Lineup Shakeups Lead to Marquette Victory

It is pretty much do or die game for Marquette Golden Eagles as they took on Providence Friars on Thursday night. They are nowhere near the bubble right now for the NCAA Tournament, and if they wanted to make a push, Golden Eagles needed a victory on Thursday night against an emerging Providence team who had won four straight games prior to playing last night. Marquette took down Providence, 61-50 with a big first half including a new way to do lineups even if there is still some ironing out to do plus Buzz Williams needs to stop acting like Marquette's fanbase is filled of soccer moms and dads.

Much of the criticism in the last couple weeks has been the play of Derrick Wilson and Jake Thomas including how many minutes they get in the game, Williams decided to change up the lineup on Thursday and it worked pretty damn well. JaJuan Johnson and Deonte Burton both started their first collegiate game, and the first time two freshman have started for Marquette since February 24th, 2012 against West Virginia. Burton and Johnson had immediate impact contributing with points and rebounds extending Marquette lead early. I have no idea if this starting lineup will continue, but at least both of them showed they were not too big for the moment.   

Golden Eagles never trailed in this game although it feels like there were moments in this game where Marquette seemed to be discombobulated. Williams put these guys in like hockey line shifts, and at times, it did work for this squad. Some of the units were not perfect, but some excelled. Nine players saw 10 or more minutes in the game, and one could wonder if some of these guys never got a feel for things, but most did seem comfortable. What might show through in the tape when Providence made their 16-0 run in the second half was Wilson and Thomas were both in the game at that time for most of the run. Wilson actually did play an above average game with four steals and eight assists yet there are still defects. We really do not need to waste words on Jake Thomas. It is the same thing we have been saying for the last month. 

This really felt like a kitchen sink game for Marquette and Williams. Golden Eagles threw in everything, but the kitchen sink in this one trying to figure out what will work for them moving forward this season.  Will it be this way for the rest of the year? No I do not think so, but I feel like it should be expected for St. John's this Saturday as it did not all work for Marquette tonight. There is nothing wrong with this attitude either from Williams. Throwing shit to a wall and seeing what sticks is not a bad way to go about things, and hopefully Williams will not shy away from it. 

Buzz Williams on hearing MU fans boo in the second half: "Maybe as disappointed as I've been as the head coach since I've been here." #mubb
— Andrew Gruman (@AndrewGruman) January 31, 2014

Someone needs to let Williams know not everything is going to be rainbows and unicorns. Green Bay Packers got booed multiple times this season and made the playoffs. Hell, they were booed IN THE PLAYOFFS. Aaron Rodgers does not condone booing, but he usually realizes the frustration giving fans a pardon.  Booing is a stupid thing honestly, but it is a part of some fans' nature. Williams needs to worry about what's happening on the hardwood versus hearing a couple jerkoffs booing aimlessly. He is the king of the Marquette castle, but at the same time, there needs to be a little humility there. The attitude of 'How dare they boo MY TEAM' is the type of stuff that turns fans off from following the basketball team. 

Marquette heads to New York City for a Super Bowl tripleheader that became a complete dud with the Golden Eagles not having the best season, Georgetown struggling and St. John's also being a disappointing team. The last time these two played in the regular season, this happened....