Marquette

[Jaker]

They are really playing great ball right now and I would not be surprised to see them win the Beast tourney and make a run to the final 4.

 

[hungry husky]

They are really playing great ball right now and I would not be surprised to see them win the Beast tourney and make a run to the final 4.

Yeah I admire how much Buzz gets out of his players. They could be in trouble against teams with a lot of size but I think you're right: they can hang with anyone and are capable of a long tourney run.

 

[Tenspro2002]

They did make the Sweet 16 last year, so they do have experience playing in the second weekend.

 

[Husky1964]

Great team, great coach. Unlikely to get to FF.

 

[upstater]

Overrated

 

[huskyniner]

Jae Crowder is a stud. Guy should be a future lottery pick the way he's playing.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Overrated

Based on....?

 

[FeedTheDove]

Crowder: 56 in his last 2 games.

 

[upstater]

Based on....?

Style of play, they'll get killed in the NCAAs. Very Pitt-like in terms of size, brawn, throwing people around with absolutely no notice by BE refs.

Most of all, they are horrid on defense. UConn missed bunny after bunny and free throws. I can't recall Uconn having the amount of success penetrating that they did against Marquette against many other teams. I think they play an ugly style of ball and are pretty bad at moving their feet on D.

 

[champs99and04]

Marquette is just the team I would love to pick against in a 14/3 first round matchup. They are capable of beating anybody, but they are also capable of losing to anybody. The run and gun style of play can be very effective, but there are also moments where you find yourself down 35-6 because the shots aren't falling just like they did in the Vandy game.

They are very experienced and well coached, all I'm saying is that certain teams have the ability to expose them.

 

[willie99]

bench is short, two guys with decent size have to avoid foul trouble and they have to hit 3's

lots of things to overcome to win 6 straight

 

[Prezidint]

MEH.

Gotta agree that - Buzz does a great job getting his team to play high in their potential range.

But I also gotta agree that this is not a likely FF team.

Frankly, I don't think Crowder is as good as his numbers suggest. He's a very good college player, no doubt. He's the anchor of his team. No doubt. But I got the distinct sensation when we were playing Marq. that we were making him look great. Go for the ball fake - repeatedly. Give him the open 3. Repeatedly. He doesn't strike me as super athletic. He strikes me as a guy with above average athleticism and a great skill set. That's the makings of a fine college player who does so-so at the next level.

Love his game - solid, fundamental, intelligent. He just doesn't blow my doors off.

 

[-Huskiediehard-]

It's unlikely for just about every team to make it to the final four. But Marquette I really like and think they have a real good shot. Crowder and Johnson-Odom are studs.

 

[bobbygt]

I think Marquette's ceiling is the elite eight. I also could see them losing in the 2nd round.

I don't think they'd be able to hang with the top teams. See last year against UNC.

They are way too thin and small and not as good as the Marquette teams of 4-5 years ago. If Crowder or Odom are not hitting shots, they'll lose.

 

[caw]

DJO will be the best or at least one of the best players on the floor every game and Crowder is a tough matchup for most opponents. A lot will be determined by matchups. Their defense isn't great but they hustle and Buzz gets them to put 100% effort out there all 40 minutes and sets up good plays out of timeouts. Those things alone should see them to the second weekend if not further. To go really far they need more size down low. Injuries to bigs has hurt them this year, which is a shame for them. A final four is not out of the question for them, but I can't see them beating the top notch teams in the nation to win a championship.

 

[aceboon]

Sweet 16 at best

 

[aceboon]

Jae Crowder is a stud. Guy should be a future lottery pick the way he's playing.

6'6"(if that) tweeners don't get picked in the lottery. If he does make the NBA he'll be a hustle guy off the bench.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Marquette can beat any team in the country on a given night. DJO and Crowder are two of the best players at their position in college basketball, although neither will be great pros. My concerns:

1) Williams does a lot of things very well, but he has issues in close, late game situations. I think he tightens up and as a result his team tights up. I also don't think he makes great adjustments, which explains the occasional blowout that Marquette experiences despite being as good as they are.

2) If this team had Otule, I would say they are a dark horse final four contender. They are really small up front though. I believe the biggest guy that plays is 6'7. They will run into big teams in the second weekend, and at some point the outside shooting will fail them.

Marquette is one of those teams that are not really built for the tournament. They have a ton of talent, great on-court chemistry, and play very hard and usually pretty smart, but they depend on outside shooting too much and have problems matching up with big teams.

 

[RuffRuff]

Style of play, they'll get killed in the NCAAs. Very Pitt-like in terms of size, brawn, throwing people around with absolutely no notice by BE refs.

Most of all, they are horrid on defense. UConn missed bunny after bunny and free throws. I can't recall Uconn having the amount of success penetrating that they did against Marquette against many other teams. I think they play an ugly style of ball and are pretty bad at moving their feet on D.

So you are basing their lack of ability to make the final 4 based on Uconn missing shots against them? Well if that ain't funny. They commanded that game from beginning to end, outrebounded a much bigger Uconn team. Sure the ref's weren't great, yada. I'm sure the other 9 losses Uconn had this year were because they were missing bunnies and the refs too. Pitt-like? Not sure I could disagree more with a post than this one.

Marquette is a well drilled, smart basketball team that can shoot the basketball. In a landscape that doesn't look nearly as stacked as originally thought, I think in the right bracket, they have a chance.

 

[upstater]

So you are basing their lack of ability to make the final 4 based on Uconn missing shots against them? Well if that ain't funny. They commanded that game from beginning to end, outrebounded a much bigger Uconn team. Sure the ref's weren't great, yada. I'm sure the other 9 losses Uconn had this year were because they were missing bunnies and the refs too. Pitt-like? Not sure I could disagree more with a post than this one.

Marquette is a well drilled, smart basketball team that can shoot the basketball. In a landscape that doesn't look nearly as stacked as originally thought, I think in the right bracket, they have a chance.

I saw a totally different team than you, I thought they were very porous on defense and UConn looked simply inept. It astounded me that UConn was in the game at all against them. You dismiss the Pitt-ness of this team. But it's not based on style of play. It's based on the fact they can't get away with the stuff they get away with inside the BE.

 

[NWarsh]

upstater - have you watched them play other than the game against the Huskies? They are too dependent on the outside jumper? They are 2nd in the Big East in points in the paint and score 23% of their points from the free throw line. That does not sound like a team that lives by the outside shot to me.

Jay Bilas did the research for me - "The Golden Eagles score 35 points per game in the paint, ranking second in the Big East. And the relentless attack in the lane gets Marquette to the line, with 23 percent of its points coming off free throws. Marquette is a second-half team that keeps the pressure on and never seems to get tired. Buzz Williams' team shoots 52 percent in transition in first halves and 64 percent in transition in second halves, scoring 1.25 points per possession in the open floor."

 

[upstater]

upstater - have you watched them play other than the game against the Huskies? They are too dependent on the outside jumper? They are 2nd in the Big East in points in the paint and score 23% of their points from the free throw line. That does not sound like a team that lives by the outside shot to me.

Jay Bilas did the research for me - "The Golden Eagles score 35 points per game in the paint, ranking second in the Big East. And the relentless attack in the lane gets Marquette to the line, with 23 percent of its points coming off free throws. Marquette is a second-half team that keeps the pressure on and never seems to get tired. Buzz Williams' team shoots 52 percent in transition in first halves and 64 percent in transition in second halves, scoring 1.25 points per possession in the open floor."

You have me confused with someone else. I never wrote what you said I wrote.

 

[NWarsh]

Sorry, you are right it was nelsonmuntz that said that! It is my Friday today so my brain has already checked out!