Friar's club roast MU

[dgies9156]

Brother MU hit the nail on the head. We lost because of self-inflicted wounds, period. Hit some free throws in regulation and we go home with a hard fought win.

Free throws have been our Achilles heel all years. Last night was the first time it came back to bite us.

Long story short — bad teams complain about the referees. Good teams adapt to how the game is called.

[MU82]

I don't think you can ask for much more than we got out of the look.

Sean Jones is the fast and shiftiest guy on the floor at all times and he got a wide open look at the top of the key.  The shot attempt was just poor.  I had 0 issue with that look.  Ideally you maybe get 1 more dribble and a layup but with his size and the refs tonight he wasn't drawing a foul.  That look was really good.

Disagree. You get the ball to midcourt with 2-3 seconds left, use one of the timeouts you apparently were planning to save for the Jan. 18 home game vs Providence, and you set up the kind of sideline inbounds plays you have gone over a bazillion times in practice.

Now, had Shaka gotten Kam that exact same shot, I might have agreed with you. But Sean played 1 minute in the second half before being yanked from the game by Shaka with 15 minutes left for poor play.

If you don't think we could have done better than insert an ice-cold freshman into the game and ask him to win it for us, well, that's an opinion all right.

[mileskishnish72]

The officiating was definitely not fine. I was 25 feet from one basket and there was PLENTY of contact both ways but a marked disparity as to calls - marked.
That said, this one was there for the taking - empty, disorganized (no TO, Shaka?) possessions, giving up bunnies.
Perhaps we can hope that one day our coach will learn the value of a rebound.
Lousy start, good mid-game, terrible late game, great comeback in OT, got worn out by their physicality and superiority on the glass. Bummer.

[tower912]

Disagree. You get the ball to midcourt with 2-3 seconds left, use one of the timeouts you apparently were planning to save for the Jan. 18 home game vs Providence, and you set up the kind of sideline inbounds plays you have gone over a bazillion times in practice.

Now, had Shaka gotten Kam that exact same shot, I might have agreed with you. But Sean played 1 minute in the second half before being yanked from the game by Shaka with 15 minutes left for poor play.

If you don't think we could have done better than insert an ice-cold freshman into the game and ask him to win it for us, well, that's an opinion all right.

Shaka ran the play everybody wanted against Wisconsin.   I made the same argument then that you made in your second and third paragraphs.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Y'all need to learn how to enjoy a hard fought loss. It was a great basketball game that we came up short in, yes because of self-inflicted wounds. But every time the team fell behind, they responded and went on a run to either take the lead or tie until the refs took out 2 of our starters. Every team will have games where they play like dog crap for stretches. Not every team has the ability to right the ship multiple times a night. There was never a point where I felt like we were out of it. If you can only enjoy the wins, then you are going to be miserable a third of the season.

Providence got significantly more calls than we did. To deny that is to deny reality. But don't go cold over the last six minutes of regulation, don't give up multiple ORs off FTs, make one more FT, and it doesn't matter.

Shaka needed to call a timeout during that stretch at the end of regulation. Not sure what he was waiting for. The team was clearly disorganized and needed some direction but Shaka let them play through it. I appreciate that he doesn't overcoach but there are times when you need to step in and get your ducks in a row.

I didn't mind the play call to Sean Jones. He's our quickest guy and got the ball up for an open shot. My guess is he was supposed to pass to an open Kam or Jop if he could but the passes weren't there so he took it himself. I would have preferred a timeout and then a SOB play as others have suggested but with less than 5 seconds, going the full court and getting an open three is not a bad outcome.

We couldn't have asked for a better shot when Kam got the ball wide open for three with a chance to ice the game in OT. He just missed it. He makes that shot 8 times out of 10. He does and we are celebrating a gritty win.

Sean Jones got benched for failing to box out the FT shooter. My guess is he never makes that mistake again. FR learning moment.

Scoring Kolek is an excellent sign. That was a warning shot to the rest of the Big East that if they try to take away his passing, he will f*ck em with his scoring

Yes, we lost because of bunch of self-inflicted wounds. But think of how well we had to play the rest of the game if we made it to double OT, on the road, against a top half Big East team, in a game where Providence got over a dozen more calls, and Bynum hit three threes and some long 2s after shooting 17% from three the rest of the season. This team will be fine. They will win games like this in the future. 12+ Big East wins.

[nyg]

Kam had that wide open three and no one was within five feet of him.  Almost like a pre game warmup shot.  I thought this one is going in, but.......Could have changed entire ending.

Sean Jones should be reminded this is not high school anymore.  He continues to drive, hoping to make a miracle reverse layup and well, it has not been working out so good. 

Kenyan has been at MU for two years.  The guy cannot even play one minute of a game, in a situation where he height could be utilized?  Yes, there is the videos of his "athletic" ability, blah, blah, blah.  If he can't play, then why is he here. 

Review the tape, make some adjustments and pound Seton Hall to get back on track. 

[MU82]

Y'all need to learn how to enjoy a hard fought loss. It was a great basketball game that we came up short in, yes because of self-inflicted wounds. But every time the team fell behind, they responded and went on a run to either take the lead or tie until the refs took out 2 of our starters. Every team will have games where they play like dog crap for stretches. Not every team has the ability to right the ship multiple times a night. There was never a point where I felt like we were out of it. If you can only enjoy the wins, then you are going to be miserable a third of the season.

Providence got significantly more calls than we did. To deny that is to deny reality. But don't go cold over the last six minutes of regulation, don't give up multiple ORs off FTs, make one more FT, and it doesn't matter.

Shaka needed to call a timeout during that stretch at the end of regulation. Not sure what he was waiting for. The team was clearly disorganized and needed some direction but Shaka let them play through it. I appreciate that he doesn't overcoach but there are times when you need to step in and get your ducks in a row.

I didn't mind the play call to Sean Jones. He's our quickest guy and got the ball up for an open shot. My guess is he was supposed to pass to an open Kam or Jop if he could but the passes weren't there so he took it himself. I would have preferred a timeout and then a SOB play as others have suggested but with less than 5 seconds, going the full court and getting an open three is not a bad outcome.

We couldn't have asked for a better shot when Kam got the ball wide open for three with a chance to ice the game in OT. He just missed it. He makes that shot 8 times out of 10. He does and we are celebrating a gritty win.

Sean Jones got benched for failing to box out the FT shooter. My guess is he never makes that mistake again. FR learning moment.

Scoring Kolek is an excellent sign. That was a warning shot to the rest of the Big East that if they try to take away his passing, he will f*ck em with his scoring

Yes, we lost because of bunch of self-inflicted wounds. But think of how well we had to play the rest of the game if we made it to double OT, on the road, against a top half Big East team, in a game where Providence got over a dozen more calls, and Bynum hit three threes and some long 2s after shooting 17% from three the rest of the season. This team will be fine. They will win games like this in the future. 12+ Big East wins.

Your take is pretty similar to mine, Wiz, which doesn't surprise me. I am enjoying this team and this season ... but it's OK to lament lost opportunities and to offer non-personal-attack-on-players-and-coaches critiques. As you and I both did.

In no way am I suggesting that the season is lost or anything fatalist like that. We had a great chance to get a big win ... and couldn't quite get it done. On to the Seton Hall game, and then to Nova after that.

Great point on Kam's 3, too. That was a really nice play by Kolek, and it's probably the most open Kam has been in a half-court set all season. His shot was just off tonight. Even one he made was banked in.

[Goose]

TAMU

It is a disappointing loss, one we should have won and that makes it tough. That being said, I agree with every word in your post. This team is going to get it done in BE play and I agree on the 12+ wins, even after last night.

[The Sultan]

Excellent post TAMU. Losing sucks but the season is long. Learn from it and move on.

[DoctorV]

+100K TAMU.

I'm not quite as confident in the 12+ wins, but that's ok if they don't get there imo. Not great, but ok.

I've very confident in the 10+, and my only barometer on the entirety of the season being a success is the same it was last season, 1 win in the NCAAt.

I'll enjoy the highs and lows as they come because I love MUbb as all of us do, and as a realist you know the highs will be high and the lows can get quite low.

I just sure as heck hope MU dances

[Herman Cain]

It sounds like we really kicked this game away which is incredibly disappointing.  It just cannot happen, simple as that.  And we are now 0-4 in close games which has been a concern I have raised a few times.

Cooley & Company are always tough competition . Taking them to two overtime's shows we were right there . Closing out wins in a Big East game, especially on the road , is a very hard thing to achieve .

[GoldenEagles03]

Disagree. You get the ball to midcourt with 2-3 seconds left, use one of the timeouts you apparently were planning to save for the Jan. 18 home game vs Providence, and you set up the kind of sideline inbounds plays you have gone over a bazillion times in practice.

Now, had Shaka gotten Kam that exact same shot, I might have agreed with you. But Sean played 1 minute in the second half before being yanked from the game by Shaka with 15 minutes left for poor play.

If you don't think we could have done better than insert an ice-cold freshman into the game and ask him to win it for us, well, that's an opinion all right.

No.  Getting the ball downhill is a significantly better look than an awkward catch and shoot from somewhere deep in the halfcourt. Jones got a wide wide open look from 3.

[CTWarrior]

Y'all need to learn how to enjoy a hard fought loss.

It's just that we have been enjoying them too often for almost 10 years now.  I'd like to enjoy a few more hard fought wins. 

This season it's been cruise to victory or lose so far.

Our wins margins are 10, 24, 37, 24, 14, 26, 12, 15 and 11.
Our loss margins are 5, 3, 3 (OT), 5 (2OT).

And weirdly, our wins were more lop-sided than the final margins indicate and our losses were closer than the final margins indicate.

[GoldenEagles03]

It's just that we have been enjoying them too often for almost 10 years now.  I'd like to enjoy a few more hard fought wins. 

This season it's been cruise to victory or lose so far.

Our wins margins are 10, 24, 37, 24, 14, 26, 12, 15 and 11.
Our loss margins are 5, 3, 3 (OT), 5 (2OT).

And weirdly, our wins were more lop-sided than the final margins indicate and our losses were closer than the final margins indicate.

Cruise or lose.  Haha I like that way of saying it.

[Jockey]

   
4.  Omax struggled with the physicality tonight.    He has to learn and get better.    And quit falling down when he misses lay ups. 

A lot of Scoopers have talked about Omax going to the NBA. I have pushed back on that and stated it is unlikely.

Last night gave the best evidence yet. It showed the difference between a guy who will be in the League (Hopkins) and a guy who may won't.

I still like OMax and still think he could be an All- Big East player before his career is over. He is also a young guy who is going to get better.

[tower912]

Not there yet. But not far off. He will play in the league.

[CTWarrior]

Oso is the one I don't get that we hear a lot of NBA buzz about, at least on the broadcasts.  He's 6-9, solid handle, above average athleticism, good passer, but thin and can't shoot a lick outside 5 feet.  I'm very glad we have him because he is an excellent college player, but I don't see how he projects at the next level.

[wisblue]

+100K TAMU.

I'm not quite as confident in the 12+ wins, but that's ok if they don't get there imo. Not great, but ok.

I've very confident in the 10+, and my only barometer on the entirety of the season being a success is the same it was last season, 1 win in the NCAAt.

I'll enjoy the highs and lows as they come because I love MUbb as all of us do, and as a realist you know the highs will be high and the lows can get quite low.

I just sure as heck hope MU dances

I'm skeptical about 12+ wins too.

To get there MU has to:

1) find a way to execute in the last 8-10 minutes of the game when they have a moderate sized lead. An 8 or 9 point lead is not that great in the shot clock, 3 point shot era. They have to keep doing what got them the lead in the first place.  Maybe with a 15 point lead and 4 minutes left (like against Creighton) it's OK to run some clock.

2) Shoot FTs better. They haven't even had a game yet where they had a narrow lead with 2 minutes left and needed FTs to hang on. I'm not confident that this team will have success with that. The opponents will have some food targets for those late fouls.

3) Avoid the late season "wall" that has plagued so many recent MU teams, including last year. With so many young players who haven't logged a lot of college minutes that could be a problem again this year.

I see MU being in most games, but there could be a lot of frustrating losses like the 4 they've had already.

[Jockey]

Not there yet. But not far off. He will play in the league.

I hope you are right.

[MU82]

No.  Getting the ball downhill is a significantly better look than an awkward catch and shoot from somewhere deep in the halfcourt. Jones got a wide wide open look from 3.

Nope. You have numerous options on an inbounds pass from the plus side of midcourt. Teams call great plays resulting in make-able shots in that situation all the time. There's a reason why so many coaches call timeout, get the ball to midcourt and then call timeout again. It's a pretty common technique.

Much better than asking a freshman who hadn't gotten off the bench for 45 minutes to try to win the game with a desperation shot. Sean's "wide open look" had a predictable result -- a brick that wasn't close. Who can blame him? His body was ice cold.

[Shooter McGavin]

Y'all need to learn how to enjoy a hard fought loss. It was a great basketball game that we came up short in, yes because of self-inflicted wounds. But every time the team fell behind, they responded and went on a run to either take the lead or tie until the refs took out 2 of our starters. Every team will have games where they play like dog crap for stretches. Not every team has the ability to right the ship multiple times a night. There was never a point where I felt like we were out of it. If you can only enjoy the wins, then you are going to be miserable a third of the season.

Providence got significantly more calls than we did. To deny that is to deny reality. But don't go cold over the last six minutes of regulation, don't give up multiple ORs off FTs, make one more FT, and it doesn't matter.

Shaka needed to call a timeout during that stretch at the end of regulation. Not sure what he was waiting for. The team was clearly disorganized and needed some direction but Shaka let them play through it. I appreciate that he doesn't overcoach but there are times when you need to step in and get your ducks in a row.

I didn't mind the play call to Sean Jones. He's our quickest guy and got the ball up for an open shot. My guess is he was supposed to pass to an open Kam or Jop if he could but the passes weren't there so he took it himself. I would have preferred a timeout and then a SOB play as others have suggested but with less than 5 seconds, going the full court and getting an open three is not a bad outcome.

We couldn't have asked for a better shot when Kam got the ball wide open for three with a chance to ice the game in OT. He just missed it. He makes that shot 8 times out of 10. He does and we are celebrating a gritty win.

Sean Jones got benched for failing to box out the FT shooter. My guess is he never makes that mistake again. FR learning moment.

Scoring Kolek is an excellent sign. That was a warning shot to the rest of the Big East that if they try to take away his passing, he will f*ck em with his scoring

Yes, we lost because of bunch of self-inflicted wounds. But think of how well we had to play the rest of the game if we made it to double OT, on the road, against a top half Big East team, in a game where Providence got over a dozen more calls, and Bynum hit three threes and some long 2s after shooting 17% from three the rest of the season. This team will be fine. They will win games like this in the future. 12+ Big East wins.

TAMU,  I agree with all of this. 

[muwarrior69]

We have to figure out how to win close games rebound bilsu.

There, fixed.

[rgoode57]

I agree that is, at this point, hard to imagine Omax in the NBA. He disappeared offensively / rebounding last night and got overwhelmed completely when matched up on Hopkins. Omax has some really nice games, but, in all honesty, he is too frequently MIA.

[Uncle Rico]

Missed Justin Lewis last night, tbh

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Missed Justin Lewis last night, tbh

Also Mo Lucas