By: Quentin and David K.
TSB.net’s Quentin and David K. share their thoughts as they watch Marquette’s biggest game of the season, and a true test to see just how competitive MU can be come March Madness.
(Q) One minute in and we just heard that Buzz and Tom Crean “played phone tag all day.” Sounds about right for Indiana.
(DK) I think I just vomited a little bit in my mouth. Do you think Buzz sends Crean fire extinguishers once a week just in case he decides to light himself on fire?
(Q) Just wondering: where does UCONN get their offense from?
(DK) We can’t let A.J. Price go off. UConn is at their best when he is feeling it.
(Q) Isn’t the Marquette-gets-87%-of-its-offense-from-its-starters a bit overdone? How many teams have 4 guys who can put up 25+ on a given night?
(DK) What? We don’t have a bench? Really?
(Q) 30 seconds after we were told Stanley Robinson can’t shoot, Jimmy Butler fouls him on a jump shot pump-fake from beyond the free-throw line. Fantastic.
(DK) I am going to try and avoid making any jokes about Jim Calhoun’s press conference meltdown this past weekend.
(Q) 17:00 (left) – Marquette seems to be playing kind of dumb so far. Burke took a 12-footer which missed badly, the aforementioned Butler foul, giving up an easy alley-oop. I think it’s safe to say we’re a little too fired up right now.
(DK) Dwight Burke should never shoot the ball unless it is a dunk or free throw.
(Q) 14:36 – Dickie V just said “trifector.” Totally unrelated, but great moment on the BS Report today when the Sports Guy mentioned personalities on a certain network that have grown to be parodies of their former selves.
(Q) 12:38 – Props to Dan Shulman for being the first announcer I’ve heard that recognized that though Dominic’s scoring has dropped, he is a far better player now than he’s ever been.
(DK) Speaking of Dom, why has he been on the bench for the last four minutes?
(Q) 11:30 – Butler gets fouled again. Some good minutes from him thus far. Just caught myself watching a commercial and remembered this is actually DVRd and I’m behind the live broadcast. YES! Thabeet is back in for UCONN, could be some big minutes coming up.
(DK) Don’t even get me started about my affection for DVR.
(Q) 10:01 –The “Buzz sent tons of letters to coaches” story makes an appearance!
(Q) 9:14 – ESPN stops my heart with news that Dominic is out for the game. I wondered why Acker was getting so many minutes. I’m already rationalizing: yes, it’s a huge loss but it’s not the end of the world. Acker is a good backup and this gives more freedom to Jerel and Wesley. Defensively, it’s a big loss, of course. I’ve almost convinced myself that I feel better.
(DK) Yeah, I’m not all that concerned. He’s our fourth most important player.
(DK) Lazar just hit a three to put MU up 26-22 to which TSB.net frequent commenter Jason Moe, who am I watching the game with says, “Flame on with your Junior High Name.”
(Q) 8:41 – Wesley dunks to put MU up 6, 28-22. Dickie V gives us the old “that was a good TO!” line. Of course, neither Crean nor Buzz ever calls those types of timeouts, especially on the road. Not sure what that means, just an observation.
(DK) Huge that Thabeet has pretty much been a non-factor thus far.
(Q) 8:27 – Stanley Robinson hits a three. I thought he couldn’t shoot?
(Q) 7:24 – Thabeet with his third straight possession with a block as there’s contact between he and Wesley. Seemed like something should’ve been called there.
(DK) Totally a foul. And my apologies for jinxing us by saying Thabeet has been a non-factor. They just showed Dickie V signing autographs at Marquette’s Golden Eagle Shop to which Moe responded, “Tell him to hook us up with some Hooters.” I love Moe. Speaking of Dickie V, he just said after a Thabeet dunk, “There’s no defense to stop that slam jam bam.” More vomiting in my mouth.
(Q) 5:53 – I simply cannot judge offensive fouls anymore. I’m so used to them being overcalled that I’m not sure what exactly constitutes a valid one anymore. Lazar took one on Robinson that seemed ok.
(Q) 4:20 – It sounds like this mini-controversy with Jim Calhoun centers around the idea that he should give back some of his salary b/c the state of Connecticut is broke and had to fire some people. Is he paid by the state? I can’t imagine he is so why is this an issue? Just seems like some hack political activist trying to get noticed. Of course, Dick and Dan back Calhoun up b/c he and his wife donate a lot of money, as if that has anything to do with anything.
(Q) 3:52 – UCONN is up 10 and have all the momentum right now.
(DK) A 16-0 run will do that. Did Calhoun give some of that $12 million that UConn’s program brings in to the refs because they are getting every call. Not bad that the first Calhoun joke came 16 minutes into the game.
(Q) :47 – A 40-year old man just came off the bench for UCONN and hit a three! Thabeet looks 14, Stanley Robinson looks 30 and whoever this guy is has to be older than everyone on the bench except Calhoun. You win 800 games, you learn how to do it with kids of all ages I suppose.
(DK) I have watched A LOT of UConn this year and never seen this 40-year old Harrelson character play a single minute.
(Q) Down 43-37 at the half. Overall, an up and down first half for Marquette in which they started slow, came on strong, then faded a bit. This one’s got all the …
(DK) Yeah, I feel like we should be down a lot more than six. I’ll finish what you started… this is shaping up to be a great finish.
2ND HALF
(Q) Oh my. Price just crossed-over Jerel and gave him the “I’m disgusted with you” look before hitting the jumper. I am willing to admit that I love when guys do that
(DK) ESPN just announced Dom has a broken fifth metatarsal and it out for the game. Ok, now I’m concerned…How long will he be out? Until the Big East Tournament? For the Year? Not good.
(Q) – After hearing that news, my eyes look as glossed over and bloodshot as Dominic’s right now. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one in the locker room crying as MU starts the second half looking totally disinterested. This might get ugly.
(Q) Looks like we got past that bit of lethargy and are back in the game at the first timeout of the second half. We needed those few buckets badly.
(DK) 15:58 Price just bombed his sixth three of the game. We might want to think about guarding him.
(DK) 12:07 ‘Rel is starting to get that swag. Wesley hits two free throws and MU is up one. By the way, Moe just found a toy that makes a noise you would expect to hear at an arena after a made free throw and hits it anytime MU sinks one from the charity stripe. You should all be jealous Moe is my friend.
(DK) 10:54 Tied at 65… This is turning into a Jerel vs. A.J. showdown.
(Q) Jerel seems to have accepted the challenge of being a leader with DJ out and is doing everything he can to fire up his ‘mates. For the 1,249th time this season: I freaking love this team.
(DK) 9:05 Thabeet and one… They are killing us on the boards. No real surprise though.
(DK) 6:13 Foul on Burke… seriously? UConn is getting every call.
(Q) The crowd seems to have officially lost its mind. Regular fans aren’t even sitting down anymore. I can’t imagine how great it would be to be in the Bradley Center right now. What an amazing game.
(DK) 4:32 Stanley Robinson just had his 73rd baseline dunk of the game. What a crappy game for him to have a career night. Another dumb foul by Marquette … UConn up 84-74.
(Q) UCONN is getting to every loose ball and rebound. I’m going to have nightmares of Stanley Robinson dunking tonight.
(DK) 2:53 Lazar offensive foul on a crucial possession with MU within five, saw that coming from a mile away.
(Q) There was no denying that one. As soon as he started stumbling toward the hoop, everything slowed down and you knew it was coming.
(DK) 1:15 A.J. three gives UConn the 89-81 lead and pretty much clinches the win.
(Q) – Glad we got to see the crucial play of the game with half the screen taken up by Jim Calhoun. Did you know that winning 800 games puts you in “pretty select company”, according to Dickie V? Apparently, simply having the 6th-most wins in D-I history wouldn’t prove that to you.
(DK) Tough loss especially with ESPN confirming that Dom’s career as a Golden Eagle is over. A little surprising considering I fractured my 5th metatarsal in 7th grade and was only out 3 weeks. Not sure how I want to digest this injury. Our bench is now even thinner and what had the makings of being a very special season just took a major hit. The hope is not gone, but this definitely hurts. I feel terrible for Dom. It reminds me of when Travis Diener suffered a broken wrist with a few games left in his senior season and ended up falling short of breaking MU’s all-time scoring record. I’m going to call it a night and drink my sorrows away.
(Q) I’m a mess. I hadn’t really considered the thought that we weren’t going to win that game. And we had the opportunities, but every loose ball and rebound went to the Huskies in the last 8 minutes. Size was certainly a factor, combined with the fact that we just looked too ragged on the boards. I’m hoping against hope for better news in the morning on DJ. I agree that we can still make some noise but it would be callous to pretend losing DJ isn’t a huge hit to this team. His growth and willingness to change his role has been a major part of the success this year’s team has had. Acker isn’t much of a shooter but that willingness to pass should help Jerel, Wesley and Lazar. I was really impressed with his on-ball defense tonight as well. Where this really hurts though is the lack of depth we already had. I like our chances in the tourney more than I do in these next 2 road games. I’m off to the LOST island to forget this…