UConn is good.

[Disco Hippie]

Let's be honest.......UCONN is just flat out better and more balanced.  The outcome could have just as easily been exactly the same even if the creator was 100% healthy and played 37 min.  They put up a decent effort but it's difficult to beat any team that shoots 50% or better from 3PT range, let alone a team like UCONN which is equally good in every other aspect of the game.   There are going to be bumps in the road.  Better to hit them now than 3 weeks from now.   Onward..... 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Someone's lashing out again because he can't handle his emotions.

😘

[jesmu84]

Chase Ross was still battling the effects of being sick

[jesmu84]

Hurley is hard to dislike:

Dan Hurley on Cam Spencer's tech: "He's got to ring that in. There's some other fan bases and programs and I don't mind him sh*t-talking them, but I didn't like him doing it near their bench and to their fans... It's a classy program, it's a championship program..."

He also said Marquette losing TK is like the Chiefs losing Mahomes

[Tyler COLEk]

Hurley loves Shaka and Marquette. Clearly has immense respect for the program.

[MU82]

More encouraged than discouraged. Rallied against the best team in the country, shut 'em down the final 7-8 minutes, just not quite good enough without our All-American.

Not gonna worry about 2024-25 PG play because I don't have to yet. It's still 2023-24, and the team still can reach every goal it set on Day 1 after our current PG comes back. And he will.

Loved the way Oso took it right to Clingan. Would have been nice if a couple more shots fell, but still felt he "won" the battle.

I actually am hoping Ross is still under the weather because that would at least explain his very rough outing.

I was impressed with Norman's second-half play. Composed, strong to the hoop, good D.

Nice to see Ben swish two 3s. Would have liked to have seen him get a chance to shoot a couple/few more.

Sucks that we didn't get a play off there near the end.

Waited way too long to foul when we only had 4 fouls. We let them dribble off 20 seconds before fouling, then let them do similar a little later. Needed to get to 6 faster so we could pick our spots to send them to the line.

Stevie was tough on D and even had 5 (!) offensive rebounds, but he seemed to have trouble getting a handle on the basketball all night. Playing against a great defensive team will do that, though.

I really like how Hurley handled the T by Spencer. Good coaching right there.

Can't wait for Saturday's game at Xavier. I'll be wearing gold and screaming my lungs out!

[mugrad_89]

Shaka said in his post game that Chase was still feeling the effects of being sick - lost weight and not as much energy.  We just need to get healthy and I think we can hang with anyone in the country.

[MU82]

Shaka said in his post game that Chase was still feeling the effects of being sick - lost weight and not as much energy.  We just need to get healthy and I think we can hang with anyone in the country.

Thanks for that update. That makes sense. Darn, it would have been nice to have had a full-strength Chase tonight. He'll be there in Cinci, though.

[DoctorV]

Excellent post MU82, spot on.

I agree on pretty much every point.

Only thing I would add is that I was very disappointed with how many loose balls and effort plays Marquette lost today, especially at home.

Maybe it just seemed that way, but there were several times where they just needed to get their hands on the ball strong, and it was as if they were trying to grab it and run too quick and it never worked. Extremely frustrating.

I've heard Shaka say in timeouts just grab the damn ball, and I felt that several times tonight.

[CountryRoads]

Postgames had a lot of good comments. This team is so locked in on the tournament coming up. Much different vibe than last year. Seems they can't wait for it.

[21Jumpstreet]

Shaka said in his post game that Chase was still feeling the effects of being sick - lost weight and not as much energy.  We just need to get healthy and I think we can hang with anyone in the country.

I wondered this. Fiserv was rockin, we had that game. Joplin needed to sit a lot more than he did (even though he had one incredible offensive and one defensive play). Been awhile since I've been really frustrated after a game, we had this game and made so many low iq plays. Damn

[MU82]

Excellent post MU82, spot on.

I agree on pretty much every point.

Only thing I would add is that I was very disappointed with how many loose balls and effort plays Marquette lost today, especially at home.

Maybe it just seemed that way, but there were several times where they just needed to get their hands on the ball strong, and it was as if they were trying to grab it and run too quick and it never worked. Extremely frustrating.

I've heard Shaka say in timeouts just grab the damn ball, and I felt that several times tonight.

I thought in the first half UConn beat Marquette to the ball far too often; we needed to win the hustle plays. In the second half, I thought we were a lot more active but were a little unlucky a few times.

[MuggsyB]

I thought in the first half UConn beat Marquette to the ball far too often; we needed to win the hustle plays. In the second half, I thought we were a lot more active but were a little unlucky a few times.

They destroyed us on the glass and getting to loose balls.  Those extra possessions and reload threes are death.  Our straight line Rhino drives were not a good tactical decision with Clingan and length waiting at the rim.  Norman had a nice jump stop and controlled attack, but most of the other ones were out of control.  What ever happened to the change of pace/direction dribble?  Or the 5 foot floater?  Tony Parker would have destroyed that defense as an example.  We need to be smarter with our best player out. 

[MU82]

Our straight line Rhino drives were not a good tactical decision with Clingan and length waiting at the rim.  Norman had a nice jump stop and controlled attack, but most of the other ones were out of control.  What ever happened to the change of pace/direction dribble?  Or the 5 foot floater?  Tony Parker would have destroyed that defense as an example.  We need to be smarter with our best player out.

We were missing the leader of our offense and going up against a superior defensive team. It fundamentally changed the way we could play offense.

You make it sound like we were going up against DePaul out there. Very few teams have "destroyed that defense." And no team has done so when missing the NCAA assist leader and All-American.

[21Jumpstreet]

Loved Shaka's postgame comment that if everyone fought like Stevie, we would never lose.

[We R Final Four]

Postgames had a lot of good comments. This team is so locked in on the tournament coming up. Much different vibe than last year. Seems they can't wait for it.

Completely agree....this team has a plan for March.

[The Sultan]

Just got back from the game.

UConn is a very good team. And well coached.

Our effort was strangely poor at times. Kinda wonder if they're just ready for the post season.

[willie warrior]

Completely agree....this team has a plan for March.

We have lost both games in March. Clearly that plan is not working.

[MU82]

Loved Shaka's postgame comment that if everyone fought like Stevie, we would never lose.

He expanded it to include that he wished he could have put Stevie on each of Newton, Spencer and Castle, "but there's only one Stevie."

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Man, I feel like I'll need to pick UConn in my brackets but I loathe Spencer and their fanbase is trash.

[Viper]

Free throws matter. We could have been down 2 instead of 5 at the end which would've changed our strategy. Great effort though by our guys. Eff PukeConn.

100%. FT's do matter. FREEthrows. A fundamental that absolutely swings games.

[tower912]

If he was on your team, you would love him.   Heck of a player.

[Goose]

82

I wish Ben would have gotten more looks as well, but UConn was not playing him soft, and he was struggling to get open in the slow half court offense. Kam and Jop both went iso a couple of times when they could have hit Ben wide open, but they kept dribbling. The offense is a work in progress with TK and the need to figure it out quickly if TK is out longer than we hope.

[tower912]

82

I wish Ben would have gotten more looks as well, but UConn was not playing him soft, and he was struggling to get open in the slow half court offense. Kam and Jop both went iso a couple of times when they could have hit Ben wide open, but they kept dribbling. The offense is a work in progress with TK and the need to figure it out quickly if TK is out longer than we hope.

UConn doesn't help.   Doesn't need to.   So Gold's defender was up on him.  UConn made it a point of emphasis after his two makes.   I saw a couple of times when he was briefly open on the ball side, but the guards didn't see him.    As Shaka said, MU was making one cut and not going through their progressions.   Leads to iso ball.

[Viper]

More encouraged than discouraged. Rallied against the best team in the country, shut 'em down the final 7-8 minutes, just not quite good enough without our All-American.

Not gonna worry about 2024-25 PG play because I don't have to yet. It's still 2023-24, and the team still can reach every goal it set on Day 1 after our current PG comes back. And he will.

Loved the way Oso took it right to Clingan. Would have been nice if a couple more shots fell, but still felt he "won" the battle.

I actually am hoping Ross is still under the weather because that would at least explain his very rough outing.

I was impressed with Norman's second-half play. Composed, strong to the hoop, good D.

Nice to see Ben swish two 3s. Would have liked to have seen him get a chance to shoot a couple/few more.

Sucks that we didn't get a play off there near the end.

Waited way too long to foul when we only had 4 fouls. We let them dribble off 20 seconds before fouling, then let them do similar a little later. Needed to get to 6 faster so we could pick our spots to send them to the line.

Stevie was tough on D and even had 5 (!) offensive rebounds, but he seemed to have trouble getting a handle on the basketball all night. Playing against a great defensive team will do that, though.

I really like how Hurley handled the T by Spencer. Good coaching right there.

Can't wait for Saturday's game at Xavier. I'll be wearing gold and screaming my lungs out!

you can be in the now and still look ahead. I guarantee the coaches are...next year and the year after. Planning, forecasting, projecting. It's part of why year-in year-out excellent teams are year-in year-out excellent teams.