Marquette

Feb 25 Jay Bilas:

Marquette Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles score 35 points per game in the paint, ranking second in the Big East. And the relentless attack in the lane gets Marquette to the line, with 23 percent of its points coming off free throws. Marquette is a second-half team that keeps the pressure on and never seems to get tired. Buzz Williams’ team shoots 52 percent in transition in first halves and 64 percent in transition in second halves, scoring 1.25 points per possession in the open floor.

2/29 ESPN - Marquette: The Golden Eagles have won 12 of their past 13 games and went 5-1 in February despite playing without injured forward Davante Gardner (knee). Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom could both be first-team All-Big East selections, and head coach Buzz Williams nearly incited a riot when he did his best Fred Astaire impression and danced on West Virginia’s court. Maybe he was just practicing for March. 

Kirk comment.. here who they beat in those 12.. SJU,PITT,LOU,PROV,USF,VILL,HALL, DEP, CIN, CONN, RUTG, WVU – Very unimpressive list.

2/29 Kirk Vs Cinci.. first off, they look TINY compared to CInci. Bob Knight said regardless, the entire key to their team is error free execution of their break and offensive conversion is the key to their team. He also said that they are the best team he has seen with help defense.  They also like to run run run and they are good at it. Cincinnati controlled the boards, though, on offense and defense. Final thought is that this team plays well together, they pass the ball well as a team, and they but a ton. If they face a zone team with no depth, look out. They get the ball inside on drives and passes.  I want to like them, but I just dont. They are not big and their guards are not as good as in the past.

Georgetown at Marquette (2 ET, ESPN3): Georgetown humbled Notre Dame and beat down Villanova in its final two home games. The Hoyas can draw even with Marquette in second place with a win in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles should be good to go at home, but which squad will show? Marquette looked like an Elite Eight team in last week’s second-half comeback at West Virginia. But its performance at Cincinnati on Wednesday was more worthy of a first-round exit. Regardless, this could be a preview of a Big East tourney semifinal. 

3/4 Marquette lost F Gardner for all of February. Still did awesome but he is back and that is another boost for this team.

Marquette over WVU over Conn and general notes

No. 10 Marquette came from 15 points down in the second half to beat West Virginia 61-60 Friday night, even with Darius Johnson-Odom the team’s leading scorer, team assists leader Junior Cadougan, and Vander Blue all benched in the first half for breaking team rules.

Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder, who led Marquette with 26 points, eventually keyed a 24-8 run that helped the Golden Eagles overtake the Mountaineers.

With both Chris Otule and Davante Gardner on the sideline, the Golden Eagles lack size.  But Marquette continues to roll toward what might be a top-four seed and double bye in the Big East tournament, in part because what it lacks in height it makes up for in quickness.

“Their speed and strength almost blew our doors off,” acting Connecticut head coach George Blaney said after Marquette defeated his Huskies 79-64 on Feb. 18. “We had worked on it for two days, were really solid about picking up the ball early and getting back, but their bigs continued to beat our guys down the court.”

Marquette has adjusted to its depleted roster as seamlessly as any team in the country. In part, that’s because the guys who are left are both talented and experienced. Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom are both seniors who don’t get much attention outside of the state of Wisconsin, but they have raised their level of play in their teammates’ absence.

Marquette did a lot of damage at the free-throw line against Connecticut, going 21-of-26 from the stripe. That dwarfed UConn’s production, as the Huskies finished 12-of-21.

Three-pointers were one of the keys to victory for Marquette on Saturday, particularly in the first half. The Golden Eagles knocked down seven long-range shots on their way to taking a 43-29 lead at the break. UConn, meanwhile, did not make a 3-pointer during the first 20 minutes.

Marquette

Vs Vanderbilt: Their defense really extends and tries to disrupt the other teams sets.  They are pretty quick, play sound defense, and have very balanced scoring with five guys averaging double figures. Inside, they have really decent options with hustling Jae Crowder and a mixed bag of other serviceable bigs that offer Buzz options. They again get to the line a ton as they just attack on offense.

Vs Syracuse: Marquette led by 11 points three times in the first half, the last on Jimmy Butler’s close-in jumper that gave Marquette a 42-31 lead heading into the second half. The Orange’s defensive focus was much better in the second half, and it looked as if Marquette was headed for another second-half collapse. Kirk notes: This is such a likable team and I believe this is a team that is not your typical MQ team. First off, their inside presence with OToole and Crowder is better than years past. Crowder has the motor of a guard and OToole is a legit big. Still light in the post, but better than years past. They actually have scorers in the post. At guard, Buycks continues to develop, Johnson-Odom is one of the best players no one has heard of, and get better but Butler is the man. He is money and can hit any big shot. The more I watch this team, the more I like their coach. Vs Syracuse, they owned their zone and this was clearly due to an excellent plan and excellent execution.