What Happened Last Night?

It's truly painful to put in words what happened last night to the Bulls as they collapsed and lost to Marquette. The Bulls had their offense moving in the first half, making open shots and getting open looks. But in the second half, when Marquette cranked up its intensity, the Bulls simply fell apart.

Ball Movement

Anthony Crater is the point guard and he only had 3 turnovers on the game (17 for the entire team), but during full court pressure, Crater simply could not handle it. He was forced to pass the ball off because he could not break out of the press and the other Bulls simply didn't know what to do (reflects on the coaching). On offense, the Bulls offense hit a brick wall as the Golden Eagles became more aggressive on the ball, making Crater's job even harder. Crater seemed to have tunnel vision during the night and when pressure mounted to make shots, he could not find open players and the offense stopped.

Pressure

Marquette cranked up to a full court press in the second half and USF couldn't handle it. There were multiple times up the floor when the Bulls simply could not pass up court and did not know what to do. This reflects on two sides. First, the coaches. This is a fundamental situation that all coaches should teach their players on how to handle it. Heath knows the pressure situation and should have instructed his team better. Then the second part of the blame comes on the players. This kept looking around at each other, there was no player on the court directing traffic or stepping up to move the ball, allowing Marquette to step in and cause chaos and turnovers.

Basketball gods hate USF

USF basketball simply stinks. The announcers last night were focused on the weather, while the game was played inside. The Bulls turned the ball over 17 times. Marquette missed 6 straight free throws that kept USF alive in the last few seconds. Crater hit a game tying 3-point shot but Heath had called a time out just a second before. Fitzpatrick made a free throw as he tried to miss it. This is just how the season has gone and keeps going for the Bulls. There is not much left to play for at the end of the season except pride at this point. Let's hope the team shows up on Saturday.