Marquette Post Game Thread

[uconnfan68]

He didn’t play much last night, but I also liked what I saw in Stewart. He is starting to get It. Very soon I can see him becoming a real impact player.

His putback dunk may have been the turning point.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Mahaney was still bad on defense and had to foul one time to stop a player. He looks over matched but Hurley doesn't have any faith in the AN and I understand.

Tell us you don't know how to provide encouragement without telling us you don't know how to provide encouragement.

Then look for everybody here who put Kam Jones's 0-5 from three in the forefront.

Stewart definitely had a great impact on the game with his D and energy(Put back dunk).

He did.

Mahaney is jus give Diarra 5-7 minutes of rest and not turn it over.

The writing errors make it more difficult to read, but the above sentence is what's most valuable in your post.

Until the post-season last year, Stewart would be hesitant & tentative when he came in to support the lead players before mop up time. And then he'd pass the ball to somebody else, even when it seemed as though he could or ought to do more. But he didn't turn it over. And he contributed more during Tournament time.

Getting something similar from Mahaney last night was helpful toward Hass being there for what we needed from him, when we needed it, as the game wound down.

JStew did the same for Alex and Liam. AND we all were wowed by the putback.

From a different set of expectations after his BE Player of the Week calibre performance in his two prior games, Tarris could be said to have done similarly.

Elsewhere, other posters recognized Ball's multiple contributions last night on an off-night shooting from deep.

I expect Liam to draw fouls and be awarded free throws in his next games. I'll certainly bring cheering for it.

The team is still building, as it must be.

It's tempting for the Negative Nancies to point out flaws and recruit followers, as though it's their job, and we'd be worse off without their 'expertise.' In truth, they either can't help themselves, or prefer not to because their their ambitions lie elsewhere.

Go Huskies.

 

[Gurleyman]

His putback dunk may have been the turning point.

I feel like this is the second time he’s swung a game in the second half recently. Might have been Villanova when we were down double digits and a struggling AK went to the bench and Stewart made a play and we picked it up. He also was very active and alert on defense yesterday, in the right place on switches … that’s been his bugaboo that’s cost him more minutes than anything. Not even the one on one blow bys, but just being slow to react to rotations and switches and being in the wrong place. If he continues to shore that up, he’ll be a valuable rotation piece. Maybe be the bench spark that we’ve been lacking where we don’t lose anything if Liam/AK are off or in foul trouble.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

(yeah others prob hate Rick more than me)

I have no reason to hate you, but I also have reason to dislike him more than I dislike you.

Yeah really other than Slick Rick there's nobody to hate. Maybe if Georgetown gets good again, it'll be fun to hate Cooley. But at this point he's not worthy of anger.

I also don't hate Cooley, though for the time being I do continue to prefer when he's the losing coach, except for in December when the Hoyas won in Syracuse. That's just, "You have one job" stuff.

 

[Henry]

We're going to have to get used to Mahaney playing more. Hass is a warrior, but he's obviously hurting and it's not going to get any better. Hass is not going to be able to play 35 mins in consecutive games at the BET (as we all hope we have). Hurley's going to have to live with Aidan at PG. He gave us 10 mins last night without a TO. He dribbles too much and is hesitant to shoot, but he didn't hurt us.

 

[RuffRuff]

I have no reason to hate you, but I also have reason to dislike him more than I dislike you.

I also don't hate Cooley, though for the time being I do continue to prefer when he's the losing coach, except for in December when the Hoyas won in Syracuse. That's just, "You have one job" stuff.

You must be a real treat at Thanksgiving dinner. You probably think the turkey is overdone, that someone rigged the gravy with cyanide and correct everyone on their syllabication meanwhile talk like some kind of distorted Yoda. I'm starting to think you might be that goofball Bernie who goes on Zanetto.

 

[jpeakin]

Ross another perfect Blutoski 0.00 in 3 mins of playing time

Great reference...if it wasn't so frustratingly sad.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Watched the game again….we do not help ourselves at times and I really hate complaining about the refs. That said…..we get a really freaking bad whistle.

There’s no leeway. It’s like we’re playing with a 30% lighter trigger than the other team. Mahaney and McNeeley got called for a few that would never, ever have been called our way.

Which is why we will probably look like a different team in the NCAAs. Playing teams who don't play us twice a year with refs who are actually neutral is a huge boost.

 

[boog204]

While Samson got his motor revving and came up big (offensive rebounds?!) he was generally out of place once again guarding the 3pt line and Marquette got some very easy layups because he was nowhere near the rim.

At least we control our own destiny now - win vs Seton Hall and we are the 3 seed!

Are you serious? Samson was tremendous defensively. Marquette continuously ran PNR and Samson had to pick up one of the best ISO guards in the country and check him. And he did, repeatedly. It’s insane that our best perimeter, by far, was our 5 man against a 2G. I hate that our 5 HAD to switch time and again because our guards couldn’t fight through screens, Samson was tremendous as a defender last night.

 

[LIUCHusky]

I thought Mahaney was pretty bad. But it is what we have now. The offense doesn't run well and Mahaney can barely do aanything. I guess at least he didn't turn it over but it was scary when he was in and Marquette was making that big run to end the 1st half.

He was far from bad.

 

[dtrumpet]

We're going to have to get used to Mahaney playing more. Hass is a warrior, but he's obviously hurting and it's not going to get any better. Hass is not going to be able to play 35 mins in consecutive games at the BET (as we all hope we have). Hurley's going to have to live with Aidan at PG. He gave us 10 mins last night without a TO. He dribbles too much and is hesitant to shoot, but he didn't hurt us.

Aside from his hesitancy to pull the trigger, Mahaney did what he needed to do. Also worth noting no TO's with Steve Mitchell guarding him, and his defense is outstanding.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Reed got the shot off in time

Yep. Real time I also thought he didn’t but this is the frame where it is officially out of his hand.

 

[cp176]

One thing that stands out with me is Samson Johnson’s motor. He never stops, never quits, and when you have a big man that is willing to get on floor for a loose ball, you have something special. The game he played last night was just flat out tremendous. Have to also say that the crowd in that arena seems to make a big difference. Watching them play last night makes me wonder why I have criticized them at all. They are what they are and boy oh boy do they play hard. I can say now that they are a better team than they were when the season started and to me that has always been a good way to measure your coaching staff. Steady improvement!

 

[Deepster]

Which is why we will probably look like a different team in the NCAAs. Playing teams who don't play us twice a year with refs who are actually neutral is a huge boost.

Good point. Even though our offense isn't quite what it has been the last 2 years, there aren't many teams skilled enough to handle the switches and slips. And last night, we had a LOT of "UConn" layups and dunks so we may be peaking a little there.

 

[cp176]

He had some really good minutes. When he’s doing good things he’s so much fun to watch. I thought his take in the paint is exactly what he needs to be doing more of. Played great D, with his feet.

Much like Ball, I think Stewart could be a serious impact player next year. It kind of makes me curious about Ross. I wonder if he is just a year behind. I’m changing my thinking about a lot of these guys in a positive way.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Are you serious? Samson was tremendous defensively. Marquette continuously ran PNR and Samson had to pick up one of the best ISO guards in the country and check him. And he did, repeatedly. It’s insane that our best perimeter, by far, was our 5 man against a 2G. I hate that our 5 HAD to switch time and again because our guards couldn’t fight through screens, Samson was tremendous as a defender last night.

I can appreciated a fleet of foot 6'10" guy guarding the 3pt line but I cannot continuously be happy seeing our 6'10" center so out of position that Marquette had 5-6 layups with no one home under the hoop.

This also opens up the 3 as Liam or AK have to cover the middle and the wing if Johnson is not down low.

So as amazing as he was switching to cover their shooters at the perimeter, they weren't shooting anywhere near concerning from 3 anyway and we gave up plenty of layups.

 

[RuffRuff]

“If a team that’s bad at something was better at it they would be a better team” is the type of tier one insight that keeps me coming back to this place.

They shot 12% from 3 and average 32.5%. If they shot their bad average, that would have netted 12 points. We were up by 1 with 20 seconds to go, you can do the math. We were 312 in country in 3pt defense, so it's not like we turned into a juggernaut overnight. Bad shooting happens and they happened to do it at an egregiously bad level and we were the beneficiaries. I'll take it.

I'm looking for building blocks to take into the tourney, didn't find too many there.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Yep. Real time I also thought he didn’t but this is the frame where it is officially out of his hand.

View attachment 107491

And look were Stewart is at that moment - nice to see a lane open as Marquette had to guard Ross (?) and the straight rebound, so Stewart glid in and dunked the bejeezus of that ball. Might be tied with Johnson's steal and dunk for most thunder.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Huge win, but this board is so funny. Marquette was 3-22 from 3 on a bunch of open looks. If they were 6-22, which still sucks, we probably lose and Hurley and all the players would be getting destroyed, even though everything we did in the game would have essentially been the same.

If the Queen had balls .........

 

[djct1999]

Much like Ball, I think Stewart could be a serious impact player next year. It kind of makes me curious about Ross. I wonder if he is just a year behind. I’m changing my thinking about a lot of these guys in a positive way.

I get excited about Stewie almost everytime I watch him. Then I don't. While I still think he has a very high ceiling, I also thought going into this season he would have as big a jump as Solo. He hasn't.

 

[Gurleyman]

I can appreciated a fleet of foot 6'10" guy guarding the 3pt line but I cannot continuously be happy seeing our 6'10" center so out of position that Marquette had 5-6 layups with no one home under the hoop.

This also opens up the 3 as Liam or AK have to cover the middle and the wing if Johnson is not down low.

So as amazing as he was switching to cover their shooters at the perimeter, they weren't shooting anywhere near concerning from 3 anyway and we gave up plenty of layups.

We ended up only allowing 66 points. A couple times they got easy ones, but they also hit a lot of tough contested twos ... and that well went dry for a little while in the second half when we got the lead up to 7. Then Jones made a couple more tough ones to give them a chance at the end.

If the other guys are cold from 3, I tend to be of the mindset of let's keep it that way and not let them warm up, maybe with some exceptions (i.e. St. John's). We were able to overcome their high two-point efficiency on a day when Liam and Solo were off.

 

[NEforceUConn]

After sleeping on it, I’m still not sure who that was in Sampson’s jersey!

Maybe EO morphed in.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

If the Queen had balls .........

"Balls" said the Queen! If I had two I would be King!

 

[sdglast]

They shot 12% from 3 and average 32.5%. If they shot their bad average, that would have netted 12 points. We were up by 1 with 20 seconds to go, you can do the math. We were 312 in country in 3pt defense, so it's not like we turned into a juggernaut overnight. Bad shooting happens and they happened to do it at an egregiously bad level and we were the beneficiaries. I'll take it.

I'm looking for building blocks to take into the tourney, didn't find too many there.

I think the building block last night is simply confidence. This team has lacked confidence lately, bottoming out both in the Seton Hall loss and the St. Johns loss. I thought they started to regain their footing slightly in the Georgetown 2nd half, got a bit more swagger back in Providence, and really looked much more comfortable and confident last night. While I agree that Marquette shot horribly, the flip side of that is that Joplin scored 23 (10 over his average) and shot 50% from 3 (he is a 30% 3 point shooter). UConn got nothing out of Reed, a terrible game from McNeeley, and a very average Solo game. I think that all balances off in the end, so I think there are net positives to take out of this game (terrific FT shooting, rebounding dominance, and a return to form from Karaban). In the end, I think this game is a confidence builder after a tough season. Now UConn has to show they can handle prosperity by beating Seton Hall at home in dominating fashion. That should really give them confidence going into the Big East Tournament.

 

[Candyman]

They shot 12% from 3 and average 32.5%. If they shot their bad average, that would have netted 12 points. We were up by 1 with 20 seconds to go, you can do the math. We were 312 in country in 3pt defense, so it's not like we turned into a juggernaut overnight. Bad shooting happens and they happened to do it at an egregiously bad level and we were the beneficiaries. I'll take it.

I'm looking for building blocks to take into the tourney, didn't find too many there.

You do realize we ran them off the three point line with the switching at every position. That was why they shot so bad. They didn't have many open looks. Hurley made them score in the paint and they did well enough to keep them in the game.