MU 2026-27 - Not too early

[BM1090]

This is what scares me:

Where are the eight wins in BE play coming from?

We don't have shooting. We don't have defense.  We don't have experience.  And we clearly don't have a go-to guy in late situations when we are tied.

And we have also been limited in injuries this season so far.  If Ross gets injured?  Or James? 

There is definitely a pathway where this is the worst MUBB season in a very long time.

There's also a pathway where they improve on the margins, win 11 or 12 BE games, and it's a disappointing season but not a disastrous one. Let it play out.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Agree wholeheartedly on Ben.  He needed to make  the leap to alpha or at least a steady beta.  He is neither so far.  His defense has been fine but he looks offensively bankrupt right now.  He should have been a pressure release for this team by hitting a good percentage of his open threes and his layups as a senior. But with every wide open miss he adds to the pressure.  He adds to the burden of winning.  Chase needs to get in his face and have a come to Jesus talk.  His offense has been crippling the team.

His rebounding has improved and his D is solid, for the most part (aside from that lackadaisical play yesterday). 

But 31% from 3 and only 38% overall is not going to cut it.  There was a play yesterday where he drove and put it what was sort of like a floater and missed the rim entirely.

Feels like he just doesn't have the mentality.  Really, the only guys that feel like they have that mentality are Chase and Nigel.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

There's also a pathway where they improve on the margins, win 11 or 12 BE games, and it's a disappointing season but not a disastrous one. Let it play out.

The further we get into the season the harder it gets to see that as a possibility. 

[BM1090]

The further we get into the season the harder it gets to see that as a possibility. 

Eh. Lot of average teams in the Big East. And ultimately I don't think they reach 11 or 12 Big East wins.

If Dayton and Oklahoma had swung our way a lot of people would have hope for that total. But nothing is significantly different about this team without those two wins. Need to learn how to close games and fix some of these droughts. There are countless examples every year of teams that improve as the year goes on.

We're 356th in luck on Kenpom. I don't think it's actually luck, it's lack of execution in big situations. But if that improves then the results will come with it.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Eh. Lot of average teams in the Big East. And ultimately I don't think they reach 11 or 12 Big East wins.

If Dayton and Oklahoma had swung our way a lot of people would have hope for that total. But nothing is significantly different about this team without those two wins. Need to learn how to close games and fix some of these droughts. There are countless examples every year of teams that improve as the year goes on.

We're 356th in luck on Kenpom. I don't think it's actually luck, it's lack of execution in big situations. But if that improves then the results will come with it.

Big East is definitely mediocre but we've had nice leads against Maryland, Dayton, and Oklahoma and found ways to lose them all with extremely poor play, bad decision-making, and bad coaching. 

I love Shaka and am probably one of the more optimistic posters here but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me feel like we'll have the consistency to win more than 8 Big East games.  Really, really hope I'm wrong on that.

We can't shoot from 3, we can't convert in the paint, we can't defend, and we can't turnover good teams.  Other than that, everything is great. 

[BM1090]

Big East is definitely mediocre but we've had nice leads against Maryland, Dayton, and Oklahoma and found ways to lose them all with extremely poor play, bad decision-making, and bad coaching. 

I love Shaka and am probably one of the more optimistic posters here but I haven't seen anything yet that makes me feel like we'll have the consistency to win more than 8 Big East games.  Really, really hope I'm wrong on that.

We can't shoot from 3, we convert in the paint, we can't defend, and we can't turnover good teams.  Other than that, everything is great. 

100%. And those things you mentioned need to improve a lot. To me, it's 50/50 whether they do or not.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

100%. And those things you mentioned need to improve a lot. To me, it's 50/50 whether they do or not.

I'm more 31/69.

[panda]

I'm more 31/69.

Nice

[rocky_warrior]

I doubt this happens (I really hope it doesn't), but currently Torvik has Marquette losing every away game this year.  That would be crazy.

[panda]

I doubt this happens (I really hope it doesn't), but currently Torvik has Marquette losing every away game this year.  That would be crazy.

[MU82]

There are realistic criticisms and then there is fantasy college basketball nonsense like this.

Come on, now. Get with the program!

The only players Shaka should bring back are Sheek and Miletic, because we need to at least see them be horrible before we start crapping on them. The rest are lost causes that Shaka needs to jettison.

I look forward to him doing a 180-degree turn on his philosophy, because that happens so often with coaches, and I can't wait to see the dozen basketball studs he brings in via the portal for next season. Only then can we have the kind of sensational success that Porter Moser has had at Oklahoma.