I don't know how surprised many are about this win today against the Bearcats at home as much as how dynamic it was in so many ways or how it should be impossible that this team is not ranked favorably this time tommorrow.

Not that rankings this early mean that much, but after two big time efforts the last two games in conference play, you gotta give love out to MU after all this don't you?.

But it has to look good on your resume' if you will on a personal, individual and team level for many of these players and coaching staff. I know for me, someone has gotten some work done on their games after the loss to Tennessee. There are enough shout outs to go around after a win like this today... 

For one:Dominic James once again turned in another dynamic performance defensively  in locking down the other teams main weapon and top scoring threat. I mentioned in another thread that this young many has the pottential to be on of the best defending guards along with McNeal in the entire country.

First he held Scottie Reynolds of Villanova down for the most part a game ago and then Dante Vaughn of the Bearcats today with some stellar defense. No clean looks, excellent on the ball, position defense, Dominic has a textbook defense stance and balance and is rarely if ever outfaked and upfaked by his man.

He shades well and has excellent recovery speed and quick hands and feet. Great anticipation as well as Jerel and Wesley. Wesley bodie very well and and is the best at using his arms to block an opponents vision and his length and energy serves him well...

What has got into Jerel McNeal. He has seen a 'shot doctor!' 7 of 7 on his 3pt attempts and his form and release look much better and he is much more consistent and confident in his stroke all the way back to the tournament of last year. He and Lazar shots really look smooth and effortless from the floor and the free throw line.

Experience senior leadership and guard play is big in college ball my friends...

Any time an individual can hit 7 of 7 3pt attempts, and shutout a top leading scorer like DJ did Dante did today, and a team ties a record for 3pt shots made in a game, (Frozena should have hit that record breaking one...late in the game.) you can put those efforts on your resmue if only in their own minds that, 'hey, we just might be as good or better then we think we are and they say we are!?'

A very impressive team win, and star studded effort by a number of individual players as well today. Great college  teams don't shoot as well as they did today all things considered. And I am not expecting to see shooting like this in every game...as of yet. But it was a sight to see.

When Mo Acker was yanked after coming in cold and throwing up an airball on a wide open look, he was reinserted at the end of the half and launched an awesome shot that went in as the horn sounded...I knew right then this game was over then.

That was a credit for Coach Buzz to go back to the guy and big time for him to come back and keep his head up and answer with that shot and add to the 15 treys for the day. All in a day's work...     

Very impressive win indeed on all fronts wouldn't you say? Up next....Rutgers!    

I would expect them to crack the top 20 after the first two BE wins.....the blowout was a welcome, unexpected surprise and testament to the team hitting on all cylinders and being "en fuego" on offense.  I agree that experienced guard play is huge in college hoops.

It will be interesting to watch the rankings every week as I think the BE is so difficult that teams will win and lose very unpredicatably in league play....I wonder what, if any, impact that variability will have on the rankings.

 Great way to start the BE season for MU, Buzz, and the players.

Big win yesterday in surprising fashion. I thought MU would win by 10-12 points so I obviously wasn't expecting that type of blowout.

McNeal: What can you say? He shot out of mind! If he can hit 3s consistently the rest of the way, he will be nearly impossible to defend. What I was most impressed with is that he didn't seem like he was forcing anything. He knew he was hot but in the 2nd half, he only took 2 shots and dished out 4 assists (in 11 minutes). Hopefully this was a turning point game for him and he fully understands that getting assists is just as good as scoring points and that just because he hits a few shots, that doesn't mean he needs to keep firing them up. I don't know how anyone else has fared but I'd have to think Rel would be the BE Player of the Week.

Hazel: Great game from Patrick! He only played 13 minutes and scored 4 points but he really had an impact on the game with his defense and energy. I keep forgetting that he's only a sophomore. With McMorrow and Otule seeing minutes at center, Hazel can put himself in position to get some quality minutes next season at the 4.

Otule: Still looks a little slow and not in "game shape" (as they say) but he's definitely coming along. After his block on Bishop, MU went on a 13-3 run. Clearly that wasn't all his doing, but he made an impact while he was out there. The team and the crowd seem to get fired up when he enters the game and you can tell the impact that a legit big man has, especially on D. One thing I noticed is that MU's guards need to work on their entry passes to the post.

Tough game at Rutgers on Wednesday. They've played a brutal schedule lately so hopefully MU jumps on them early and starts to put some Here-we-go-again's into their minds.

Great win.   In the big picture, all it does is get us to 2-0 in conference.   Lets see how we do on the road and against WVU over the next 10 days.   If we get to 6-0,  great.   If we don't, nobody panic.   The BEast is tough and we are going to have to play near perfect ball every night to get to 11-12 wins.   Otule looked like he is progressing.   I suspect that Fulce is still having trouble with his knee or is just not ready to trust it.    This team may be scarier in the big dance than it is in conference.

Well....MU has officially been shown some love.  Jumped to #15 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and #18 in the A.P. poll.    There position should vary all year given the tough BEast conference.   Pitt is #1.

 What a start to the season for the BE and MU.

Milkman:

 One thing I noticed is that MU's guards need to work on their entry passes to the post.

I think I know the reason for that.  Lack of practice.

It seems to me that Otule is one of the first MU big men in awhile who makes an effort to "present" himself for an entry pass. He is obviously raw, but he clearly has some idea what he's trying to do when he gets the ball inside. It will be interesting to see how he develops, but it's too bad that he didn't get the chance to get some playing time in the nonconference games. If nothing else, he seems to be able to use up some minutes, something that will be sorely needed down the road.

 BTW, my favorite play of the game was when Matthews stepped into the middle of the zone. took a pass and dropped it off to Hazel coming along the baseline for the dunk. That came in the first half when MU was first taking control of the game, and showed me that Hazel has some upside potential too.

wisblue:

It seems to me that Otule is one of the first MU big men in awhile who makes an effort to "present" himself for an entry pass. He is obviously raw, but he clearly has some idea what he's trying to do when he gets the ball inside. It will be interesting to see how he develops, but it's too bad that he didn't get the chance to get some playing time in the nonconference games. If nothing else, he seems to be able to use up some minutes, something that will be sorely needed down the road.

Burke and Hazel make the effort, too, they just never get the ball because they don't have the same post ability as Otule.

That said, I'm ecstatic that Otule and Fulce got some quality minutes in this game.  It gives me hope that there will be life after the big 3 at Marquette.  Those two with Acker, Lazar, Cubillan and the new recruits should give Buzz a puncher's chance next year.

StrangeBrew13:

That said, I'm ecstatic that Otule and Fulce got some quality minutes in this game.  It gives me hope that there will be life after the big 3 at Marquette.  Those two with Acker, Lazar, Cubillan and the new recruits should give Buzz a puncher's chance next year.

If nothing else, next year's team is going to be interesting. Realistically, it could be a very difficult transition season because of the lack of experience, but the potential will be there to make the rough period relatively short. I saw the replay of Cadougan's game against Dominican on TV, and he looks like he will be ready to contribute quickly. His style and body remind me of LaVance Fields of Pitt. He, Acker, Cubillan, and Buycks could be a decent backcourt, though hardly up to the standards of James and McNeal, at least not right away. Butler, Fulce, Williams, Hayward, and Maymon will provide a lot of options at the 3 and 4 spots, and Otule, Hazel, McMorrow, and Roseboro offer some potential down low. The nonconference season will be fun to watch to see which of these players develop into contributors first. But, it's going to require more patience than I usually have. Unless they develop quickly, the tournament at Disney World and the games against UW, and even UWM are going to be difficult. The season will be a real test of what kind of coach Williams is going to be.