It is never a good thing to play a team needing a win. No matter what the sport is, the scariest thing is playing a desperate team on the road. Marquette dealt with this on Saturday playing Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse, a place where they had lost three straight games, something they have not done since 1990. It seemed for awhile Marquette had control of this game, but once again, the second half turned into a complete disaster for a variety of reasons, some of them fall on their head coach Buzz Williams, and I begin to wonder if he is officially lost on this team. Marquette is the worst scoring offense in the Big East while Butler is the worst scoring defense in the Big East (Granted some of that is overtime-related, but they are not great whatsoever) meaning something had to give in this one. It seemed like Marquette figured it out a bit with a strong first half, and a strong four minutes out of halftime, something this team and other Golden Eagles teams have struggled with in the past. But the ugly side of this team reared its head as Marquette stopped hitting shots all together and Butler started hitting them putting the Bulldogs ahead late in the game. Golden Eagles somehow forced overtime due to missed free throws, poor execution from Butler, but in all, Williams mismanaged his bench leading to this team being dead tired when overtime rolled around.
The clearest example of this is the fact Marquette gave up 20 points in overtime. While they are not a good offensive team, Marquette is not that bad defensively especially against a team like Butler. They were all tired. No reason whatsoever with Marquette's limited depth that Davante Gardner is playing 42 minutes and Jake Thomas is playing 39 especially when this team has a game tonight against Georgetown (Davante getting a double-double is encouraging though, just wish he would try a touch more on defense). I understand this was an important game to win, but at the same time, this is a better team when the minutes are balanced versus relying on a starting five that really is not elite in any shape or form. It is like Williams channeled his inner Tom Thibodeau for this one.
Another real issue I had with Williams was the strategy of the game. Khyle Marshall had a hell of an afternoon for Butler, but he cannot make free throws to save his soul. Marquette trailed 48-45 with two minutes left in the game, and they could have employed a hack-a-Marshall. This is not a popular method to play basketball, but Golden Eagles extend the game a bit giving them more of a chance to win versus relying on a tired defense. Granted it did not matter in the long run as overtime happened, but you never know if Marquette gets a couple extra possessions. I do not know if Williams is resting on his laurels thinking teams of old figured it out so why cannot these guys, or he just does not really have a concept on how to deal with more ineptitude than usual?
I think it is a little bit of both. Williams is not free of criticism. This is not a good basketball team, but it does not help things when Williams runs this team into the ground combined with relying that things will just turn around for them. Things need to change with the lineup. I mean it is clearly not working for a full game. They have their spurts, and what needs to be figured out if how to put all those spurts together for a complete game. It is pretty clear that this is not a tournament team by any means whatsoever, and there is nothing to really make me think a light can just switch on for this squad.
People will compare it to 2010-2011 when Marquette slid into the tournament as an eleven seed. They were 15-11 at a time and finished with 14 losses yet they played in an amazing Big East that year meaning most of their losses were expected. This is not a good conference right now meaning Marquette's chances are more doubtful. They play another team in Georgetown where it is a team in desparate need of a win, good thing Marquette needs one too.
Charlie.
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