2023-2024 Expectations

[bilsu]

It will be interesting to see if others who insisted that Big East titles were more important than NCAA tournament success this season also will shift gears for future seasons now that they've gotten to celebrate Big East titles while experiencing first-weekend-exit disappointment.

I will still take winning Big East titles, because in the end it does not matter much, if you lose in before the final four.

[bilsu]

My expectations are that Gold, S. Jones and Ross show significant improvement.
However, without a significant improvement in rebounding I do not see us as a threat to win NCAA title.

[The Equalizer]

There is a decent chance they will be picked 3rd.  Creighton can bring everyone back. It’s up to Schiermann. UConn will probably bring everyone back except Hawkins and they have a 6’8 McDonalds PG coming in. Not saying we will be picked 3rd. Just saying it’s possible.

I expect a 2nd or 3rd place pre-season pick for MU.

I think the coaches will be hard-pressed not to pick UConn first--especially if they win a championship and Hawkins is the only departure.  I think MU vs. Creighton becomes a pick'em. for 2nd/3rd before knowing who Xavier, UConn, and St. Johns manage to land.

I'm going to assume that Pitino will be successful in building an all-star lineup via the portal, and he's a proven winner who I think will be competitive in year one. They may well be picked ahead of MU, and it wouldn't be because coaches thought MU was a "fluke" last year--it will be a reputation pick based on their coach.  But I don't expect anything worse than 4th or 5th.

At Xavier, Miller's already proven he can work the portal to fill holes in the roster. Colby Jones is a huge hole to fill, but so was Scruggs the year before, and Souley Boum more than sufficed as a replacement. They likely get Freemantle back, maybe Nunge returning, and if they get frosh-to-soph improvement similar to what MU's guys showed last year, they're certainly in the mix at the top.  Good recruiting class (2nd in the Big East after UConn).
Would I rank them ahead of Creighton and Marquette? Not likely, but a strong portal showing could put them there.

Cooley has been effective at pulling guys out of the portal to keep Providence competitive, and PC is a tough place for that to happen.  He's going be overshadowed by Pitino, who's trying the same type of year-one rebuild.  But he has a much better program to offer recruits.  Assuming he can pull in talent similar to what he did last year (Hopkins, Locke, Carter) as a core, he knows how to get them playing well as a team, and should be at least a middle of the pack team.

I don't think Villanova has any recruiting class right now, and will lose Whitmore--I don't see them in the top six, but based on their returning guys it's easy to pick them seventh ahead of Seton Hall, DePaul, Butler, and Providence in that order.

[GoldenEagles03]

There is a decent chance they will be picked 3rd.  Creighton can bring everyone back. It’s up to Schiermann. UConn will probably bring everyone back except Hawkins and they have a 6’8 McDonalds PG coming in. Not saying we will be picked 3rd. Just saying it’s possible.

Creighton is in a similar spot as Marquette.

Kaluma, Scheierman, Alexander, Kalkbrenner are all projected as late 2nd rounders similar to OMax and Oso.

Depends on which kids decide to stay or go.

[wisblue]

Does Nunge really have another year of eligibility left? That must be some kind of record for stacking medical redshirts and the COVID bonus year to get 7 years on a college basketball roster.

I suspect Xavier will be formidable next year with Miller working the portal.

[brewcity77]

Does Nunge really have another year of eligibility left? That must be some kind of record for stacking medical redshirts and the COVID bonus year to get 7 years on a college basketball roster.

I suspect Xavier will be formidable next year with Miller working the portal.

Maybe, but he'll need a waiver as he's played in 5 seasons & it would be year 7 overall.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Does Nunge really have another year of eligibility left? That must be some kind of record for stacking medical redshirts and the COVID bonus year to get 7 years on a college basketball roster.

I suspect Xavier will be formidable next year with Miller working the portal.

I was reading Xavier post-game loss article and it mentioned he has one year eligibility left but he has not decided if he was going to use.

And he's married too, last summer.

[Uncle Rico]

I was reading Xavier post-game loss article and it mentioned he has one year eligibility left but he has not decided if he was going to use.

And he's married too, last summer.

That’s good that he’s married.  As a married man, he’ll be a natural leader for the team

[MU82]

I will still take winning Big East titles, because in the end it does not matter much, if you lose in before the final four.

Why does getting to the Final Four matter if you lose before winning the national title?

[Judge Smails]

Why does getting to the Final Four matter if you lose before winning the national title?

It’s a regional championship; banner worthy. Major accomplishment.

[milwaukee ex-pat]

Why does getting to the Final Four matter if you lose before winning the national title?

The Final Four matters because you get to the last weekend - each advancement to the next weekend in the tournament gets the program a huge publicity boost and is amazing for the fans because you get a week to salivate on still being in the hunt etc. - getting to the last weekend is rare air..

[PointWarrior]

Why does getting to the Final Four matter if you lose before winning the national title?

What would Tom Crean say?

[Lennys Tap]

What would Tom Crean say?

Something self serving.

[StillWarriors]

I was reading Xavier post-game loss article and it mentioned he has one year eligibility left but he has not decided if he was going to use.

And he's married too, last summer.

For what it's worth, Nunge went through Senior Day activities. I think the presumption is he is gone. Freemantle did not get honored on Senior Day even though this was his fourth year and generally I think most anticipated that this was his last year before the late season injury.

[We R Final Four]

Why does getting to the Final Four matter if you lose before winning the national title?

Al said it was harder to get to the Final Four, than win it.

[MU82]

Folks, I agree that the Final Four is well worth celebrating.

bilsu, a Moser guy, said: " ... in the end it does not matter much, if you lose in before the final four."

So I just wondered why he thought even the Final Four mattered if you don't win the title.

[The Lens]

Something self serving.

It wasn’t all about him. He did mention Dwyane Wade.

[Lennys Tap]

It wasn’t all about him. He did mention Dwyane Wade.

Nicely done.

[dgies9156]

Al said it was harder to get to the Final Four, than win it.

He should have known better than about anyone. Marquette was on the threshold of Final Four several times before breaking through in 1974.

We had really great teams that never quite got there until Maurice Lucas and company got us there!

[wisblue]

It will be interesting to see if others who insisted that Big East titles were more important than NCAA tournament success this season also will shift gears for future seasons now that they've gotten to celebrate Big East titles while experiencing first-weekend-exit disappointment.

I've already posted my goals and expectations for next season, taking into account the uncertainty of not knowing what the rosters for MU and other conference teams will be.

But, I'm going to pose a slightly different question about whether expectations for next season, and feelings about this season, would be affected if this season had gone a little differently.

Let's say, that MU had gone 14-6 in the BE, losing close games to Villanova, Xavier, and Creighton. That gave them a 3 seed in the BET where they lost in the semifinal and earned a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA, they won the first two games, including a second round win over a number 3 seed, before losing in the third round to the region's number 2 seed.

The 2 questions:

1. Would you be happier with that season because of advancing to the Sweet 16?

2. Would your expectations for next season be the same as they are now?

[Uncle Rico]

I've already posted my goals and expectations for next season, taking into account the uncertainty of not knowing what the rosters for MU and other conference teams will be.

But, I'm going to pose a slightly different question about whether expectations for next season, and feelings about this season, would be affected if this season had gone a little differently.

Let's say, that MU had gone 14-6 in the BE, losing close games to Villanova, Xavier, and Creighton. That gave them a 3 seed in the BET where they lost in the semifinal and earned a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA, they won the first two games, including a second round win over a number 3 seed, before losing in the third round to the region's number 2 seed.

The 2 questions:

1. Would you be happier with that season because of advancing to the Sweet 16?

2. Would your expectations for next season be the same as they are now?

There are so many hypotheticals here, it’s hard to answer.  That’s not a complaint, it’s just that’s there a lot to consider.

I’d have to take the season on a whole.  If they’re competitive and the league is competitive, it’s hard to complain about that result.

I’ll say this, if VERY early projections are correct and the Big East starts the season with 3 teams in the top-10, Marquette won’t be a 6-seed

[wadesworld]

I've already posted my goals and expectations for next season, taking into account the uncertainty of not knowing what the rosters for MU and other conference teams will be.

But, I'm going to pose a slightly different question about whether expectations for next season, and feelings about this season, would be affected if this season had gone a little differently.

Let's say, that MU had gone 14-6 in the BE, losing close games to Villanova, Xavier, and Creighton. That gave them a 3 seed in the BET where they lost in the semifinal and earned a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA, they won the first two games, including a second round win over a number 3 seed, before losing in the third round to the region's number 2 seed.

The 2 questions:

1. Would you be happier with that season because of advancing to the Sweet 16?

2. Would your expectations for next season be the same as they are now?

1) I'd take this year's actual results over your hypothetical results.
2) My expectations for next year would be the same if we had the hypothetical results as they are right now based on our actual results.

[Lennys Tap]

I've already posted my goals and expectations for next season, taking into account the uncertainty of not knowing what the rosters for MU and other conference teams will be.

But, I'm going to pose a slightly different question about whether expectations for next season, and feelings about this season, would be affected if this season had gone a little differently.

Let's say, that MU had gone 14-6 in the BE, losing close games to Villanova, Xavier, and Creighton. That gave them a 3 seed in the BET where they lost in the semifinal and earned a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA, they won the first two games, including a second round win over a number 3 seed, before losing in the third round to the region's number 2 seed.

The 2 questions:

1. Would you be happier with that season because of advancing to the Sweet 16?

2. Would your expectations for next season be the same as they are now?

1 No

2 Yes

[Markusquette]

Worse regular season record-wise with at least another tournament win, assuming MU's roster is the same + 1.

[wisblue]

There are so many hypotheticals here, it’s hard to answer.  That’s not a complaint, it’s just that’s there a lot to consider.

I’d have to take the season on a whole.  If they’re competitive and the league is competitive, it’s hard to complain about that result.

I’ll say this, if VERY early projections are correct and the Big East starts the season with 3 teams in the top-10, Marquette won’t be a 6-seed

I chose this hypothetical because it is basically Creighton’s season without the “crapshoot” bonus they got by facing a 15 seed in the third round instead of a 2 seed.

I’ve heard many people here say they would rather have the Sweet 16, but when I think of the some of the fun moments of the last season, Imwoukdnt want to trade them for being alive in the NCAA tournament for 5 more days before suffering a disappointing season ending loss. The extra two days of advancing to the Elite 8 doesn’t get me there either.

When I look back at the 2023 season I’ll remember some great moments, including several games that I was able to attend in person. They include:

1. The early season 1 point win at Villanova. A loss there would have made MU 2-2 in the BE and the loss at Xavier would have put them at 4-3 in the conference and 3 games out of first place. The 5 game winning streak that followed might have sparked hooes, but the loss at UConn would have put MU in a much tougher position going into the home stretch.

2. Take away OMax’s last second put back, and one of the most thrilling wins of the season would instead have been a demoralizing defeat that all but eliminated them from title contention.

3. A loss at Creighton would have been another disappointing result instead of a second straight great win that put MU in the driver’s seat for the title. The last 3 games would have been pretty anticlimactic instead of 3 games that in succession clinched a tie for the title, clinched the outright title, and allowed the team to cut down the nets and celebrate the tilte in front of the home fans.

4. The BET tournament wins over UConn and Xavier were two of the more memorable moments in recent MU history.

Some people would apparently trade all of those moments for a few extra days of being alive in the NCAA tournament before having the season come to a disappointing end. I wouldn’t. Maybe doing those things a second time will be less enjoyable unless they are followed by a longer run in the NCAA tournament. But, I think it would take awhile before regular season and BET titles get to be old hat.