Coach Bruno: “Tale of two halves. Our thought our nerves and jitters really put us in bad space to start the game barring our first ten possessions and TOs.
And so, when you do that, with the team like Marquette, you are going to dig yourself a deep hole and I thought we did that.
They are a really good team. My first year here[2021-22], some of those guys are still on this team, so they have continuity. They have post season experience, Big East experience and it showed tonight.
I thought we were a little bit nervous. The moment was loud for us and it showed in spots but I liked our grit in the 2nd half.
We settled down and we were able to score the way we can score but we’ve just got to be better. But Marquette is a phenomenal team.”
Media: How much can you build on that first 6 or 7 minutes of the 2nd half when you got down to 14 there, moving forward?
Coach Bruno: “You can try and bottle that. We’re not happy because I don’t think we played the right way. I don’t think we played our style of play, but there were some good moments, but we’ve also got to correct some low moments we had turning the ball over especially early in the game and then we’ve got to do a better job on the paint.
I think they had 50 points to the paint throughout 32, so we’ve got some stuff to clean up, but there were some good spots that we can take away and try to build from.”
DOS: You competed though, especially in the 2H but #23 Amos was very quick and Marquette had a tough time staying in front of him.
Coach Bruno: “Yeah, we are a talented group. ‘Competing’ is bare minimum to put the jersey on and now we’ve got to put some execution.
I thought we didn’t play a really good clean game with shot selections and paste, but still a young team and obviously being in this environment, will hopefully pay dividends for us when we get to conference play.”
DOS: When you prepare for Marquette, what unique aspects do they bring to the table? Is scheme or depth?
Coach Bruno: “It’s just their style of play. Right? Because they are unique in a sense that they dont have a traditional five … #13, he’s really a point forward and so you have really two higher IQ players…a guard on the floor with a five who can play the 1 which is rare.
You can barely get that at the pro level let alone college. So, I think they do a really good job with understanding who they are.
No one tries to outshine and do things that is outside the box. They are pretty consistent. Jones is a shooter. Joplin is a shooter.
You have two really playmakers which you want in the starting five. Mitchell is a tenacity guy. They are a well rounded team and they know who they are.
That’s goes a long way winning a lot of games. You know who you are. You don’t try to get out of character. So that’s where they present a unique challenge because they are well coached and they are disciplined. You’ve got to really beat Marquette. They are not going to give you the game.”
DOS: There are problems because Ighodaro as the center, he can come out high and usually he does not shoot from the outside, but he passes and sets screens and creates plays.
Coach Bruno: “And he’s swinging the ball in space. Right? That’s the key with those guys. He can take up space and he’s talented enough and shifty enough to score around the basket. That’s the beauty of having a five with that ability.
He doesn’t need to be a back to the basket, but he’s taking your five who is used to guarding their back to the basket and he’s putting them in uncomfortable situations. So that’s where they are different in that regard. It’s their ability to put five guys on a perimeter to move you around.”
DOS: MU has a deep bench. Usually the depth cause opponents to get tired, but you guys were right there in the 2nd half.
Coach Bruno: “Yes, I think their bench is good. Our bench is good as well. Our bench actually kept us in the game and made it respectable because those guys brought an energy and they were on the floor when we covered the 14.
So, they are smart enough to figure out and I’m pretty sure obviously in close games, their starters are playing larger minutes and that’s the beauty of their depth.
Those guards, I think they’ve got 12 or 11 guys playing double figure minutes, so no one is really playing to exhaustion.
Actually, your freshmen can make decisions, so that team is really good. It’s going to take a really special team to beat them because they are well coached and they are disciplined.”
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