Prediction Time - St. John's

[Phantom Warrior]

St. John's is scary even though they've lost more than they've won in conference play. Plus they're at home.

My heart says MU by 6, but my gut says St. John's be six in a high-scoring game.

St. John's 88 - MU - 82.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Lots of points in this one. I just don't think the Johnnies are disciplined enough on either end. Marquette squeaks it out.

Marquette 94 - 90 St. John's

[kneelb4zerg]

St. John's is scary even though they've lost more than they've won in conference play. Plus they're at home.

My heart says MU by 6, but my gut says St. John's be six in a high-scoring game.

St. John's 88 - MU - 82.

They are 0-3 at MSG

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

St. John's is scary even though they've lost more than they've won in conference play. Plus they're at home.

My heart says MU by 6, but my gut says St. John's be six in a high-scoring game.

St. John's 88 - MU - 82.

Silver - honest question - have you ever predicted marq to beat the point spread? Seems like every prediction of yours when marq is favored is marq barely winning and when marq is a dog you have them getting blown out.

[Markedman]

MU fans fall into mostly 2 categories.......those who think they should never lose....and those who think they almost never should win.....especially on the road... :)

[MUfan12]

Got a bad feeling about this one as well. I'll take a one point win and run.

[Phantom Warrior]

WCGE.

Honest answer: I never even look at the point spread. I don't think in those terms at all, and if someone else posts the point spread, I ignore it.

As far as my predictions in terms of wins and losses, I tend to be, for lack of a better word, "conservative," which balances out my tendency to be a social liberal (though I am more moderate in terms of fiscal policies).

The last four years I have been considerably more "conservative" than I was in earlier years. I have always prioritized defense over offense - even in my own coaching - and the last three years, in particular, our defense has been, to be kind, mediocre.

This year's team, in terms of defense, does not inspire any confidence in my outlook. At the beginning of the year, back in early November, I predicted we would go anywhere from 8-10 to 10-8, but that I figured we'd probably be 9-9. I also figured we'd win one or two games when we were expected to lose (Creighton and Nova) and lose one or two games when we would be expected to win (Providence). I also thought we could end up anywhere from fifth through seventh in the conference.

Providence and St. John's, and even DePaul, are better than I thought they'd be. Seton Hall is not quite as good as I'd expected. And now, of course, Creighton and Xavier have suffered huge losses at point guard. Things change. Plus, we lost Traci, which I think is a much bigger loss than most fans appreciate.

The bottom line, however, is that it is extremely tough to win on the road in the BE, period. And I don't think this year's team is good enough to avoid close contests at home.

[IrwinFletcher]

SJU hits around 42% of their 3's in their wins, and around 28% of their 3's in their losses. Could be the thing to watch for.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

WCGE.

Honest answer: I never even look at the point spread. I don't think in those terms at all, and if someone else posts the point spread, I ignore it.

As far as my predictions in terms of wins and losses, I tend to be, for lack of a better word, "conservative," which balances out my tendency to be a social liberal (though I am more moderate in terms of fiscal policies).

The last four years I have been considerably more "conservative" than I was in earlier years. I have always prioritized defense over offense - even in my own coaching - and the last three years, in particular, our defense has been, to be kind, mediocre.

This year's team, in terms of defense, does not inspire any confidence in my outlook. At the beginning of the year, back in early November, I predicted we would go anywhere from 8-10 to 10-8, but that I figured we'd probably be 9-9. I also figured we'd win one or two games when we were expected to lose (Creighton and Nova) and lose one or two games when we would be expected to win (Providence). I also thought we could end up anywhere from fifth through seventh in the conference.

Providence and St. John's, and even DePaul, are better than I thought they'd be. Seton Hall is not quite as good as I'd expected. And now, of course, Creighton and Xavier have suffered huge losses at point guard. Things change. Plus, we lost Traci, which I think is a much bigger loss than most fans appreciate.

The bottom line, however, is that it is extremely tough to win on the road in the BE, period. And I don't think this year's team is good enough to avoid close contests at home.

All good man, I wasn't even suggesting it was an incorrect way of thinking and it's interesting to hear how you've become more cautious (insert pessimistic) on Marq over the years.

I'll say Marq by 9 - how's that for an overly optimistic prediction :)

[MU_Iceman]

All good man, I wasn't even suggesting it was an incorrect way of thinking and it's interesting to hear how you've become more cautious (insert pessimistic) on Marq over the years.

I'll say Marq by 9 - how's that for an overly optimistic prediction :)

The thing with Phantom is, not only does he usually not take them to cover the spread, I don't see many predictions where he has MU winning at all, at least once BE season rolls around. :p

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

The thing with Phantom is, not only does he usually not take them to cover the spread, I don't see many predictions where he has MU winning at all, at least once BE season rolls around. :p

How about it?!

Phantom - how could you predict 9-9 at the beginning of the season when your in season prediction are all Marquette losses. Pick a lane! :)

[Phantom Warrior]

WCGE,

It's really easy. Prior to the start of the season I figured that Providence, DePaul, and St. John's would all be pretty bad, and I saw us beating each of those three teams twice, home and away, for a total of six wins.

I also figured we'd likely win at home against both GTown and Seton Hall, bringing the total to eight wins. My pick for a ninth win was the home game with Butler as I did not think that the Bulldogs would be as good as they've proven to be. Baldwin, in particular, is much better than anyone could have imagined. By the way, I still think we have a good chance to upset Butler at the BC.

The biggest surprise to me so far has been St. John's. I knew Ponds was highly rated and so was LoVett, but both are better than I'd expected. Add Ahmad, and they have three new players who are major contributors, and that doesn't even include Owns who provides depth up front.

But the Friars are also better than I'd anticipated, especially after losing Dunn and Bentil. Cartwright and Bullock have both stepped up their game, and Holt has been solid as well.

As for DePaul, we shall see. If they beat us on Saturday, then our season could become a train wreck. I'm sure it will be a close game because the Demons play everybody close at home, but we should beat them.

Anyway, that's how I predicted 9-9. I didn't expect a win at Creighton or a win against Nova, but I also - pre-season - did not see us losing a game to St. John's and Providence.

Hope that answers your question.