I guess when your players can't shoot, and you have no size...

[Jake]

you have to play basketball like that. Not a fan. Reminds me of the talentless Gtown teams that turned the games into a brawl because they didn't have the talent to put the ball in the hole.

JB has to go with the physically stronger players in games like this. No surprise that Dion and Triche were playing well and that Southerland couldn't get a shot off. Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

We are the ACC's nightmare.

 

[RF2044]

you have to play basketball like that. Not a fan. Reminds me of the talentless Gtown teams that turned the games into a brawl because they didn't have the talent to put the ball in the hole.

JB has to go with the physically stronger players in games like this. No surprise that Dion and Triche were playing well and that Southerland couldn't get a shot off. Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

We are the ACC's nightmare.

I hate slop house basket-brawl. That will be one positive thing about leaving the Big East.

 

[Cheriehoop]

you have to play basketball like that. Not a fan. Reminds me of the talentless Gtown teams that turned the games into a brawl because they didn't have the talent to put the ball in the hole.

JB has to go with the physically stronger players in games like this. No surprise that Dion and Triche were playing well and that Southerland couldn't get a shot off. Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

We are the ACC's nightmare.

Besides Georgetown, remember the old Providence teams and some of the Pitt teams from the past? Clutch push and grab defense.

 

[Ghost]

I hate slop house basket-brawl. That will be one positive thing about leaving the Big East.

Agreed. I've never liked playing teams like Marquette or even Pittsburgh. I can respect the effort they put out, but these games all too often are just insanely frustrating to watch.

 

[Jake]

Their players just push and shove every possession daring the referees to call everything...which they won't. CJ Fair got clobbered twice on the same play early in the game...no call. Ridiculous.

 

[RF2044]

Their players just push and shove every possession daring the referees to call everything...which they won't. CJ Fair got clobbered twice on the same play early in the game...no call. Ridiculous.

Completely agree. That was my gripe with the old JT II Georgetown teams back in the day, and teams like Pitt more recently: they commit fouls every single ing possession. The refs aren't going to blow the whistle every single ing possession, so that gives those teams a big advantage in terms of what they're allowed to get away with.

Another thing that drives me nuts about those type of teams: Syracuse is traditionally the finesse team, but when we play a Pitt or a UConn, invariably we're the team that ends up in foul trouble over a bunch of touch fouls. Meanwhile, those other teams clutch and grab indiscriminately throughout the game.

 

[SUalldway]

you have to play basketball like that. Not a fan. Reminds me of the talentless Gtown teams that turned the games into a brawl because they didn't have the talent to put the ball in the hole.

JB has to go with the physically stronger players in games like this. No surprise that Dion and Triche were playing well and that Southerland couldn't get a shot off. Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

We are the ACC's nightmare.

I didn't realize what a Punk Crowder is. He misses a bunch of 3's, ... finally makes a couple, and runs up the court with his finger in front of his lips mocking the crowd & telling them to be quiet.

 

[RF2044]

I didn't realize what a Punk Crowder is. He misses a bunch of 3's, ... finally makes a couple, and runs up the court with his finger in front of his lips mocking the crowd & telling them to be quiet.

Crowder drives me nuts. Really hurt us last year, too.

There were two blatant push offs that he got away with that would have totally changed the complexion of the game. The first was in the first half, when Fab went up and missed that layup--Crowder shoved him right in the back, no call. The second was on an offensive rebound early in the second half, when Triche went up for the rebound only to get blatantly pushed out of bounds by Crowder, who then converted a point blank put-back. Meanwhile, not having those calls meant that Crowder was able to play the entire second half, when he got hot, instead of having to sit and perhaps being more of a non-factor, like the refs rendered Fab.

As much as I can't stand that guy, there is no doubt in my mind that we'd win the national championship with him in the rotation at PF on our team, with his rebounding tenacity / versatility.

 

[orangenauburn]

I despised this Marq. team -- today was aggravating to the umpteenth degree

 

[PauliePeppas]

Just like pitt...will never win a thing, and buzz needs to invest in some better deodorant...looking like ewing out there

 

[OttoMets]

Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

Hated the officiating, don't like Marquette's style of play, love our win, but this was the most frustrating play of the game. Fab received two consecutive entry passes to start the second half, the first one a little more difficult, and attempted the weakest little 6'0" guard up-and-under I've seen. That should be a dunk and two points every time.

They've got to get Fab playing stronger down low - he's giving away six points a game on missed lay-ups and that could be the difference between a win and a loss later this year.

 

[RF2044]

Hated the officiating, don't like Marquette's style of play, love our win, but this was the most frustrating play of the game. Fab received two consecutive entry passes to start the second half, the first one a little more difficult, and attempted the weakest little 6'0" guard up-and-under I've seen. That should be a dunk and two points every time.

They've got to get Fab playing stronger down low - he's giving away six points a game on missed lay-ups and that could be the difference between a win and a loss later this year.

Speaking of that--how many point blank shots did we miss today?

I know you're not going to make ALL of them every game, but we squandered a lot of scoring opportunities today. I can think of several that CJ, Fab, and Keita all missed.

 

[PauliePeppas]

Cj was pretty soft around the rim today albeit he got fouled on a couple

 

[OttoMets]

Speaking of that--how many point blank shots did we miss today?

I know you're not going to make ALL of them every game, but we squandered a lot of scoring opportunities today. I can think of several that CJ, Fab, and Keita all missed.

For starters, C.J. was 4-12 and I only remember two of those as jumpers. I'm not as worried about him, though. He's proven that he can hit nearly everything within 8 feet.

Fab and Keita are a different story. I don't know why they both bring the ball back down after taking a lob pass (Vander Blue had a nice second-half finish without bringing the pass down) and it's odd that they both attempt so many lay-ups when each is capable to getting the ball to the top of the square and hammering down a dunk. They'll improve, but they do cost us points by eschewing a rather routine play down low.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Marquette is the new Pitt/Cincy. Their guys don't even look like basketball players. They look like DE's, linebackers and defensive backs. Play like em too.

We easily played our absolute worst half of basketball all season, and they made much of their run when Fab was on the bench. We stunk there for a stretch. Could not make any shots (whether near of far), could not defend, and could not rebound. We also threw the ball away a few times. Yet, we held it together and beat a very physical team. Last year's team loses this game by 10. I firmly believe that.

Overall this was a horrendous shooting performance for us, even in the first half. If we had made the shots we typically do, we would have been up by 35 at the half. No joke. Marquette was lucky the lead was only 18.

Back to topic. I do not like these types of games where both teams are in the bonus by the 12 min mark of the half. At one point I couldn't believe there were still 11 minutes to go in the game. It just dragged. I won't miss these types of slugfests one bit. It'll be nice to leave thug ball like this behind when we get to the ACC.

 

[Ghost]

CJ couldn't finish anything around the rim today.

The fact that we got so many calls against us to open the second half was astounding. I'm still not sure what was going on. The uber-aggressive Marquette teams basically gets away with (on consecutive plays) destroying Triche on an over-the-back that led to the put back and then forced Waiters out of bounds on the press to create the turnover and we can't get any calls for six minutes. Completely changed the complexion of the game.

It seems like it always works out that way against these guys though. The constant slapping, grabbing at the ball in the lane - not sure why it isn't called or why anyone is surprised when a player like Melo drops an elbow. The officiating leads to nonsense like that.

 

[MadNY3]

you have to play basketball like that. Not a fan. Reminds me of the talentless Gtown teams that turned the games into a brawl because they didn't have the talent to put the ball in the hole.

JB has to go with the physically stronger players in games like this. No surprise that Dion and Triche were playing well and that Southerland couldn't get a shot off. Would have liked Melo to have posted up more often and gotten to the hole. He needs to learn to draw contact...his up and under layup was a bad mental decision - go to the hole and take the contact.

We are the ACC's nightmare.

Huge respect for how Marquette plays especially with what they have. Wish our football team could play 60 like they play 40.

Fair needs to learn to play weak side zone D, Melo (no blocks) needs to man up beyond taking charges. We blinked a bit for awhile in the second half. Not a bitch and moan - this team's first 17 games has been the most impressive I have ever seen - but complaining about how Marquette plays reminds me of Desko complaining how the Terps played...moments after losing to them.

Whatever it takes.

 

[KingOtis]

As much as I can't stand that guy, there is no doubt in my mind that we'd win the national championship with him in the rotation at PF on our team, with his rebounding tenacity / versatility.

He wouldn't fit in at all. He's too short to play in a 2-3 zone.

 

[RF2044]

He wouldn't fit in at all. He's too short to play in a 2-3 zone.

He's roughly the same size as Kris / Fair. He'd be fine.

 

[KingOtis]

He's roughly the same size as Kris / Fair. He'd be fine.

He's two inches shorter...and I think he's generously listed at 6-6. His arms don't look as long either. Boeheim would not recruit someone like him to play PF.

 

[pfister1]

Agreed. I've never liked playing teams like Marquette or even Pittsburgh. I can respect the effort they put out, but these games all too often are just insanely frustrating to watch.

They are insanely frustrating because the outcome often hinges on how the whistles are blowing on a given night. If they call the clutch and grab then its a parade to the free throw line and we win going away. Swallow the whistles and it becomes a rugby scrum.

 

[RF2044]

He's two inches shorter...and I think he's generously listed at 6-6. His arms don't look as long either. Boeheim would not recruit someone like him to play PF.

I didn't say that Boeheim would recruit someone like him. But we could sure use somebody with his rebounding capabilities, and his versatility on offense would fit right in, as well.

Guys like Crowder always get the job done and find ways to be contributors--love having players like that on the team.

 

[pfister1]

I didn't say that Boeheim would recruit someone like him. But we could sure use somebody with his rebounding capabilities, and his versatility on offense would fit right in, as well.

Guys like Crowder always get the job done and find ways to be contributors--love having players like that on the team.

We've got a guy like that on our team. It's CJ Fair. Only difference is that he is only a sophomore, while Crowder is a senior.

 

[KingOtis]

I didn't say that Boeheim would recruit someone like him.

Well, that's sort of the point, isn't it? If he doesn't fit the system, there's no use for him on the team.

 

[Ghost]

They are insanely frustrating because the outcome often hinges on how the whistles are blowing on a given night. If they call the clutch and grab then its a parade to the free throw line and we win going away. Swallow the whistles and it becomes a rugby scrum.

Yup, which is pretty much what happened in the second half. Although we sure got tagged for a lot of fouls early on.