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

This was in the Saturday paper.  Another UConn to the Big East story.

https://www.ctinsider.com/uconn/ctpost/article/Sneak-Peak-How-might-Big-East-women-s-15145568.php

Sneak Peek: How might Big East women’s basketball look when UConn joins?
By Doug Bonjour
March 20, 2020 Updated: March 20, 2020 11:57 p.m.

What will Geno Auriemma’s Huskies see when they get there? Well, that’s a loaded question, but let’s start here: NCAA Tournament-caliber teams (emphasis on the plural).

The Huskies didn’t play many of them over seven seasons in the AAC, especially after Louisville landed in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014-15. South Florida was the closest they had to a rival, and even the Bulls were badly overmatched. The Huskies didn’t lose a single AAC game, going 139-0.


At the very least, the competition will be significantly better in the Big East. The conference ranked sixth in RPI this season, behind the Power-5 but ahead of the AAC, which was ninth.

Furthermore, the Big East was projected to get three teams in the NCAA’s field of 64, led by DePaul. The AAC? Just UConn and only UConn.

Despite not being as strong as it once was, the Big East still is plenty deep. In fact, five teams (Creighton, Butler, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova) tied for third this season at 11-7, two games behind Marquette and four back of DePaul.

Here’s how the Big East fared this season and how it may look in 2020-21.

DePaul
The Blue Demons maintained their reign as the crème de la crème of the Big East, winning 28 games and their third straight conference title. They were a fixture in the Top 20 the entire season, rising as high as No. 11. The loss of leading scorer and Big East Defensive Player of the Year Chante Stonewall will hurt, but it’s nothing the Blue Demons can’t overcome. It’ll just be tougher for Doug Bruno to finally get off the schneid (0-17) against his friend Geno Auriemma.

Marquette
Credit Megan Duffy & Co. for not caving to expectations. The Golden Eagles notched 24 victories and reached the Big East final for the fourth straight year — this after they were picked ninth in the conference preseason poll. It sure helped that junior Selena Lott emerged as a No. 1 scorer (15.1 PPG).

Creighton
No one suffers a bigger loss than the Blue Jays. Gone is Jaylyn Agnew, the Big East Player of the Year and nation’s seventh leading scorer (20.8). She had 43 points in her final home game against Georgetown on March 1, matching Angel McCoughtry’s league record.

Butler
The Bulldogs will bring back one of the Big East’s best young players in guard Oumou Toure, who was unanimously chosen to the All-Freshman team.

St. John’s
Qadashah Hoppie, Stamford’s Tiana England and Leilani Correa, the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year, should return to form a talented nucleus. The Red Storm, of course, have plenty of history with UConn, but most of it is ancient. They’ve played only twice since 2013.

Seton Hall
Like DePaul, Seton Hall maintained some semblance of a relationship with UConn even after the Huskies transitioned to the American Athletic Conference. They met the last two seasons, with the Huskies winning both by double digits. Losing Shadeen Samuels (14.3 PPG) hurts, but the Pirates return former Capital Prep standout Desiree Elmore.

Villanova
After 783 wins and 11 NCAA tournament appearances over 42 seasons, Harry Perretta is calling it a career. How the Wildcats respond will be one of biggest question heading into next season. A lot will be on the shoulders of Big East Freshman of the Year Madison Siegrist.

Providence
The Friars fared well in non-conference play — albeit against a soft schedule — going 9-3. But it was all downhill from there. They dropped their first eight Big East games and 12 of 15, cratering to the bottom alongside Georgetown and Xavier.

Georgetown
Georgetown beat Pittsburgh, which beat Notre Dame, which beat Florida State, which beat Louisville, which beat Oregon. That’s something, right?

Xavier
Only four schools had fewer wins (Hartford, Chicago State, CCSU, Mississippi Valley State) than the 3-27 Musketeers.

dbonjour@ctpost.com; @DougBonjour

[shoothoops]

Niele Ivey is likely first in line to be the next head coach for ND's women's program. She won a National Title there as a player and as an assistant. She recruited and developed their guards during their elite stretch this past decade. Many are WNBA players now.

She left this past season to be an assistant with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, where she works with Ja Morant and others. She is very close to the staff at ND, and would likely be their first choice. And, she would likely take the ND job if offered. (her son Jaden is a Purdue hoops commit) Ivey spent 17 years at ND as player and assistant. She was a part of all 9 Final Four teams.

As for Duffy, if she continues to be successful and improve the next few to several years, she will get other power 5 opportunities elsewhere.

And there it is, Muffet McGraw steps down and Niele Ivey is ND’s new head coach.

https://twitter.com/fightingirish/status/1253032069912903680

[SaveOD238]

I'll admit to having a moment of "crap I hope we don't lose Duffy" before seeing the Niele Ivey news.

[shoothoops]

I'll admit to having a moment of "crap I hope we don't lose Duffy" before seeing the Niele Ivey news.

Muffet McGraw (a very good coach) has made the NCAA 2nd weekend twice without Niele Ivey as a player or coach at ND.

The concern for Marquette are other power 5 jobs if Duffy has success the next few years. Some of those schools are paying seven figures to head coaches, a few hundred thousand to assistants...with other perks. 

[lawdog77]

Some of those schools are paying seven figures to head coaches, a few hundred thousand to assistants...with other perks.

How do schools afford this? It surely is not by attendance.

[shoothoops]

How do schools afford this? It surely is not by attendance.

TV revenue, donor money.

Basically the big trend this past decade has been a few of things:

1) Getting those $80k coaches to $250k.
2) Rewarding successful coaches in order to retain them. It's easier than a new coach search.
3) Agents for non-revenue coaches increasing.

It's become more of a thing for some Power 5 schools to be competitive and good at all of their sports, not just football and basketball.

Some football and basketball donors are being asked to contribute to non-revenue sports. Some are doing it on their own due to connection to the sport, or the ability to be close to the non-revenue coach.

Media money from revenue sports has increased so they can. There are limits of course to money spent. There's a line. And with increased pay comes increased pressure for success to be retained.

But make no mistake, the new norm are much higher salaries for non-revenue sports. You should see some of the increased salaries for softball, gymnastics etc....we are talking mid six figures some places.

These are some of reasons.

At Illinois, Scott Merritt replaced a $250k assistant, and Vernette Skeete replaced a $225k assistant. i am not saying that is what they are making there but that is what the previous coaches were making. The 3rd assistant was about $135k.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Some football and basketball donors are being asked to contribute to non-revenue sports. Some are doing it on their own due to connection to the sport, or the ability to be close to the non-revenue coach.

+1 Take Kobe Bryant for example. He was working to elevate the sport likely because his own daughters played it. I think he would have had a tremendous impact but fate intervened. I hope there's some others who can step up like that.

[lawdog77]

Are these schools operating at a loss?  Here is the most recent University of Illinois data I could find.

Sport   Women's Basketball (D1)
Total Revenue   $822,586
Total Expenses   $2,686,549
Net Revenue   -$1,863,963

Minnesota is 3.5 million in the hole for their women's basketball team, I think

https://gophersports.com/documents/2020/1/21/EADA_Data_2019_.pdf


DO you think they will start cutting back these salaries, post COVID?