And...exhale

[brewcity77]

• A road win is a road win. Lots of ugly, but the result still matters.
  
• Starting backcourt combined for 3/20 from the floor. We will need better shooting from Kolek and Morsell.
  
• Justin was great tonight. Scored inside and out, cleaned the glass, and five assists. And on the Kam Jones three, he was celebrating the make before it even left Kam's hands. Shades of Diener.
  
• The defense was solid all night long and it was a defensive play that won it.
  
• Greg was finally the sparkplug we've wanted tonight. Hit his shots, created for others, his best performance of the year on both ends.
  
• Kam continues to look like the best true freshman. In addition to the little things, he added 15 points, including the three that provided the final margin. Huge performance.
  
• Love our big man duo. Kur and Oso combined for 12 points/8 rebounds/4 blocks/2 assists while shooting 6/7 from the field.
  
• The win is good for the resume, but there was a chance to step on their throat up 7 late. Instead, K-State finished on a 9-3 run and almost stole it. It's a young team, but they will need to figure out that the kill isn't just 3 consecutive stops.

[CountryRoads]

Currently sitting at a quad 1 win. It's hard to complain about that. I agree on the other points.

I like the way Shaka uses the bigs. I thought under Wojo the ball would stick in the bigs hands too long. These guys are either dunking it or passing.

[MU82]

You promised us a double-digit win, brewski!

If you had told me Kolek and Morsell would shoot like that, I'd have said we'd have lost by 10. Several other players, most notably Kam and Elliott, stepped up.

I think we all might have to get used to Morsell's first four games being the outlier offensively; his last 6 have pretty much mirrored his first 4 seasons.

Good for Greg! He needed a game like that ... and so did Marquette! It's a credit to Shaka, too. Every chance he had to use Mitchell in that situation, he went with Greg instead. Given that Greg was in the doghouse earlier this season, Shaka picked the right time to open the door.

Kam is going to be a real good player. I love his mentality. His shot's not bad, either!

Agree about Oso and Kur. Shaka already has developed a nice feel for which of them needs to play when. Huge, huge play by Oso to end the game.

[MuggsyB]

• A road win is a road win. Lots of ugly, but the result still matters.
  
• Starting backcourt combined for 3/20 from the floor. We will need better shooting from Kolek and Morsell.
  
• Justin was great tonight. Scored inside and out, cleaned the glass, and five assists. And on the Kam Jones three, he was celebrating the make before it even left Kam's hands. Shades of Diener.
  
• The defense was solid all night long and it was a defensive play that won it.
  
• Greg was finally the sparkplug we've wanted tonight. Hit his shots, created for others, his best performance of the year on both ends.
  
• Kam continues to look like the best true freshman. In addition to the little things, he added 15 points, including the three that provided the final margin. Huge performance.
  
• Love our big man duo. Kur and Oso combined for 12 points/8 rebounds/4 blocks/2 assists while shooting 6/7 from the field.
  
• The win is good for the resume, but there was a chance to step on their throat up 7 late. Instead, K-State finished on a 9-3 run and almost stole it. It's a young team, but they will need to figure out that the kill isn't just 3 consecutive stops.

Outstanding synopsis Brewcity.  And your second point cannot be overstated.  They have to show up.

[MUfan12]

I like the way Shaka uses the bigs. I thought under Wojo the ball would stick in the bigs hands too long. These guys are either dunking it or passing.

Their mobility is a weapon that Shaka has used well. We saw some of this with Dawson last year, but beyond that Wojo's bigs didn't move as well.

[seakm4]

• Love our big man duo. Kur and Oso combined for 12 points/8 rebounds/4 blocks/2 assists while shooting 6/7 from the field.
  

Forgot the combined 3 steals as well

[brewcity77]

You promised us a double-digit win, brewski!

If you had told me Kolek and Morsell would shoot like that, I'd have said we'd have lost by 10. Several other players, most notably Kam and Elliott, stepped up.

The most frustrating thing tonight was missing open looks. Based on the looks alone, Kolek should've been 5/7 and we would've won going away. Our ineptitude at making open shots almost cost us a game that should've been far more comfortable than needing a final possession block to escape.

[We R Final Four]

• A road win is a road win. Lots of ugly, but the result still matters.
  
• Starting backcourt combined for 3/20 from the floor. We will need better shooting from Kolek and Morsell.
  
• Justin was great tonight. Scored inside and out, cleaned the glass, and five assists. And on the Kam Jones three, he was celebrating the make before it even left Kam's hands. Shades of Diener.
  
• The defense was solid all night long and it was a defensive play that won it.
  
• Greg was finally the sparkplug we've wanted tonight. Hit his shots, created for others, his best performance of the year on both ends.
  
• Kam continues to look like the best true freshman. In addition to the little things, he added 15 points, including the three that provided the final margin. Huge performance.
  
• Love our big man duo. Kur and Oso combined for 12 points/8 rebounds/4 blocks/2 assists while shooting 6/7 from the field.
  
• The win is good for the resume, but there was a chance to step on their throat up 7 late. Instead, K-State finished on a 9-3 run and almost stole it. It's a young team, but they will need to figure out that the kill isn't just 3 consecutive stops.

Great points—just watched again on Kam's 3......Justin crashed the boards...not sure what you saw there.
Kam, Greg and Shaka pulling Darryl at the end were all great tonight.

[MuggsyB]

The most frustrating thing tonight was missing open looks. Based on the looks alone, Kolek should've been 5/7 and we would've won going away. Our ineptitude at making open shots almost cost us a game that should've been far more comfortable than needing a final possession block to escape.

Absolutely.  We didn't score for like 5+ mins.  Execution and poise were not there until the money triple by Kam.  However, it's a huge positive to win with the night Morsell/Kolek had.  I think they'll be alright.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Not to be that guy, but can we give some credit to Wojo and former staff for recruiting Kam?  The kid is a gamer and is very much our best freshman.

I struggle to think how he would have been utilized if under the former staff this year.  Providing big minutes.

[MU82]

The most frustrating thing tonight was missing open looks. Based on the looks alone, Kolek should've been 5/7 and we would've won going away. Our ineptitude at making open shots almost cost us a game that should've been far more comfortable than needing a final possession block to escape.

KSU missed open looks, too. Kolek obviously isn't as bad a shooter as he was tonight, but he's not a very good shooter. As the game went on, when KSU had to pick their poison, they more and more picked Kolek. It was the right choice. Thankfully, they left Kam open for that big 3 late!

[mileskishnish72]

Not so sure about the defense, Brew.

Have not seen the fast-break stats, but I don't think they're good. Yes, I'm prepared to look bad if the stats don't back up my impression.

Like it that Justin cut down on the dribbling.

A win, even by a sleazy point, is so much more satisfying than getting beat. Worried about Saturday but you never know (although for Saturday I think I do).

Way to hang in, Warriors. It could have got away.

[TallTitan34]

Not to be that guy, but can we give some credit to Wojo and former staff for recruiting Kam?  The kid is a gamer and is very much our best freshman.

I struggle to think how he would have been utilized if under the former staff this year.  Providing big minutes.

Shaka acknowledged Wojo for bringing in Kam and Stevie.

[MU82]

That's the best-officiated game I've seen in awhile. They let the kids play, but they had control of the game and they called all the stuff they had to call.

[Dr. Blackheart]

That's the best-officiated game I've seen in awhile. They let the kids play, but they had control of the game and they called all the stuff they had to call.

Great point. All can ask from a great crew is consistency. This crew did a great job end to end.

[Dickthedribbler]

I have always professed that a team plays with who they have--------no excuses either way. If you're short-handed and lose, tough. A loss is a loss. If you win, all the sweeter.

But as good as it feels to have snuck out with a win tonight, I can't help but admit that no Pack and no Cockburn is probably the difference between 8-2 and 6-4 right now.

[Jay Bee]

I have always professed that a team plays with who they have--------no excuses either way. If you're short-handed and lose, tough. A loss is a loss. If you win, all the sweeter.

But as good as it feels to have snuck out with a win tonight, I can't help but admit that no Pack and no Cockburn is probably the difference between 8-2 and 6-4 right now.

You're definitely dribblin rn

[Carl]

I have always professed that a team plays with who they have--------no excuses either way. If you're short-handed and lose, tough. A loss is a loss. If you win, all the sweeter.

But as good as it feels to have snuck out with a win tonight, I can't help but admit that no Pack and no Cockburn is probably the difference between 8-2 and 6-4 right now.

I mean... you're not wrong. But we are 8-2.  Some lucky non-con breaks have put us in position to maybe make the tourney.  Pretty nice timing to get those breaks THIS year.  Hope it snowballs into more positive momentum.

[1SE]

We.have a legitimate shot.at being an onside.thr bubble team in year 1. That's already exciting.

[GOO]

I loved Homer's line tonight when no one could hit a shot -something like: We're shooting at Dixie cups. Made me laugh. 

[The Lens]

Wasn't able to see the game, did we score 50?

[jesmu84]

Great points—just watched again on Kam's 3......Justin crashed the boards...not sure what you saw there.
Kam, Greg and Shaka pulling Darryl at the end were all great tonight.

Justin walked early on the Kam corner 3 a couple minutes before the last one

[Elonsmusk]

Not to be that guy, but can we give some credit to Wojo and former staff for recruiting Kam?  The kid is a gamer and is very much our best freshman.

I struggle to think how he would have been utilized if under the former staff this year.  Providing big minutes.

Wojo's recruiting was fine.  His coaching and utilization of his (and Buzz's) recruits was awful.  Glad Kam and Stevie re-committed to Shaka.

[tower912]

Wojo never recruited switchables.  Athletic guys who could run the floor, slash to the basket, and defend multiple positions.  Or enough big, athletic guards. 

One of the things I am enjoying this year is the lack of defensive mismatches.   

[Jockey]

• The defense was solid all night long and it was a defensive play that won it.
  
  

This is the only point I will quibble with.

Yes, the half court defense was solid. It has improved a lot in the span of a month. But the transition defense continues to be so awful that I give a negative overall grade to the defense.