Thanks, wildjays.
Marquette to face Dayton in closed scrimmage - Matt Velazquez , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 10:10 p.m. CDT October 13, 2016
The Marquette men's basketball team will face outside opposition for the first time this season on Saturday, Oct. 29 when, according to a source, it will take on Dayton in a closed-door scrimmage that will be held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
College basketball teams are allowed two contests against outside competition during the preseason and can choose any combination of exhibition games and so-called "secret scrimmages," which media and fans are not allowed to attend.
At the closed scrimmages, it's common that the format isn't a 40-minute game; rather, schools tend to opt for a combination of live game action as well as specific situations and drills. Stats and scores from the scrimmage are meant for the use of the schools involved.
This marks the third straight year under head coach Steve Wojciechowski that the Golden Eagles will go on the road for a closed scrimmage before returning home for an exhibition game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Marquette's exhibition game is Saturday, Nov. 5 against Division II Rockhurst.
In the past, Wojciechowski has spoken highly of closed-door scrimmages, saying they allow the team to see where it stands against Division I competition without the glare of the spotlight. They also can try things and practice specific game-type situations without putting them on film for other teams to see. These games also afford the Golden Eagles the opportunity to simulate the procedures and routines of a road trip before the season begins.
The scrimmage against Dayton marks the second straight year that Marquette is meeting a team on neutral ground in the preseason. Last Halloween, Marquette and Stanford scrimmaged at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
A preseason closed scrimmage against a quality opponent is invaluable to coaching staffs, and has different priorities than regular-season games.
In order of importance, the coaches want to:
1. Evaluate the team’s newcomers (freshmen and eligible transfers) against quality competition. These players typically get more playing time than they might in early regular-season games.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of a number of different player combinations on the court. For various reasons, some combinations are more effective than others, and the coaches need to know which combinations are the most and least effective.
3. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the team as a whole, and the physical fitness of individual players in game situations.
4. Win the game.
The final score is usually leaked, but doesn’t mean much because of the purposes and format of the game. The point totals for leading players in a closed scrimmage are also usually leaked, but teams are not permitted to release the box score.
Last October, Dayton lost their closed scrimmage to Purdue (in Indianapolis) and in October 2014, Dayton lost to Illinois (in Indianapolis).
Best of luck to the Golden Eagles in the scrimmage and in the 2016-17 season.
Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 9:58 am