Finishing with a flourish

[94Warrior]

Defense up to 61 on kenpom

I'm shocked that the offense is still #1 after tonight's game.   

[TallTitan34]

https://twitter.com/jan_koller15/status/1620990749457387520?s=46&t=ZXvWrAJNYhCXY27m7AZY4g

I'm shocked this wasn't a travel.

[Shaka Shart]

5.  Was amused by Shaka speak for 'play harder.'


Ummmmmmm

[1SE]

COLE is hard to shake....

Purge the COLE

[1SE]

I love the taste of sour grapes in the morning

https://www.vuhoops.com/2023/2/1/23582425/villanova-goes-cold-late-in-loss-to-marquette-college-basketball-big-east-game-recap#comments

[Ellenson Guerrero]

I love the taste of sour grapes in the morning

https://www.vuhoops.com/2023/2/1/23582425/villanova-goes-cold-late-in-loss-to-marquette-college-basketball-big-east-game-recap#comments

Neptune's comments were extremely complimentary of MU. Their fans kvetching about MU fouling on defense are just laughable given the 2 phantom fouls called on Oso in crunch time.

[willie warrior]

Tyler postgame:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSr09GTW6No

Kolek is the man
The guy runs the team, is unselfish and is like a coach on the floor
He will be an all timer when he is done. Hell, he is close right now.

[rocket surgeon]

https://twitter.com/jan_koller15/status/1620990749457387520?s=46&t=ZXvWrAJNYhCXY27m7AZY4g

I'm shocked this wasn't a travel.

   working on his NBA moves-yes after i saw that, i had to recheck to see if tim donaghy was brought out of "retirement" 

i understand the refs always seem to even out the foul calls "one way or another", but come on man!!  some of those calls made the grade school refs blush.  for nova, i believe they got their money's worth though

[tower912]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401485245

[mu_hilltopper]

Cult of Low Expectations

THAT'S what it means? 

We already had a word for that:  Arby's.

[PointWarrior]

I'm starting to feel that the pressure will only be with our fans. It does not seem to register with this team lately.

Amen, but more specially among COLEs, chicken littles, and pants pissers...

Can we talk NCAA seeding or we still in "one game at a time mode" on this board? 

[tower912]

Seeds, barring running the table and winning the tourney, I think the ceiling for MU is a 2.   Assuming a couple of losses, say @ Creighton and UConn, and no sloppy losses, somewhere in the 3-4 range.  Brew is going to do a really detailed post on it soon, I am sure.

[barfolomew]

Kyle Neptune is already starting to be one of my least favorite opposing coaches with as much as he bitches to the refs. Do it with some aplomb like your predecessor.

[muwarrior69]

THAT'S what it means? 

We already had a word for that:  Arby's. MUScoop

FIFY

[Goose]

Jake

It looks like they guys are not phased a bit and are on mission. I said a few weeks ago that this group has unbelievable chemistry and confidence. The next eight weeks is going to be a ton of fun.

[CountryRoads]

Kyle Neptune is already starting to be one of my least favorite opposing coaches with as much as he bitches to the refs. Do it with some aplomb like your predecessor.

His demeanor just screams "I'm in way over my head" to me. Maybe he'll figure it out.

[dgies9156]

This team is like nothing I've seen since the Hillbilly left. There is a confidence in them that is infectious and while they aren't perfect, they're never out of anything.

Surprisingly, I was never worried about Villanova last night. There was a quiet sense of "we got this!" You could feel the mood of this team as they fought and clawed through the game.

Look, we still have a long way to go but I'm feeling this group is really special. Incredible coaching, people who buy in and know their responsibilities on the court. Execution. Winning!

What more can you ask for?

[Carl]

I'm shocked that the offense is still #1 after tonight's game.

We are still #1 by a fairly significant margin over #2

[Dr. Blackheart]

We are still #1 by a fairly significant margin over #2

#FTsmatta

[muwarrior69]

Again with the past?

Butler is really bad. This Butler team doesn't know squat about how the Butler team from years ago played Marquette. And this Marquette team is really good. This Marquette team doesn't give a hoot about what happened years ago.

But if we insist on history somehow mattering today ... just 2 years ago, a bad MU team run by a bad coach went into Hinkle and beat a bad Butler team by 16 points. And just 2 years before that, a good MU team went into Hinkle and beat a mediocre Butler team by 18 points.

Butler just lost at Hinkle to Seton Hall, a team we've handled twice, by 21 points. Eleven days earlier, Butler lost at Hinkle to Creighton by 21 points.

So if history really is a guide, I'm thinking we win at Hinkle by somewhere right around 21 points.

If Butler is really bad, then Ben Gold should get at least 20 minutes of playing time.

[brewcity77]

100% at Butler.

I disagree with this strongly. Butler cannot score with us. Ranked 11th in offense in Big East play. Ranked 9th in defense. Since the start of Big East play, Butler ranks #240 in Torvik. Not just worst in the Big East, but worst by a wide margin (Georgetown is #163). Butler has no bench, can't rebound, and has been poorly coached. I'm far more afraid of DePaul at home than Butler, who has gone 0-8 against top-50 Big East teams and lost by an average margin of 22.8 ppg (none closer than 20). And that includes 4 home losses by 20+ points.

Though I'll be honest, I don't think we lose any of the bottom feeder games. DePaul or Georgetown might give us a good half, but I doubt any can keep up for 40 minutes.

[mugrad_89]

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1620997516127772673

Villanova has a lot of good pieces, but the lack of a legit point guard is really holding them back.

[warriorchick]

Villanova has a lot of good pieces, but the lack of a legit point guard is really holding them back.

What are you talking about?  They have an Arcidiacono, for chrissakes!

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I disagree with this strongly. Butler cannot score with us. Ranked 11th in offense in Big East play. Ranked 9th in defense. Since the start of Big East play, Butler ranks #240 in Torvik. Not just worst in the Big East, but worst by a wide margin (Georgetown is #163). Butler has no bench, can't rebound, and has been poorly coached. I'm far more afraid of DePaul at home than Butler, who has gone 0-8 against top-50 Big East teams and lost by an average margin of 22.8 ppg (none closer than 20). And that includes 4 home losses by 20+ points.

Though I'll be honest, I don't think we lose any of the bottom feeder games. DePaul or Georgetown might give us a good half, but I doubt any can keep up for 40 minutes.

Yeah, chances we stumble @ GTown are tiny, but still substantially higher than we stumble @ Butler.

[mugrad_89]

What are you talking about?  They have an Arcidiacono, for chrissakes!

Maybe he'll get better, but he doesn't seem to have the same pedigree as his brother.  😊