billyjack wrote:- Marquette and Georgetown both dropped tough games on Saturday. This is a matchup of traditional big name Big East powers, both of which need a confidence boost going forward here, still early in the schedule. GU playing without Smith still, plus Trawick busted jaw,plus Lubick's busted nose. Big opportunity for Warriors' (in the Golden State sense) Gardner down low. I've missed MU's recent games so looking to see how they've progressed.
Go Big East...!
Progressed is an interesting verb choice. I had a great in-person view of the disaster of a second half Marquette put together in the second half at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday. This is a Marquette team...that simply isn't very good. Earlier in the season I cited their tough schedule, injuries, and while those are certainly valid, this team is simply not good.
After a Derrick Wilson jumper with 16:21 to go in the second half, Marquette had a 12-point lead on Butler, and by all accounts was throttling them. Marquette proceeded to make three....THREE field goals the rest of regulation. They were then outscored 20-8 in overtime. In all honesty, they were lucky to get to overtime against what was then, arguably, the Big East's worst team. It's already tough to win games on the road against Big East opponents. It's even harder when you go 3-for-23 down the stretch. Additionally, Marquette went 4-for-24 in the game from beyond the arc (With Jake Thomas and Todd Mayo being the most egregious offenders at 1-8 and 0-6 respectively), starting point guard Derrick Wilson had 3 assists and 5 turnovers.
This year's team is not only the worst, talent-wise of the Buzz Williams era, but it is Buzz's worst coaching job by far. Usually Buzz has a way of elevating his teams to a place beyond the sum of their parts. This year's team is somehow LESS than the sum of their parts.
Marquette has 4 seniors in the starting lineup, but has time and time again this year proven mentally weak down the stretch, and has no visible team leader.
Marquette has no perimeter shooters with a 3 point percentage better than Jake Thomas' 36.7%, but still attempts almost 16 three pointers per game on average. In Big East play they are 18-for-72 (.250) through 5 games.
The team isn't very deep following the transfer of Jameel McKay, and injuries to Steve Taylor Jr., Duane Wilson, and Jajuan Anderson, but Buzz Williams still insists on starting the same starting 5, and barely giving them any rest. On Saturday, aside from Todd Mayo's 26 minutes, Buzz Williams used his remaining substitutes 7 minutes (Jake Thomas), 4 minutes (Deonte Burton), and 5 minutes (John Dawson). By the time the game got to OT, it was obvious the team was gassed.
Maybe Buzz is playing rope-a-dope, but it's more likely that this MU team just kinda sucks.