Did You Catch 22?

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Doing my best Tower impersonation:

1.  Number 22 was the X-factor.  Career high 15 points, matching Kolek for the team high, despite playing only 12 minutes.  Sean Jones played a big part in sacking Creighton.

2. eFG%...does NOT reign supreme, at least today.  Creighton had the edge 56.4% to 43.4%.  So how did Marquette win?

3.  By owning the glass.  MU won the offensive rebounding battle 17-4, lead by Oso with 9.  Oso was the chairman of the boards, dominating Kalkbrenner 16-3.

4.  Marquette also ratcheted up the ball pressure.  10 steals, 24 points off TO, and 3 shot clock violations forced.

5. Put it all together and Marquette won this game with hustle and grit.  The announcers even commented that Marquette had the superior energy in the 2nd half.

6. Stevie's return.  Probably still not 100% since he was limited to 19 minutes.  But a huge drawn charge at the end to help seal the victory.  Oh by the way, he also made two 3s.

7.  Solid game for Jop, even if he celebrated a bit too much after his dunk.  Solid defense and rebounding throughout.  Boosted his blk% with 2 blocks.  Offense struggled early but he knocked down two key triples late.

8.  Ross and Gold didn't have the most impressive stat lines, but both brought energy and were assignment sure.  And both played stretches at the "4".  Two vastly different looks.  That lineup versatility will serve Marquette well.

9.  A very "quiet" 15 point, 8 assist game from Kolek.  (Kinda like how Markus Howard could have a "quiet" 25 points.)
Kolek was also very active on defense and had 3 steals.

10.  Shaka outcoached McDermott.  Great in game adjustments, changing the defense and lineups to keep Creighton off balance.  And very quick counter adjustments to McDermott's adjustments.

11.  Crowd was great in the 2nd half.  Really helped keep the team's energy up and get across the finish line. (Also, there is no finish line).

12. Big win for both the BE race and NCAA resumé.

13. Happy New Year!

[mug644]

Patience and persistence. They didn't let the cold shooting lead to panic, and allowed their defense to drive the energy and game.

[Shooter McGavin]

All good points.  Well done.

[Richie]

Great job Juan, have come to depend on the Tower summations and you picked it up well. Second half was very enjoyable.

[Goose]

Good job, Juan. Summed things up well and great thread title.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Good performance " Off the Bench"

[Herman Cain]

Excellent Analysis Juan

[Slim]

I don't ever remember a game where a Marquette player had 9 OREB's like Oso did today.

[panda]

I don't ever remember a game where a Marquette player had 9 OREB's like Oso did today.

Credit him w more than 9 w multiple top backs too

[AZWarrior]

Juan - Well done, sir!  :-)

[Jockey]

I love this kinda game.

Oso isn't gonna score a lot against a big body that sags in the paint - so he did other things to win this game. Rebounded extremely well. His defense was outstanding (as it has been almost every game).

Kolek didn't have gaudy numbers but was also outstanding. Excellent defense - especially when he got switched onto Scheierman. Gave him no room whatsoever to move and get an open shot.

Stevie was Stevie. You hold your breath every time he shoots, but he was everywhere on defense.

Sean brought the energy to get back into the game and take the lead.

[rgoode57]

Fabulous defensive game. Oso, Stevie, Sean Jones, Chase, and Tyler were all outstanding. David Joplin also did a nice job. And, in limited minutes, Ben did his job well too. Just a great all-around defensive performance.

[GoFastAndWin]

Goose is right...Great synopsis by Juan! It was great to have Stevie back, and good to know Scoop post-game insight can survive a Tower(ing) absence.

[dgies9156]

I said to some friends that this was the kind of game we lived for when I was at Marquette in the 1970s.

Marquette against somebody really good in the "big" game. Inevitably, our defense would carry us, as it did today.

As the game tipped and it was apparent there were 18,000 screaming Warrior souls in the FiServ, I thought back to four years ago when we were having trouble retaining existing season ticket holders. When our team couldn't win when it mattered and routinely got blown out at tournament time. We weren't feared. We were pitied.

Marquette has done its job -- well. Coach Shaka is an excellent leader in the McGuire tradition of defense first. That really showed today. This year has been astounding when you think about who we've vanquished, Illinois, UCLA, Kansas, Texas and now Creighton. If in 2019, someone had told a Marquette team would do that, you'd of laughed. That's a tougher schedule than any regular season schedule Coach McGuire put together.

We are Marquette! We're here and we're going to be here for a long time to come. GET USED TO IT!!!!!!!

P.S. -- There will be bumps in the road. But we will be fine!

[Lennys Tap]

I love this kinda game.

Oso isn't gonna score a lot against a big body that sags in the paint - so he did other things to win this game. Rebounded extremely well. His defense was outstanding (as it has been almost every game).

Kolek didn't have gaudy numbers but was also outstanding. Excellent defense - especially when he got switched onto Scheierman. Gave him no room whatsoever to move and get an open shot.

Stevie was Stevie. You hold your breath every time he shoots, but he was everywhere on defense.

Sean brought the energy to get back into the game and take the lead.

Agree on all. Plus a solid two way performance from Jop, 3 steals from Chase, grit from Kam after turning his ankle and some nice little things from Ben.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Credit him w more than 9 w multiple top backs too

I had to look it up, but Oso gets credited for the rebound on those tap backs. I didn't think he had anywhere near 16, but he probably had half-a-dozen tap backs.

"An individual rebound is credited each time a player retrieves a live ball or purposely taps a live ball to a teammate immediately following a missed field goal attempt or a missed free throw attempt."

[panda]

I had to look it up, but Oso gets credited for the rebound on those tap backs. I didn't think he had anywhere near 16, but he probably had half-a-dozen tap backs.

"An individual rebound is credited each time a player retrieves a live ball or purposely taps a live ball to a teammate immediately following a missed field goal attempt or a missed free throw attempt."

Interesting really ? It really should be its own stat. Does the player who ultimately secures the rebound also get credit for one as well?

[Goose]

Jockey

I loved everything about this game. This is what a very good program looks like. In addition, seeing a crowd really vested in the game is awesome.

[pbiflyer]

Interesting really ? It really should be its own stat. Does the player who ultimately secures the rebound also get credit for one as well?

And if that player immediately shoots and score is that a rebound and an assist for Oso?

[Jockey]

Jockey

I loved everything about this game. This is what a very good program looks like. In addition, seeing a crowd really vested in the game is awesome.

Reminded me of the games we played during the heydey years under Al. Hard fought, scrappy, offense looking ugly at times, but a full-fledged effort - especially on the defensive end.

[burger]

Glad for the kid.....

But conversely.....He made more 3's in a half than he has made in 13 games....

Let's just hope it continues.....

Shoot.....I would take 25%....

[MUfan12]

It was a great building today, even without the full student contingent.

As frustrating as it was at times it was great to be in a fired up building for an intense league game again.

[Goose]

Jockey

As you know, I love when defense drives the team and back in the day defense drove the bus. This was an old school MU basketball game and I loved it.

[MU82]

Doing my best Tower impersonation:

1.  Number 22 was the X-factor.  Career high 15 points, matching Kolek for the team high, despite playing only 12 minutes.  Sean Jones played a big part in sacking Creighton.

2. eFG%...does NOT reign supreme, at least today.  Creighton had the edge 56.4% to 43.4%.  So how did Marquette win?

3.  By owning the glass.  MU won the offensive rebounding battle 17-4, lead by Oso with 9.  Oso was the chairman of the boards, dominating Kalkbrenner 16-3.

4.  Marquette also ratcheted up the ball pressure.  10 steals, 24 points off TO, and 3 shot clock violations forced.

5. Put it all together and Marquette won this game with hustle and grit.  The announcers even commented that Marquette had the superior energy in the 2nd half.

6. Stevie's return.  Probably still not 100% since he was limited to 19 minutes.  But a huge drawn charge at the end to help seal the victory.  Oh by the way, he also made two 3s.

7.  Solid game for Jop, even if he celebrated a bit too much after his dunk.  Solid defense and rebounding throughout.  Boosted his blk% with 2 blocks.  Offense struggled early but he knocked down two key triples late.

8.  Ross and Gold didn't have the most impressive stat lines, but both brought energy and were assignment sure.  And both played stretches at the "4".  Two vastly different looks.  That lineup versatility will serve Marquette well.

9.  A very "quiet" 15 point, 8 assist game from Kolek.  (Kinda like how Markus Howard could have a "quiet" 25 points.)
Kolek was also very active on defense and had 3 steals.

10.  Shaka outcoached McDermott.  Great in game adjustments, changing the defense and lineups to keep Creighton off balance.  And very quick counter adjustments to McDermott's adjustments.

11.  Crowd was great in the 2nd half.  Really helped keep the team's energy up and get across the finish line. (Also, there is no finish line).

12. Big win for both the BE race and NCAA resumé.

13. Happy New Year!

Nicely done, Juan.

As for 10 ... I do think Shaka outcoached McDermott, but I do wish it didn't take halftime for our guys to come to grips with, "Hey, that guy is hitting a shyte-ton of 3s ... let's not leave him open." It's happened a little too often this season.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Nice job Juan. Tower may become the Wally Pipp of Scoop!

Sean with solid defense today, especially that play where he got switched onto Kalkbrenner and jumped waaay up high to swat away a lob.