Entertaining loss

[PointWarrior]

This was always a schedule loss. Whatever. Season moves on.

Nice.  Were losing to xavier and UConn at home schedule losses as well?

[Uncle Rico]

Nice.  Were losing to xavier and UConn at home schedule losses as well?

UConn was because of the patented Shaka February fade

[NickelDimer]

Nice.  Were losing to xavier and UConn at home schedule losses as well?

X yes, UConn no. But we'll even it out at UConn and all will be well.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Just didn't know we can never question Shaka and his portal philosophy at any point in time.  Thank you for helping me get a grip.

On the positive side our rebounding was much improved.

The issue for me is how much do you want to question a philosophy that is clearly set in stone and has achieved high level success so far? 

And when you question it, why are the pros of that strategy never mentioned (IE retaining Kam)?

Maybe as we go forward there will be more objective evidence that the strategy is not the right one but I don't see how we're anywhere close to that point. 

[mugrad_89]

Just back from the game - contrary to some of the doom and gloom here, I came away encouraged by what I saw.  It was a one possession game with 2 minutes left and then Creighton made their threes. Chase, Stevie and Ben were pretty much non factors and we were still within striking distance the whole game.  Zaide, Royce and Demarius continue to get better and Kam and Jop got their mojo back.  My only regret is that Kalkbrenner didn't get called for any of the many illegal screens he set.

[ATL MU Warrior]

I'll go ahead and stick to a 28% three point shooter making a miracle step back 3 with Royce defending it as well as you can a prayer. Just because someone "measures up" a horrible shot doesn't mean it's a good shot. They hit their prayers down the stretch. Much like Jop's prayer went unanswered on a horrible possession down the stretch. He measured it up. It was still a horrendous shot, and would've been a minor miracle had it gone in.

Kalkbrenner's 3 was a good shot. Ashworth's three was a good shot (after both guys trying to guard him decided to do something else).  Neal's three was not a great shot but he nailed it.  Wish we could hit some shots at the end of the game, but was not to be.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Nice.  Were losing to xavier and UConn at home schedule losses as well?

Did he say they were?

[MuggsyB]

It's a disappointing loss for sure and there are no moral victories.  Our shooting and efficiency is way too inconsistent, there's no way to sugarcoat that.  In general we create offense from our defense or Kam going one on one.  I think Ross and and Mitchell's offense is vitally important and there are many games where we don't have an efficient 2nd scorer. When Ross, Jop, or Stevie gives us an efficient 15 pts we're exponentially better.  When Ben is part of the offense we are also better.  The last 3 games has been a struggle finding offensive balance.

We played a much better 2H than we've seen in some time.  I liked what I saw with Zaide and Royce. All this said there are many times where this MU team beats themselves and loses their poise.  Specifically understanding a good shot vs a forced or moronic shot.  We also constantly bite on shot fakes  It's frustrating to watch from an experienced team. 

I also think in our offensive sets it's way too much of a struggle to get quality looks, and this is perhaps something that can be tweaked.  I dunno.  We also don't get to the line enough. 

[Big Papi]

I came into this season thinking we were a borderline top 25 team and was disappointed we didn't go grab a player from the portal that could elevate us to the next level.

I didn't think we needed a super star but there were some obvious flaws and to me it felt like with Kam, Stevie, Jop and Ross we had a legit chance at greatness.

For half this season, they proved me wrong.  We have been ranked high most of the year.

We have played like crap for awhile but still winning.

These last 3 games were a guantlet.  To lose all 3 has been very disappointing. The way we have lost them even more so. That the flaws that were obvious in March are still there now sucks.

Season is not lost. The sun will shine tomorrow. We will win again. We will make the tournament.

But in my opinion we have missed a
golden chance at greatness this year.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Just back from the game - contrary to some of the doom and gloom here, I came away encouraged by what I saw.  It was a one possession game with 2 minutes left and then Creighton made their threes. Chase, Stevie and Ben were pretty much non factors and we were still within striking distance the whole game.  Zaide, Royce and Demarius continue to get better and Kam and Jop got their mojo back.  My only regret is that Kalkbrenner didn't get called for any of the many illegal screens he set.

Our challenge is the lack of consistency, which is not uncommon for college players.  We have a lot of guys that are extremely capable but the reality is we don't know what we're getting on a given night (aside from effort) out of most of our guys.  Hopefully we can build more consistency the next month going into the tourney. 

[MUfan12]

The whole point of this philosophy was to get old, and presumably be mature enough to close games.

They collapsed in the last minute at Maryland and barely hung on. Blew a 15 point lead at Xavier, barely hung on. Fell apart at Iowa State and Dayton. Fell apart at St. Johns. Fell apart today, 13-4 in the last 3:50+.

This team lacks competitive maturity and it shows.

[NickelDimer]

The whole point of this philosophy was to get old, and presumably be mature enough to close games.

They collapsed in the last minute at Maryland and barely hung on. Blew a 15 point lead at Xavier, barely hung on. Fell apart at Iowa State and Dayton. Fell apart at St. Johns. Fell apart today, 13-4 in the last 3:50+.

This team lacks competitive maturity and it shows.

I just don't think they have enough consistency offensively to execute late in tight games. Players don't have defined roles on that end of the floor and it's a problem.

[MUfan12]

I just don't think they have enough consistency offensively to execute late in tight games.

Isn't that something that should develop over four years?

[NickelDimer]

Isn't that something that should develop over four years?

Definitely. Look at how many possessions end with Joplin as the primary ball handler. Like that can't be the plan. A lot of this falls on Shaka tbh. And not necessarily in the X's and O's but more in the roster makeup.

[79Warrior]

I just don't think they have enough consistency offensively to execute late in tight games. Players don't have defined roles on that end of the floor and it's a problem.

Tough to win with essentially 4 starters. I love Ben but he has been non existent the last several games. MU needs a big in this league.

[K1 Lover]

Tough to win with essentially 4 starters. I love Ben but he has been non existent the last several games. MU needs a big in this league.

I've been trying to understand how, over the course of the past three games (120 minutes of game time), our starting center has only scored 2 points.

[tower912]

Nm

[mileskishnish72]

At this stage of the game, we suck.

[tower912]

At this stage of the game, we suck.

The over for 90 minutes stage?

[TheBlackJerryWest]

No point guard. No center. Time to start using the portal the way Pitino and UCONN does. Seems to be working wonders for The Johnnies. That's the model we're competing against going forward.

[Zog from Margo]

You can only take so many developmental players and still afford yourself the opportunity to play for a Big East title and a national championship.

Probably should not have taken Clark and instead tried to find a contributor who can diminish or eliminate your flaws if you are not going to boot anyone.

Which player should he have taken in the portal?

National championship? Good Lord, MU was a bottom half of the BE program when Shaka got the job. MU has one national title and it was 48 years ago. Jay Wright was at Nova for 15 years before he got a title and he's one of the top few coaches of his generation. It takes time to build a top program and there are no guarantees. Shaka can stay at MU as long as he wants as far as I'm concerned.

[Billy Hoyle]

I chat a lot of MU hoops with one of my old MU profs with whom I'm still friends (Iowa State grad) and one thing I said to him earlier in the season after the Maryland, Purdue, and Bucky wins was we had an advantage coming into the season with the continuity in the roster and not having to figure out individual roles and fit (e.g. St's John's and their backcourt). We had no freshmen starting or even getting significant minutes early on in the season so we hit the ground running. IMO, as the season has gone on that advantage has diminished significantly and we've regressed to the mean.

[MUfan12]

The over for 90 minutes stage?

The since Dayton stage.

[Uncle Rico]

No point guard. No center. Time to start using the portal the way Pitino and UCONN does. Seems to be working wonders for The Johnnies. That's the model we're competing against going forward.

Thanks

[tower912]

Y'all keep forgetting Kam is up for all American at PG.

No PG.  Hysterical.  6 assists today.