This was the UConn I was worried about 6 weeks ago

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Said it once, will say it again. Rebounding will be what ends this teams season. Just need to avoid draws with early match ups against teams with super talented and athletic bigs.

[tower912]

I knew it was over the moment the calendar turned to February.  Ever since Columbus sailed the ocean blue, jesuits have faded around lent

Beauty.

[Scoop Snoop]

UConn had insanely uncharacteristic shot making. Per Synergy, their expected points per shot was 0.95 and their actual was 1.19 which is UConn's biggest overperformance of the year. Marquette's expected was 0.94 and actual was 0.93, which is fine.

UConn couldn't miss early, got out to a 24-8 lead, and we played them even the rest of the way, but because we couldn't string enough stops to get it close to single digits, it was never close enough to feel at all comfortable. But seriously, some of the open looks we missed, some of the crazy, well-guarded prayers they made, sometimes it's just not your night.

This was first half Wisconsin with Hawkins playing the Chucky Hepburn role and no second half run to force overtime. It happens. On to Georgetown.

I also thought the first half bore an uncanny resemblance to the UW game. Thanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.

Your post supports my take in the sense that the primary problem was not our starters' performances, but UCONN's near perfect game. That does not mean I give our guys a pass on the game. Exhibit A in support of my argument is Ben's performance. I absolutely loved how well he did, but let's not be naive. I think that Hurley barely mentioned him to his team, other than probably saying "don't worry about him. If he gets a few baskets, no big deal. Just clamp down on their starters."

[Herman Cain]

Brown chicken, brown cow.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQ4qdlhurc

[brewcity77]

Thanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.

According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.

The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.

[mugrad_89]

Said it once, will say it again. Rebounding will be what ends this teams season. Just need to avoid draws with early match ups against teams with super talented and athletic bigs.

We don't have to be a great rebounding team, but the effort has to be there.  Last nite, it wasn't.

[tower912]

MU has 6 losses.  4 are road losses to ranked teams.  Two of those were at some point #1. 

[Shooter McGavin]

I also thought the first half bore an uncanny resemblance to the UW game. Thanks for the stats regarding UCONN Brew.

Your post supports my take in the sense that the primary problem was not our starters' performances, but UCONN's near perfect game. That does not mean I give our guys a pass on the game. Exhibit A in support of my argument is Ben's performance. I absolutely loved how well he did, but let's not be naive. I think that Hurley barely mentioned him to his team, other than probably saying "don't worry about him. If he gets a few baskets, no big deal. Just clamp down on their starters."

Speaking of Ben.  After drilling two three point shots he never got the ball back on 2-3 more wide open pick and pops.  Maybe Kolek and our other guards aren't used to a big that can shoot.  I was hoping they would go to the well a couple more times to see if it would continue ala Mike Kinsella in a couple of his games.  But they chose to forgo giving it to a wide open three point shooter and instead take a contested two point shot.

[Uncle Rico]

We don't have to be a great rebounding team, but the effort has to be there.  Last nite, it wasn't.

This is a fair criticism

[brewcity77]

MU has 6 losses.  4 are road losses to ranked teams.  Two of those were at some point #1.

UConn hasn't been ranked #1 this season. Only UNC, Houston, and Purdue have been at the top of either the AP or Coaches' polls. Not a major difference, but just to be accurate. 

[tower912]

Did they peak at #2 behind Purdue? I thought they had #1 for a week. 

Well, crap.   

Beer before or after the game next Wednesday?

[MuggsyB]

According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.

The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.

You're right Brew but we had no fluidity in our offense and took difficult threes and shots.  The ball stopped constantly and our only creator at all was TyKo.  The lack of passing in open space from all of our guys, and moving the basketball, a.k.a. iso ball, was problematic the entire game.  And as I stated yesterday Oso, OMax, and Kam had unusually bad games and made bad decisions.  Poor discipline, poise, fundamentals, and execution on both ends of the floor.  We will be fine but we simply cannot beat ourselves like we did yesterday moving forward. 

[The Sultan]

I don't think we "beat ourselves" yesterday. UConn was clearly the better team.

[Shooter McGavin]

Oh and having Sean back is definitely a plus.  I'm several games this year he has changed the momentum of the game.  He's not consistent game to game yet but he can be a spark off the bench.  Glad he is back.  The depth at guard is important.

[brewcity77]

I don't think we "beat ourselves" yesterday. UConn was clearly the better team.

Ehh, not by much. They made shots they usually don't get early and it made the entire game look more comfortable for them. They came in shooting 33.9% from three in conference play and hit 52.2% from deep. Many of those were late-shot clock desperation shots or well-guarded looks that still fell. UConn was certainly the more fortunate team, but put them in an empty gym and they probably aren't shooting it that well. Just one of those nights.

[MU82]

According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.

The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.

I thought our effort wasn't quite as high as the normal very high standards, so that's always disappointing. And Oso had another pretty poor game, which would be troubling if it continues. But I agree that this wouldn't have looked so bad (and maybe even would have looked OK) if UConn didn't make an inordinate number of difficult shots and if Marquette had hit some more open looks. I can remember 2 trey attempts by Ross, 1 by Sean, 1 by Kam and 2 by Stevie that almost couldn't have possibly been more wide open. And when that halfcourt shot went in, it confirmed that it wasn't gonna be our night. It happens, especially on the road.

We are having an amazing season. People need to not lose their shyte.

[brewcity77]

I thought our effort wasn't quite as high as the normal very high standards, so that's always disappointing. And Oso had another pretty poor game, which would be troubling if it continues. But I agree that this wouldn't have looked so bad (and maybe even would have looked OK) if UConn didn't make an inordinate number of difficult shots and if Marquette had hit some more open looks. I can remember 2 trey attempts by Ross, 1 by Sean, 1 by Kam and 2 by Stevie that almost couldn't have possibly been more wide open. And when that halfcourt shot went in, it confirmed that it wasn't gonna be our night. It happens, especially on the road.

We are having an amazing season. People need to not lose their shyte.

Agreed with all of this.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

According to Shot Quality, the expected score based on shots taken was UConn 78-75 Marquette. Expectation is we would've won that game based on the shots taken about 42% of the time.

The Hawkins bail-out jumper to open the game on what was nearly a turnover, the falling to his left midrange jumper from (I think) Karaban, the halftime buzzer-beater from Alleyne, they were pulling crap out of their ass all night long. Credit to them, they got the win, but other than Gold we went 3/18 from three and a ton of those were good looks that were in and out. Tough night, move on to the next.

To add to this, UConn took their first 16 point lead with 12:33 left in the first half, meaning we won the last 32.5 minutes of the game by 1 (obviously the blowout score may have impacted how UConn played down the stretch but they did keep their starters in all night). In that first 7.5 minutes when UConn built their lead, they only had 1 offensive rebound. During that same stretch, they went 4/4 from three while we went 0/3. The ORs we gave up obviously kept us from getting back into the game but I think the real difference in the game was 3 point shooting.

[Miss Katie’s]

Oh and having Sean back is definitely a plus.  I'm several games this year he has changed the momentum of the game.  He's not consistent game to game yet but he can be a spark off the bench.  Glad he is back.  The depth at guard is important.

Agreed.  Love his energy and the spark he can provide.

[Dr. Blackheart]

An absolute piss poor effort on the boards.

In the history of Pomeroy, 2nd highest (worst) OR% conference game in Marquette's history by an opponent. Third worst in ALL games in the Modern Age.

[Galway Eagle]

People need to not lose their shyte.

Imodium for all of scoop!

[withoutbias]

It's uncanny how much MU fans complain about tough, contested shots.  Did UCONN make 2 desperation heaves last night?  Yes.  But they also had a large number of layup line dunks and shootaround perimeter jumpers that people who aren't even as talented as Ners could make without much concern.  I always hear about how much better our defense is than the numbers show, we're just unlucky with last second, contested jumpers going down.  I don't see it nearly as much as Scoop claims it happens.  In fact, I see it happen more in MU's favor than it hurts MU.  I think half of Joplin's field goals this year are at the buzzer, 28 feet out, falling away with a hand in his face.  Or Kam's crazy up and under, footwork near the rim, kiss of the glass with some English on it over a 7 footer.

Also, the idea that "winning" the last 3/4 of the game is hilarious.  Teams tend to take their foot off the gas when they're up 20 the entire game.  But hey, let's celebrate!

Love the "expected score."  Maybe we got good enough shot looks for it to be a close game.  The problem is, we have 2 good shooters on the team.  So maybe teams are okay with Stevie or OMax getting "good quality" shots.  Maybe that's in the gameplan?  Just a thought.  And maybe we got UCONN to take some tough shots, but we also let them rebound literally almost all of their misses.

[mugrad_89]

In the history of Pomeroy, 2nd highest (worst) OR% conference game in Marquette's history by an opponent. Third worst in ALL games in the Modern Age.

I lost count of how many times Marquette players were just standing there and not even trying to block out as a UConn player swooped in for the rebound - it was embarrassing.

[Goose]

MUGrad

If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.

Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.

[Shooter McGavin]

MUGrad

If I were Shaka, I would have a lot of tape to show Oso, Omax and Co. on the poor effort on the rebounding front. Oso and Omax were not good last night and time for them to step up. In addition, both Chase and Joplin had moments of not sharing the ball. Gold was wide open, and I mean wide open, in the second half and he did not touch the ball.

Good news, I think Gold showed glimpses of what he will ultimately be at MU. I would not be surprised to see increased minutes for minutes moving forward. If he gains confidence in his shoot, he can be a game changer.

Last paragraph is spot on.  If he misses his first couple or he is getting torched on D get him out.  If he makes two threes when everyone on the team can't hit the Ocean get him the ball when he's Wide Open.  It's simple.   This applies to other shooters who are hitting shots as well.   It was insane how wide open he was several times and never got the ball. 

It hasn't been just this game.  It's been many others.  Ben has not earned the trust of his teammates apparently.