"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Sunday Reading Material

Good Morning, Marquette Fans.

Pancakes tasting a little fluffier? Bacon a little crisper? Donuts a little gooier? Maybe your Count Chocula is a bit sweeter? Yeah, same for me.

Here's some reading material for your Sunday Breakfast.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anyone who calls this the biggest win since Kentucky is on crack and thinking too small.

1. Uconn - welcome to the BE
2. On road at Pitt
3. On Road at Louisville lat yr
4. On road a w Virginia (due to timingw Pitt and Lousiville game).

I loved the UW game and it was a great win, but the BE is what counts and these were more important wins. Lets put the in-state 'rivals' behind us and be a national level team.

I'd also like to throw a call out to the prognosticators that picked us w no big road wins this season (annual preseason prediction post) - wait and see...

Anonymous said...

Hey only 60 miles from Madison and fighting for the elite in-state and regional basketball recruits. It's great that Marquette does not have to be in UW-Madison's shadow like the rest of the Wisconsin education system. I say this win is just as exciting as any of the other listed wins. We were on national TV also for this game, so I have to think this rivalry is bigger than a regional thing. Two top teams banging it out that also have a great instate rivalry.

Kevin Buckley said...

Couple things .. first, Anonymous .. If you want to tell someone "they're on crack," you should post in the forum where the comment was made, and discuss it there.

But second, I disagree with the idea that just because this game is OOC, it's not as important as a BE win. Because UW is a highly rated program, a win over them is actually very very important. It will turn out to be MU's only big win outside the BE. It will absolutely be on the "Big wins" list on our March resume. The BE's RPI hinges on how BE teams play vs. non-BE teams. This was an important win on many different levels, and will be one of our top 5 wins this year.

Concerning the predictions, indeed, that comment can be aimed at me. While none of us at CS picked MU over UW before the season began, I was most pessimistic picking a 11-7 BE record. I'd gone to all the scrimmages, Midnight Madness, the exhibition game. I'd come away somewhat discouraged. Ooze, who everyone would have predicted to start, hadn't improved. Our guards didn't look like they'd improved their shooting abilities. Mbakwe was out. SC looked slow on defense, which meant he would see little PT. It looked like the same team from last year with the same problems. 11-7 seemed about right.

Not so much anymore. The emergence of Dwight Burke has solidified our 5 spot. Ooze playing 17-22 mpg is perfect, and he's quite effective. Our FG% has gone up significantly, mainly because we're taking better shots, slashing to the basket far more and finishing. Lazar has now shown his improvement. We're not taking as many 3s (and missing) which is helpful (our %age isn't much better, but I bet it will be by mid-season.)

Seeing how they played vs. OSU, Duke, and UW .. I'd adjust my predictions +3, and pick 14-4 in the BE.

Anonymous said...

The UConn win meant NOTHING for Marquette. You could argue that our HOME game vs. Pitt last year was bigger, but I agree that the Wisconsin game -- when you factor in 1) our losing ways against them, 2)their home winning streak, 3)our poor non-conference schedule and 4) an in-state rivalry you're not going to get much bigger.

Great win all around!