My Lingering Concern with This Team

[Johnny B]

Poor English.  I do not understand what you are trying to communicate.

it’s ok if you’re to old to understand modern colloquialisms. Also don’t be afraid to use contractions like “don’t” to be more grammatically efficient. You’ll get there you sorry son of a b itch.

[4everwarriors]

The elephant in the room is MU has now been exposed. Teams now know how to beat Marquette. Pressure our guards, pound the ball into the post, and obviously rebound and shoot the ball well. Most teams will not have the personnel to do so, but for those who do, its game on, aina?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

To long didn’t read

[Johnny B]

Kolek can’t read either.

[Uncle Rico]

The elephant in the room is MU has now been exposed. Teams now know how to beat Marquette. Pressure our guards, pound the ball into the post, and obviously rebound and shoot the ball well. Most teams will not have the personnel to do so, but for those who do, its game on, aina?

Finally.  After 3 years of Shaka implementing his system, teams have found a way to beat his team

[Mu8891]

My concerns are:

Injuries and getting to the S16

And … some people like to pretend that
Shaka’s lack of success in the NCAAT for over 10+ years is not a thing.  It is.

He’s what 1 - 6 ? Or 1 - 7 in the Dance?

They will be a 2 seed.  Not making the 2d weekend again this year would be a Huge disappointment

[GBPhoenix1993]

It's been fun watching how hard this team plays this year.  It sucks they couldn't stay healthy as I think they were just a fantastic team when Sean Jones and Kolek were both available.  They were relentless and could wear teams out with their intense play and depth.  We know Sean  Jones can't help during this tournament and what version we get of Kolek is a huge question mark.  He might be rusty, he might be great, maybe he won't play more than a few minutes, we have no idea what's going to happen with Tyler and that's just not a comforting thought going into these 1 and done games going forward.

Other concerns, this is not a great outside shooting team overall, they are streaky and sometimes those streaks are bad.  You combine a bad shooting night with facing a team that doesn't turn the ball over much and MU will be in a dog fight to stay alive in this thing.

I love the fight this team has under Shaka.  I have to be honest, I feel like this team actually overachieves a bit.  There are many subtle weaknesses that they are able to overcome with intense turnover forcing defense and just an overall attitude of making things tough for 40 minutes.  That said, we've all seen the weaknesses at times and these small things like giving up too many 2nd chance points and having bad streaks of outside shooting can undo some of the really good things this team is capable of. 

I think some of the younger guys on MU will become good outside shooters someday, but they're not consistent enough yet and that inconsistency just makes things a bit dicey as the competition MU faces ramps up. 

[We R Final Four]

The elephant in the room is MU has now been exposed. Teams now know how to beat Marquette. Pressure our guards, pound the ball into the post, and obviously rebound and shoot the ball well. Most teams will not have the personnel to do so, but for those who do, its game on, aina?

If team A:
-shoots the ball well;
-rebounds the ball well;
-pressures opposing team’s guards; and
-pounds the ball into the post…….

They will beat team B more often than not.
You don’t need to be a HOF coach to come up with this game plan.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

At this point of the season, every team has been "exposed" and the book is out on how to beat them. That doesn't mean their players are going to out-execute the other's.

[tower912]

GBP, one of the things about being fans is, as a whole, we focus on the warts in a vacuum.  95% of the other D1 schools would love to trade places with MU.   They would love to have Kolek, Oso, Kam.  They would love a top 20 offensive and defensive team.  They are impressed with MU's defensive rotations and motion on offense.   Most teams are streaky from 3.

It is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees.

For example, last night watching NCSU, my first thought was 'how does MU stop Burns?'    Upon reflection, who does Burns guard on MU?

[MarquetteDano]

I think the fact that we have been missing the Big East's best point guard for the past six and a half games and our T Rank during that period is #19 in the country.  That is impressive.

Sure we were 4-3 but that includes 2 away games and 3 neutral games.  And three of the those games against Top 10 teams. 

If Kolek is productive I really think this will be our best team going into the tourney since the 2011-12 season.  And probably better.

[Tyler COLEk]

My concerns are:

Injuries and getting to the S16

This was front of mind for me after yesterday’s loss. This team might have to grind out a couple of wins in the first weekend, but if they can earn another four days of rest, perhaps they enter the S16 healthier than they’ve been in a long while.

[tower912]

I would not mind a Friday-Sunday schedule.   The extra day of recovery would be welcome.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Do you feel portal players are less likely to get injured?  Not sure why it's relevant to bring up passing on portal players?

The fact MU has been fully healthy just 1 game since December 6th, and managed to fight its way to a 2 seed is proof positive of Shaka's system.

I think the implication is pretty clear.  On Dec. 6, the bench and role player starters weren't  ready to take on quality minutes. Now three months later, the injuries have created a lot of quality minutes for people to step up.  It's Shaka's philosophy. It's their time if MU is to advance deep.

[muwarrior69]

The elephant in the room is MU has now been exposed. Teams now know how to beat Marquette. Pressure our guards, pound the ball into the post, and obviously rebound and shoot the ball well. Most teams will not have the personnel to do so, but for those who do, its game on, aina?

Isn't that what we do? Pressure their guards, pound the ball into the post, and obviously rebound and shoot the ball well.

[Viper]

good points, but I didn't really see the 'lingering concern" unless it was not beating an elite team.  that's fine and all, but WHY haven't we beaten elite teams more often?

   my lingering concern has more to do with finding that player(s) who can pull us out of midgame shooting slumps.  the go to guy who can stop the bleeding before the game is on life support.  the go to plays, whatever.  all teams go thru these to some extent or another, but it seems ours are killers. 

last night, it was the beginning of the game.  with our defense playing as well as it was, uconn's shot's just not dropping...if we shoot 40-45% or more, we are off and running.  we cannot play to the other teams play.  we should have used that period of UConn weakness to put our boot on their necks.  put the pressure on them. you know UConn is going to come back, but having to recover from a 10-15-20 point deficit takes a toll 

the night before-providence-we have a 15-16 point lead evaporate because of that dreaded slump.  opposing teams capitalize on every missed shots or turn over and...wtf??

with our stifling defense, we can and should win/beat elite teams by minimizing the offense slumps.

oh yeah, and free throws do matta!!  they are points on/off the board   
 

100%👍 on each point. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Not really. Our lead against PC did not "evaporate." Ebbs and flows during games happen.

And FT% is simply not that important. I don't understand why people can't understand basic math.

[Scoop Snoop]

I think the implication is pretty clear.  On Dec. 6, the bench and role player starters weren't  ready to take on quality minutes. Now three months later, the injuries have created a lot of quality minutes for people to step up.  It's Shaka's philosophy. It's their time if MU is to advance deep.

This exactly what I have been preaching to MU alum family members in my emails. We took quite a hit with Kolek out, but with his return the team is actually stronger.

[CountryRoads]

Not really. Our lead against PC did not "evaporate." Ebbs and flows during games happen.

And FT% is simply not that important. I don't understand why people can't understand basic math.

We also shot 78% in the BE tournament and made clutch free throws down the stretch against Xavier. If anything, FTs have become much less of a concern for me. Especially adding Kolek back to the lineup.

Overall, FT% doesn’t matter much as you’ve said, but you need guys on the floor in a one possession game who can make them. We will be fine in that department.

[DoctorV]

This exactly what I have been preaching to MU alum family members in my emails. We took quite a hit with Kolek out, but with his return the team is actually stronger.

Yes.

I’ve said on here before that a month ago I wouldn’t feel very comfortable if Oso grabbed a few first half fouls and had to sit against a 15 or a 7/10 seed.

Now, I’m fully comfortable with Benny.

Same can be said of Tre and Zaide filling in if Tyler is limited and Stewie/Kam or Jop/Chase needs a breather, but to a lesser extent than Benny.

This team will need near full health and contributions from Tyler, Stevie, Kam, Oso to get to the Final 4 and win a Championship.
They will still be competitive to advance to the S16 without it though.

[CountryRoads]

Yes.

I’ve said on here before that a month ago I wouldn’t feel very comfortable if Oso grabbed a few first half fouls and had to sit against a 15 or a 7/10 seed.

Now, I’m fully comfortable with Benny.

Same can be said of Tre and Zaide filling in if Tyler is limited and Stewie/Kam or Jop/Chase needs a breather, but to a lesser extent than Benny.

This team will need near full health and contributions from Tyler, Stevie, Kam, Oso to get to the Final 4 and win a Championship.
They will still be competitive to advance to the S16 without it though.

Agree. The silver lining to the injuries is that now Tre and Zaide have developed the confidence to come through for us if needed.

[tower912]

They look like they belong.

[mu_eyeballs]

The elephant in the room is MU has now been exposed.

"Exposed" Last year we faced Izzo in their backyard with Tyler's hand being hurt for 36 hours and our team never facing any real internal adversity.   This year we have had a ton of adversity and played very well despite it.  We  have had 3 games against the 1# team in the nation that has a unique set of talent that has the speed and length to stay at home on D(and if they do get beat...have Klingon as a backstop).  Additionally they are an elite shooting team...where it is nearly impossible to stop all of them all the time.  Name me one team that can match Uconn 1 through 8 that we will see before the elite eight or final four and then I will be worried about being exposed.

[MU82]

Bully Kolek to take away him driving to his left and limit the pick-and-roll with Oso. Try to stay close to Kolek, Kam and Jop on the perimeter but concede 3s to any other Marquette player.

Yes, it's a real bold game plan that only a few coaching geniuses recently figured out.

[tower912]

"Exposed" Last year we faced Izzo in their backyard with Tyler's hand being hurt for 36 hours and our team never facing any real internal adversity.   This year we have had a ton of adversity and played very well despite it.  We  have had 3 games against the 1# team in the nation that has a unique set of talent that has the speed and length to stay at home on D(and if they do get beat...have Klingon as a backstop).  Additionally they are an elite shooting team...where it is nearly impossible to stop all of them all the time.  Name me one team that can match Uconn 1 through 8 that we will see before the elite eight or final four and then I will be worried about being exposed.

Yes.  MU can be bullied.  But, MU has only one soft loss this season.  Butler at home.  MU has gone toe to toe with two final 4 contenders without Kolek 3 times in the last week.  All 3 times, MU was in the game deep into the second half.   With a healthy Kolek and a healthier team, there are few teams MU needs to fear.