Lowest lows follow the highest highs

[tower912]

Free throws:  Wiscy 8-13   MU 14-20

MU made more than Wiscy shot and made a higher percentage.   


Oso is struggling.   The rest of the team is fine.

Everybody else went 13-16.

[Jay Bee]

Uw Madison extension hit some tough shots tbh. A little luck can go a long way.

[GoldenEagles03]

Uw Madison extension hit some tough shots tbh. A little luck can go a long way.

In the arena it never felt like Marquette was going to win.  When Marquette was up 1 with 2 chances to go up 4 around a minute to go and failed to cash in, you just knew things were going to go sideways.  OT was a gift, the OT execution was horrible.

Oh well.  We lost to a team that was very clearly better than us.  Not so sure they will be better than us come March.

[MUfan12]

Oh well.  We lost to a team that was very clearly better than us.

Lol come on. Very clearly?

MU has its own issues to fix but that's just equine pie.

[CountryRoads]

When Marquette was up 1 with 2 chances to go up 4 around a minute to go

We lost to a team that was very clearly better than us.

Pick one

[The Sultan]

Pick one

He's the mopiest mope to ever mope.

[MU82]

I'd be mad if the team spent a ton of time on those miracle situation in practice.

Define "a ton of time." College basketball teams practice a lot - 10 hours a week or more during the season and even more before the season starts. They've been at it for about 2 months now. Plenty of time to get proficient at just about any situation.

And that wasn't a "miracle situation," IMHO. Several times a year you see teams from around the country get off make-able shots in those situations, with quite a few succeeding. It wasn't like the Hauser miracle shot against Creighton a few years back.

I do agree that the poor end-of-game plays didn't cost us the game. There were many other mess-ups, mostly by the players but by Shaka too.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

In the arena it never felt like Marquette was going to win.  When Marquette was up 1 with 2 chances to go up 4 around a minute to go and failed to cash in, you just knew things were going to go sideways.  OT was a gift, the OT execution was horrible.

Oh well.  We lost to a team that was very clearly better than us.  Not so sure they will be better than us come March.

You have consistently bizarre takes.

[MU82]

You have consistently bizarre takes.

He's still going with Georgia Tech by 3.

[Markusquette]

Define "a ton of time." College basketball teams practice a lot - 10 hours a week or more during the season and even more before the season starts. They've been at it for about 2 months now. Plenty of time to get proficient at just about any situation.

And that wasn't a "miracle situation," IMHO. Several times a year you see teams from around the country get off make-able shots in those situations, with quite a few succeeding. It wasn't like the Hauser miracle shot against Creighton a few years back.

I do agree that the poor end-of-game plays didn't cost us the game. There were many other mess-ups, mostly by the players but by Shaka too.

It was disappointing to see basically the same failed inbound play end the game. I'd much rather take my chances getting the ball in someone's hands and running up the court with 3.5 seconds than a 3/4 court heave.

[GoldenEagles03]

Pick one

Pick one what?

Marquette was up against a team that was clearly better than them.  I was happy the game was that close, but the only reason it was is because Hepburn was out for 15 minutes in the 2nd half.

There is nothing to pick.

The result and the effort particularly in the 2nd half is all we could've asked for given the 1st half results.

[CountryRoads]

Pick one what?

Marquette was up against a team that was clearly better than them.  I was happy the game was that close, but the only reason it was is because Hepburn was out for 15 minutes in the 2nd half.

There is nothing to pick.

The result and the effort particularly in the 2nd half is all we could've asked for given the 1st half results.

Ok

[GoldenEagles03]

Ok

But really though?  Pick one what?

[MUDPT]

Pick one what?

Marquette was up against a team that was clearly better than them.  I was happy the game was that close, but the only reason it was is because Hepburn was out for 15 minutes in the 2nd half.

There is nothing to pick.

The result and the effort particularly in the 2nd half is all we could've asked for given the 1st half results.

Why do you think Wisconsin is "clearly better?"

[GoldenEagles03]

Why do you think Wisconsin is "clearly better?"

Because watching yesterday when they had their full roster available they just were clearly better.

They went on the road where everyone, including myself, thought they'd have to play their slow tempo and keep the game in the 60s to win.  They played an efficient offense scoring 70s in regulation.

Marquette's guards are typically the strength of their team and UW's guards won that ballgame.  They have the one up on experience and also have the better defense.

I think we are trending in the right direction but as of now on the 3rd and 4th of Decemeber, they are the better basketball team.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Because watching yesterday when they had their full roster available they just were clearly better.

So are we the clearly better team over Baylor?

[GoldenEagles03]

So are we the clearly better team over Baylor?

At home? Quite possibly, yes we are better than Baylor.  However, we lost to UW at home.

UW's offensive efficiency numbers are holding them back in KenPom early on but they've been solid the last few weeks.  They'll likely be moving up quickly.

[Stretchdeltsig]

I think Shaka's response to the last plays is a little more nuanced. He quietly called out TK for making terrible passes but is taking the heat. That's good coaching. We had plenty of chances to win before the last two inbounds plays. WI is frustrating, we fought hard after being absolutely punched in the face in half one.

Having S Jones in at the end is an interesting thought, it didn't cross my mind as I liked going with the experienced guys, but I think it might have been a good thought if the play was to get it in quickly and push it up the court. I want to beat WI badly every year, but what a game to be at and the boys fought.

Sean and Ross should have been at the end.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

We were 11-9 last season.  This season there are less freebie wins in the Big East.

What are you basing that on?

21-22 KP ranks as of December 4, 2022
6 Villanova
27 UConn
33 Seton Hall
35 Xavier
55 St. John's
62 Creighton
78 Marquette
87  Butler
103 Georgetown
108 DePaul

22-23 KP ranks as of December 4, 2022
4 UConn
15 Creighton
31 Xavier
38 Marquette
44 St. John's
52 Villanova
65 Seton Hall
74 Providence
86 Butler
93 DePaul
155 Georgetown

The 10th best non-MU team is much worse this season. The 9th is 10 spots better. The 8th is the same. The 7th is 12 spots worse. The 6th is 10 spots worse. The 5th is 18 spots worse. The 4th is 11 spots worse. The 3rd is about the same as last season. The top 2 are stronger.

More importantly, we are much better (38) than we were at the same time last season (78). The Big East is weaker this season than last season. If we finish with the same conference record as last season, I will be very disappointed.

Look I get it, you are trying to set up a win-win for yourself. Either MU makes the tourney or you get to tell everyone how correct you were. There's no need to catastrophize and make things up.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

At home? Quite possibly, yes we are better than Baylor.  However, we lost to UW at home.

UW's offensive efficiency numbers are holding them back in KenPom early on but they've been solid the last few weeks.  They'll likely be moving up quickly.

Have you considered that a one game playoff may not give you an accurate reading of who the better team is? Sometimes a team has a good game. Sometimes they have a bad game.

[GoldenEagles03]

Have you considered that a one game playoff may not give you an accurate reading of who the better team is? Sometimes a team has a good game. Sometimes they have a bad game.

For the most part, Marquette played a good game and still weren't able to win with the best player unavailable for almost a full half.

I'm not ruling out possibly being the better team by season's end or moving forward or whatever else, but as of now UW looked to clearly be the better team.

[The Sultan]

For the most part, Marquette played a good game and still weren't able to win with the best player unavailable for almost a full half.

I'm not ruling out possibly being the better team by season's end or moving forward or whatever else, but as of now UW looked to clearly be the better team.

Marquette played a good half. They were terrible in the first half, especially defensively. And it wasn't just about Hepburn.

But at the end of the day, I don't know how you can say that a team that won a one possession game in OT is "clearly better."

[GoldenEagles03]

Marquette played a good half. They were terrible in the first half, especially defensively. And it wasn't just about Hepburn.

But at the end of the day, I don't know how you can say that a team that won a one possession game in OT is "clearly better."

Again...because their best player was out for a majority of the 2nd half and they still won.

It'd be like MU losing Kam for 15 minutes and still winning on the road.

[CountryRoads]

But really though?  Pick one what?

You started by acknowledging that the matchup between the two teams was very close and then followed that up by saying one team was "very clearly better" than the other one. Just seemed like a contradiction to me.

[GoldenEagles03]

You started by acknowledging that the matchup between the two teams was very close and then followed that up by saying one team was "very clearly better" than the other one. Just seemed like a contradiction to me.

The game was close.  Idk that the matchup was.  But the game was close because their best player was out for nearly the whole 2nd half of action.