We May Be In Serious Trouble

[Uncle Rico]

Sure, but four of those Big East losses were to top 10 teams by a combined 10 points. The other was by a point on the road against DePaul. Five losses by a total of 11 points.
They were losing, but competitive against the top teams in the country.
This team is getting curb stomped by unranked opponents.

Fair, but they were also 74th in KenPom after falling to 1-5 in BE play that year.

This team probably doesn't replicate that year.  That said, a lot of season left.

[MuggsyB]

I also think the Dayton team we play on Wednesday is better than the group Maryland beat us with in the last 10 minutes of the game today.

We have to beat Dayton or Oklahoma to avoid a sub .500 NonCon.

It never even entered my mind that your last sentence was possible. 

[GoldenEagles03]

It never even entered my mind that your last sentence was possible.

Ya. It's a scary thought. Of course, we still play UW and Purdue both on the road so winning one of those would drastically change things. Unfortunately that's not happening unless we somehow pull out a strong performance in Madison.

[MuggsyB]

Ya. It's a scary thought. Of course, we still play UW and Purdue both on the road so winning one of those would drastically change things. Unfortunately that's not happening unless we somehow pull out a strong performance in Madison.

Beating Purdue at Mackey seems like a pipe dream.  As for the Weasels?  You never know. 

[mileskishnish72]

Caedin Hamilton and Josh Clark do not help this roster or last years.

And next year's? I wouldn't bet on it.

[GoldenEagles03]

Beating Purdue at Mackey seems like a pipe dream.  As for the Weasels?  You never know. 

Yup. At UW might be the only realistic shot at a Q1 win in the NonCon and we will probably be 8+ point underdogs. This season got ugly really fast.

[MuggsyB]

Yup. At UW might be the only realistic shot at a Q1 win in the NonCon and we will probably be 8+ point underdogs. This season got ugly really fast.

OU losing tonight didn't help.

[Viper]

Shaka's team through & through. If he's as good as most think, let's see if Shaka can get this fixed starting next game. His recipe, right?
Purdue, UConn and StJ games ain't happening. BUT, the rest of the schedule, both in-conf and non-cons Dayton, RED and OU, isn't a gauntlet. Many Scoopers proclaim Shaka to be their forever guy. These next 3 months should be interesting.

[Nukem2]

Shaka's team through & through. If he's as good as most think, let's see if Shaka can get this fixed starting next game. His recipe, right?
Purdue, UConn and StJ games ain't happening. BUT, the rest of the schedule, both in-conf and non-cons Dayton, RED and OU, isn't a gauntlet. Many Scoopers proclaim Shaka to be their forever guy. These next 3 months should be interesting.

At this point, MU is not exactly the favorite in that game coming up at Madison.

[BM1090]

Shaka's team through & through. If he's as good as most think, let's see if Shaka can get this fixed starting next game. His recipe, right?
Purdue, UConn and StJ games ain't happening. BUT, the rest of the schedule, both in-conf and non-cons Dayton, RED and OU, isn't a gauntlet. Many Scoopers proclaim Shaka to be their forever guy. These next 3 months should be interesting.

Gard would never have a down year or miss a tournament

[brewcity77]

Yes.

Remember Shaka's first year when they lost 4 straight heading into the new year?  Or his second year when they were sitting 67 in KenPom after losing to Mississippi State?  Or when they lost 3 of their first 5 to open Big East play in '24, including at home against Butler?

This team is flawed but the idea the season is over after 5 games is fan doomerism.  Will they turn it around?  Maybe, maybe not.

With Buzz in the arena, thought of the 09-10 team that started 1-5 in Big East play and was sitting 11-7 overall and earned a 6-seed.

Adversity creates opportunity.  It's up to them overcome it.

These are apples to banana stand comparisons. The 2022 Big East had 6 tourney teams and 2 that missed in the top-75. In our 8-1 stretch we notched 4 Q1 & 2 Q2 wins. Outside UConn and maybe Georgetown & St John's, there's just not many opportunities to build a resume. Beating Nova, Seton Hall, & Xavier ain't worth what it used to be.

In 2010 it was an 8-bid league with 5 more NIT teams. Before our 9-1 stretch, we had banked wins over Xavier, Michigan, & Georgetown.

Indiana will probably age okay, but when you take a bad loss like today, you need 2 good wins to really offset it. At the moment, at Purdue, Wisconsin, St John's, Georgetown, & both UConn games are the opportunities. Can we go 3-3 in those games? Will that be enough if we drop a few more unexpected ones?

My own feelings that the season is teetering on the precipice of doom are not just because Marquette has sucked so far, but because the Big East also sucks.

[Viper]

Gard would never have a down year or miss a tournament

...except he did. He retooled. Adjusted. Probably finishes top 5 in the Big Ten this year.

[WhiteTrash]

Gard would never have a down year or miss a tournament

Gard would never tarnish the Badger brand by using the portal.

[MuggsyB]

These are apples to banana stand comparisons. The 2022 Big East had 6 tourney teams and 2 that missed in the top-75. In our 8-1 stretch we notched 4 Q1 & 2 Q2 wins. Outside UConn and maybe Georgetown & St John's, there's just not many opportunities to build a resume. Beating Nova, Seton Hall, & Xavier ain't worth what it used to be.

In 2010 it was an 8-bid league with 5 more NIT teams. Before our 9-1 stretch, we had banked wins over Xavier, Michigan, & Georgetown.

Indiana will probably age okay, but when you take a bad loss like today, you need 2 good wins to really offset it. At the moment, at Purdue, Wisconsin, St John's, Georgetown, & both UConn games are the opportunities. Can we go 3-3 in those games? Will that be enough if we drop a few more unexpected ones?

My own feelings that the season is teetering on the precipice of doom are not just because Marquette has sucked so far, but because the Big East also sucks.

Fair points Brew.  The opportunities are just not there.

From your perspective, what would you do line-up wise?  I'm wondering if it makes sense to give the frosh the 🔑 🔑?  Meaning should we play Nigel and Adrien heavy mins with Zaide & Chase?  I know those 4 with Ben or Royce is dependent on our opponent of course.  It seems to me our roster construction puts us in a Catch-22.  And I never anticipated DO would not contribute....or Tre for that matter.   

If we have minimal depth I don't think we can play with full throttle pressure or run teams to death.  This seemingly was the plan.  If we have to axe that strategy, what exactly do we have?  It's going to be tough sledding unless certain guys awaken.  We have seen flashes from DO and Tre, and certainly Royce.   I'm just hoping something clicks with them ASAP. 

[brewcity77]

From your perspective, what would you do line-up wise?  I'm wondering if it makes sense to give the frosh the 🔑 🔑?  Meaning should we play Nigel and Adrien heavy mins with Zaide & Chase?  I know those 4 with Ben or Royce is dependent on our opponent of course.

I would start NJ, Zaide, Chase, Royce, & Ben. It's a little light up front but it's our best perimeter defense and should rebound well.

Bench, I'd have SJ & Stevens as the first two. You need a big body to mix in, so I'd probably go Caedin but aiming for 10-15 mpg.

I'd severely shorten the rotation after that. Clark, Tre, Owens, Phillips would all be as needed, and only when the result feels somewhat decided.

I think we're giving too many minutes to defensive liabilities. Those guys aren't giving enough on the offensive end to offset their defense, so shorten the rotation. I get there might be some developmental delay by shrinking the rotation, but we need meaningful wins now. If we don't get those, you can always feed developmental minutes in January/February when March is truly out of reach.

[MuggsyB]

I would start NJ, Zaide, Chase, Royce, & Ben. It's a little light up front but it's our best perimeter defense and should rebound well.

Bench, I'd have SJ & Stevens as the first two. You need a big body to mix in, so I'd probably go Caedin but aiming for 10-15 mpg.

I'd severely shorten the rotation after that. Clark, Tre, Owens, Phillips would all be as needed, and only when the result feels somewhat decided.

I think we're giving too many minutes to defensive liabilities. Those guys aren't giving enough on the offensive end to offset their defense, so shorten the rotation. I get there might be some developmental delay by shrinking the rotation, but we need meaningful wins now. If we don't get those, you can always feed developmental minutes in January/February when March is truly out of reach.

That sounds sensible.  I suppose I should try to be more patient but I'm astounded by the lack of development of some of our guys.  One other thing Brew and I've hammered this a bit:  Why do we rarely have guys playing off of two feet in the paint?  It's super rare we see then plant and either pivot to pass or go up with two feet to score.  Nova and Wright were the gold standard, it gives players more options.  I've always wondered why we struggle with this basic skill-set?  Thx. 

[Tums Festival]

The way things are going MU will suck this year, Shaka will ignore the portal again, MU will suck next year, Shaka will get fired, and they'll bring Crean back as coach.