jjfanec

On a positive note Kentucky has come out flat their last two games as well. They were down double digits to both Louisville and Michigan. Neither of these teams have started hot in their tournament games

Duane Wilson and Jujuan Johnson are supposed to be good outside shooters. I am not a Marquette guy so I dont know too much more than that but I think Mayo was decent from 3 as well.

How do you know MU didn't ask Coach Bennett? Someone reported they asked and he declined just like he did when they asked when they ended up hiring Buzz. Just like what happened with Archie Miller and probably 5 plus other names we will never know.

The reason to optimistic is Kentucky is not a good shooting team normally. They dont have a single guy who shoots over 35% from three on the season and they were lights out against Michigan. They start three guys who are under 43% from the field. So they shot out of their minds and got seemingly every board and only won on a last second 3. UW is a better rebounding team and better defensive team than Michigan. Kentucky gave up a lot of open looks due to Michigan's great ball movement. UW's ball movement is just as good. If the Badger's hit their open looks, keep Kaminsky out of foul trouble, and rebound like they are capable I think they win the game

Kentucky, UConn, Florida and Wisconsin. Kentucky, UConn and Florida have combined for 5 of that last 10 NCAA championships. We won or one and only in 1941. I actually think the Badgers will get a lot of the casual fans rooting for them. I dont think Kentucky and UConn are well-liked programs

It started at 1.5 and then jumped to 3

The best part is the Badgers didnt even play their best. They struggled from the line and Gasser had a bit of an off night. Crazy how much better than Baylor they looked!

When if ever do coaches make statements? Maybe if they are asked by a reporter but it is not standard practice. Not saying Shaka isnt coming but apparently this is the exact way he has handled every other time he has been rumored for an opening. He could end up at Marquette but people are making way too much out of the fact that he hasnt said anything. Chris Mack hasnt said anything about the Wake Forest offer but it doesnt sound like it is likely for him to end up there. I would put money on Howland but since I have zero inside knowledge I guess smart could be in play. If I were Marquette I would much rather have Smart. Howland's last 5 years at UCLA were not inspiring. No Sweet 16 and he missed the tourney two times. Add onto that all the drama that is covered in the SI article and I dont think I would bend over backwards for the guy.

I can understand turning down UCLA. 1) Lots of pressure and very high expectations at UCLA, and B) Smart has no knowledge of or experience with recruiting on the West coast. I believe only one of his players at VCU is not from the Eastern time zone, and that guy is from exurban Nashville, TN. He at least has some knowledge of the Midwest landscape and likely has more connections in the Midwest. And like RockCo said, where are the four-star kids from Chicago going to go? The five-star kids will go wherever (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc.), but the four-star kids aren't going to go to DePaul or Northwestern. And Illinois plays in an arena that was built in 1963; Marquette plays in an NBA arena. Not the best NBA arena, but still an NBA arena and way better than the State Farm Center. Where is a recruit going to want to play - an NBA arena, or a "hall" built in 1963? ESPN is reporting that Wake Forest has reached out to Smart too. Just because Wake was successful back in the day of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul means about the same as Marquette playing off of the days of Dwayne Wade. Wake has only been to the tourney twice in the last nine years. Marquette is a good job but I think people are missing how much the decline of the Big East is factoring in coaches decisions. No teams in the Sweet 16 this year and not a lot of reason to think next year will be better. Buzz leaving and the chance Chris Mack leaves Xavier would be big blows. Marquette could really soften that blow with Smart. I could see Smart not going to a top tier conference because a lot of people doubt if his system can work there. It could but you dont see anything like it in major conferences. Seems like something that works best against lower level teams or in a tournament setting where teams havent seen it before. It doesnt seem to bother the top teams in VCU's conference

Shaka would be a much better hire that Howland. Howland had great success but wears out his welcome quickly

http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live shows the games. Have people read the Sports Illustrated article on Howland? He let the inmates run the asylum toward the end of the UCLA run. I would be worried about that guy. He definitely had success though.

This Badgers team is so much fun to watch. it will be nice if they can play a full 40 minutes in the Sweet 16 game

Buzz's contract at Marquette was at least 2.5 million per year. Pretty much the exact same contract. Buzz didnt leave for the money or a better coaching job. He left for other reasons we might never know

They defend dribble penetration poorly enough as a unit that I'm not sold this is the case for this season's team. I think 3-point shooting is what carries this team. KenPom has them as 59th in the country for D & 5th for O; those rankings pass the eye test for me. The other still-glaring defensive weakness is lack of bigs. Those two factors combined is why I think MSU had their way with UW -- they have strong penetrating guards & one of the best (& most athletic) big men in the country. I took that as him saying UW's defense is better than Oregon's so it will carry them. Oregon's kenpom rankings are 90 for d and 12 for offense. If you look ahead to potentially playing Creighton they are 126 for d and 1 for o. There are two teams similar to UW with very good to great offenses but even worse defenses.

I like the draw for the Badgers. I wish UMass or Texas would have been the 7 seed in their bracket but that is getting picky. UWM actually got an okay draw for being a 15 seed. I doubt they will beat nova but I could see them hanging tough for a while. Bummer for UWGB being the 2nd team out. If they would have beaten UWM during the regular season they might be in. Could have 3 state schools in the tourney. Rough end for Marquette. Didnt even get an NIT bid which means you are not in the first 20 out of the tournament. From Elite 8 to missing the NIT.

I loved the fight in the 2nd half but it just wasnt enough. A healthy MSU is right there with Florida as the best team in the country

Great win for the Badgers blowing out Minnesota. Kansas, Syracuse and Villanova have all already lost. Beat MSU tomorrow and 1 seed is a very good possibility. I would say the Badgers are only competing with Duke and Virginia at this point and they have better resumes than both

I agree but they have been under-seeded before so I am trying not to get my hopes up. Nova could easily pick up two more losses as well with Xavier tonight and the inability to even be competitive against Creighton if they match up. Kansas will likely be okay but going to WVU without Embid is a trap game. That said UW might have one of the toughest regular season games left.

The badgers didnt look great last night but considering all the other top teams are dropping games I guess just getting a win is nice. Duke losing to Wake was very good for the Badgers. Nebraska is going to be a very tough test in the season finale. They are 14-1 at home this year and are playing for their tournament lives. Some Nebraska fans are saying this is the biggest home game ever at Lincoln. If the Badgers win that I think they are locked into a two seed

Marquette now has to win the Big East Tourney to get in. Obviously not great odds on that. UW continues their unlikely bid for a one seed tonight. They seem like a solid two seed. Wichita State, Arizona, and Florida are most likely one seeds and that leaves Duke, Kansas, Virginia, Nova, and Wisconsin battling for the one seed. Each team has its own merits. Kansas has played an amazing amount of top 50 games and have won a lot of them however they have 7 losses and only one 1 seed has ever had 7 losses. Duke has solid computer rankings. 5-4 only against the top 50. The weakness of the middle and bottom of the ACC hurts them Virginia has great computer rankings and are ACC champs. However a very unbalanced ACC schedule and a bad ACC helped a lot. Only 2-3 against the RPI top 25 and only 4-3 against the top 50. UW has a great RPI, strength of schedule, and 5-1 against the RPI top 25 and 8-3 against the top 50. They are behind most in Kenpom in other rankings and have one bad loss at home to Northwestern. Indiana's winning streak has helped the Badgers in that way since they are up to 76 now. Nova has very solid computer ratings. But much like Virginia has poor numbers against top teams. Just 1-3 against RPI top 25 and 4-3 against top 50. A weak conference and two blowout losses against Creighton will hurt. I guess Cuse is probably in there too but their recent struggles are really hurting them. They are behind those 5 in every computer rating but they are 8-2 against the RPI top 50. The deceiving part of that is 5 of those wins have come against teams 45-50. So they are just 3-2 against top 44 and playing very poorly right now

Hot prospect Miguel Sano of Twins is undergoing Tommy John and will miss the year. Sounds like they knew he was having issues in the fall but didnt get the right diagnosis until now. The Twins were not going to contend this year but still a blow to their fan base

I'm afraid you may be right. And if that's the case, it will be another long year. Mayo needs to be on the court, but the other two offer almost nothing. Sorry, but a PG who shoots under 50% from the line and under 0% from 3 point land doesn't quite cut it. He's not exactly a great distributor either. Oh I don't disagree. Buzz seems to love the kid and apparently he plays good defense. I am not a Marquette fan so I dont watch them a ton but I would put money on those 3 starting. I would also expect a transfer or two because it happens each year

Completely agree on Taylor. No reason for him to play this year. Man is Marquette lucky Luke Fischer wanted out of Indiana. Even with him the second half of next year they are thin in the front court but it would be scary for them without him. Marquette is losing a lot this year even with it being a down year. Gardner and Otule will definitely hurt. Thomas with all his limitations is 4th on the team in scoring and is light years ahead of his backups on defense. Jamil Wilson is frustrating but scored double digits in all but 4 conference games. Mayo is the only guy returning who is in the top 5 on the team in scoring. Buzz likes his upperclassmen so I would expect Wilson, Mayo, and Anderson to be 3 of the for sure starters. I would assume Burton and Taylor are the other two with Fischer maybe taking a spot when he gets up to speed. Duane Wilson will be interesting to watch. Creighton loses a ton so Big East might be pretty up in the air after Villanova so Marquette will have a shot to get some wins, but it could be another tough season

That would be a tiny rotation. It could play fast but it would get eaten alive by any team with size. Anderson would be guarding the 5? I think Steve Taylor will get every chance to start. Also I wouldnt be shocked to see Johnson transfer. He is seeing absolutely no time right now and kids are not that patient these days. Johnson has 16 points in conference play! Since playing 23 minutes against St Johns he has had 7 games scoring 9 points. He has three DNP and three games with 2 minutes or less. I am not a Marquette fan but I hate how many transfers there are in college bball but I would put money on him leaving. hope I am wrong I would guess Marquette starts Derrick Wilson, Mayo, Burton, Anderson and Taylor. Athletic team but they will struggle with size and will still not be a team that is good from deep. They are losing their biggest threat from 3. Fischer should be a big help second semester.

The St. Louis, Virginia, and Florida wins seem to get better every week. Add MSU, Michigan and Iowa twice on top of those and it looks pretty darn good. Kansas will end up as 1 seed as I think Cuse will drop out. Zona, Kansas, Wichita State, and Florida are my guesses. Duke could slide in