Marquette Seniors End on a Sour Note

Marquette Golden Eagles closed the final chapter on their most depressing season in the last decade. A team projected to win the Big East in its inaugural year with its new members did not come anywhere close to its expectations.  If there could be a bright light at the end of the tunnel, Marquette could win their final home game for the seniors against St. John's. but it did not happen as the Golden Eagles lost their second straight game on Saturday. Red Storm swept Marquette beating them in double overtime, 91-90.

Confession time... I work a good amount of Saturdays meaning some Marquette games I watched later in the weekend on the DVR. It was the same this week, but my DVR decided to cut it off after 15 minutes of running (Thanks, Time Warner!) meaning I feel wrong about giving you a recap without watching most of the game. Instead of trying to BS my way through a recap, let's look at all of the seniors and what they meant for the team for their duration of their careers.

Chris Otule - One of the most well-liked players in Buzz Williams' tenure. Otule never really broke through on the offensive end, but he did so many good things for Marquette as their big man. Otule is a complete leader on the team, and he will be absolutely missed in the years to come when it comes to leadership. I will forever and ever be interested to see what happened to Otule if he had one knee injury versus multiple injuries throughout his seven-year career at Marquette.

Davante Gardner - BIG SMOOOOVE.  Gardner went from one of my favorite players to a favorite with a massive deficiency in his senior year. I guess I never realized how bad a defender Gardner was until his senior year, but it showed in a major way this season. Gardner did have a good career with the team without question when people wondered if he would be able to produce with his height and weight. There is a lot to be said for a player that can just throw up the basketball to the rim, and it somehow goes in more times than not. If he actually gave a shit as a defender, he would be a second round draft pick.

Jamil Wilson - Man. I wish this could be a more positive paragraph, but he never reached his potential in his four years. People expected Wilson to make a step this season, and maybe vault himself into the draft yet that did not happen. Continually, he disappeared from basketball games where he would score 10 points quickly then fade away for the next 10 to 15 minutes.  Wilson had a great skill set of power, speed and ability to shoot the basketball. This might be one of the greatest 'What if''s of the Marquette program. Because if Wilson played to his potential, Golden Eagles would have had a greater program at this point.

Jake Thomas - I criticized Thomas for the whole year because of his inconsistent play along with his lack of defense. At the beginning of February,  a friend asked me 'Why does he play so much' and I could not provide a reasonable answer. Now, he finished the year pretty strongly with some big games here and there so that's good for him. He redeemed himself from the earlier part of the season. But if Thomas getting an inordinate amount of playing time leads to a Marquette transfer as Rubie Q of Anonymous Eagle and others have hypothesize, that will be a death knelt to anything Thomas did during his time with the team.

Derrick Wilson - Watching UW-Milwaukee play UW-Green Bay, it became clear the two point guards in the game were better than anything Marquette trotted out a daily basis. Who knows if Jordan Aaron or Kiefer Skyes guard would be better than Wilson, but the fact of the matter that I at least gave it some thought speaks volume about the point guard play for Marquette this season from its senior. You would imagine with a senior point guard, there would be some definite leadership and he could put the team on his shoulders when they needed it the most yet that did not happen at all throughout the duration of the season.

These five seniors will always be looked at differently given what happened this season. They would be seen in a different light if they kept the winning tradition alive instead they will be looked at as the ones whom were privileged from the prior success and thought everything came easy which it did not.

Charlie.

The Great Marquette Escape

There are something to be said for coming away from a game no matter what sport where the team you cheer for won a game they should not have or things should have ended differently.  Some of those games are ones where your team trails for most of the game, and somehow found a way to win. The other version is where they blew a lead and really was not the better team heading down the stretch of the game.

The latter was Marquette as they found a way to get out of Chicago with a 96-94 overtime victory over DePaul. Golden Eagles get a big second half effort from Chris Otule plus big games from the bench but concerns have to remain about their defense for the final games of the season.

There are not many games in his long career with Marquette where the team could point Otule's play to be the difference in the game. But he played fantastic in the second half to keep the Golden Eagles in the game as they were on the ropes blowing a 15 point early second half lead. It is hard to fathom praising a center that did not even have a defensive rebound, but Otule pulled down four huge offensive rebounds that were all converted into points for him. If Marquette does not have Otule's offensive rebounds, they probably lose the game in regulation. Otule is probably the most likable guy on the Marquette roster, and it is always nice to see him get a feather in his cap late in his career.

Otule's strong second half play helped Marquette in a major way, but the bench of Davante Gardner and Todd Mayo proved to be equally big. Gardner bounced back from his Creighton game to have 22 points in variety of bursts throughout the game. He was at a standstill with eleven points all in the first half to come on with a strong finish getting another eleven. He got to line 16 times, the second-highest total for Gardner this season as he went 20 times against Southern. Five out of the six games where Gardner went to the line at least 10 times, the team won the game. Gardner is shooting 77 percent from the line and him getting their multiple times is crucial for this team to win basketball games.

Mayo had another great game going for 19 points where all of his points came from inside the 3-point arc or from the free throw line. This is great to see with Mayo. With all the bad shit that happened this season, one of the more encouraging things have been the growth of Mayo as a basketball player. He is not just a three-point shooter off the bench anymore, rather he is a guy that can be either a slasher or a three-point threat. The fact Mayo only shot one three tells me he is confident in his overall game versus not trusting his three right now even though he has not had one three since the game against Butler in early February.

Even with Mayo, Otule and Gardner giving a great offensive effort, Marquette's defensive effort was putrid at best. They pitched a shutout against DePaul for the first seven minutes of the game only to give up 41 points in the next 13. That's hard to believe as they are without their star player Cleveland Melvin. Marquette also let DePaul go 14/29 from three. The continued narrative for Marquette's defense is they cannot stop a good perimeter team. The last two games Marquette given up 26 threes. Golden Eagles need to find a better way to close out, or reconfigure their defense to stop allowing it to happen. If they can recreate their defense against Xavier last Saturday, Marquette will be golden.

Marquette is still desperately hanging on to the bubble. They are not on it as of today, but Golden Eagles still have a chance if they keep winning basketball games. Marquette gets a couple days off before a late night battle against Georgetown on Thursday, a game the Golden Eagles have to win.

Charlie.

Marquette Misses Another Marquee Victory

Marquette Golden Eagles had won three straight games before heading into their battle with eleven-ranked Creighton at home on Wednesday night. If Golden Eagles won the game, bubble discussion could at least start happening even if they were a couple games away from that being legitimate, but instead, Marquette fell to Creighton, 85-70 due to a hot shooting night from the Bluejays, not capitalizing from the free throw line, Jays making Davante Gardner disappear and a ref show of epic proportions.

Creighton is one of the best offenses in the country. They make their living on playing an up-tempo offense and not playing much defense in the process. The latter part did not come to bite them on Wednesday as Creighton used a one-two punch like a great WWE tag-team. In the first half, Ethan Wragge came up big with four three-pointers and in the second half, Doug McDermott, the National Player of the Year, heated up to finish with 25 points including a complete dagger three from the artist known as Dougie McBuckets to put the Jays up eight after Marquette pulled within five.

Marquette could not keep up with Creighton's offense for the entire game. Check out Cracked Sidewalks Twitter feed for more information from an advanced angle. This was Marquette's worst defensive performance of the season. Even though Marquette has been a decent defensive team, they were fully exposed on Wednesday when it came to not closing out on three-point shooters. This plagued Marquette all season and it continued Wednesday night. Wragge was a horrendous matchup for the Golden Eagles as Gardner's defense is about as useful as a canoe with wheels and Chris Otule cannot get out on shooters nor should be expect him to truthfully.

It is hard to say Buzz Williams should have done something differently on Wednesday with the defense. He tried a press for awhile. He tried a zone. I mean Williams seemed to do everything besides emptying the kitchen sink. Just like Villanova struggled twice with Creighton, Marquette does not match up well at all with this squad. The only defense I can think of that would give the Jays some trouble would be a 1-3-1 zone, but Marquette does not have enough athletes to play that defense. While this is the very last thing to complain about, the officials created atmosphere where physical play could not happen making things 10 times more difficult. Additionally, it did not help Marquette let everyone else go off in the first half when McDermott scuffled to begin the game.

In the last two games where Marquette won, Golden Eagles were 54 of 61 from the free throw line that equates out to about 88 percent from the charity stripe. In a game that featured ridiculous officiating, Marquette had a chance to earn points from the line. They went a disgusting 20/36 making only 55 percent of their free throws. What the hell happened?  Well for one, Otule and Derrick Wilson combined missed nine of the 16.  Both of them are some of the worst free throw shooters on the team, but it did not help that Todd Mayo, one of their better free throw shooters, missed four as well. Marquette could have made this a much closer game than it ended up being by the sound of the final buzzer if they made free throws happen.

For as bad of a defensive team Creighton is, it surprises me how good of a book they have on Davante Gardner. Until yesterday, Gardner had scored at least 10 points since January 11th against Seton Hall. But in his two games against Creighton this season, Gardner has a total of 12 points on only five field goal attempts. I do not know if it is the rotating physical big men that give Gardner trouble or their defense does not allow for him to get the open looks. I will say some of the calls Davante usually gets inside were not in the first half, but still that's not excuse for him only getting three field goal attempts when he is averaging nine and a half. Once again, another bad matchup disabling Marquette on Wednesday night.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the putrid officiating that took place at the BMOHBC.  It was horrible both ways. Officials, Mike Stuart, Mike Eades and Jeff Anderson did not know whether they wanted to call a tight game or a loose game in the first half. And then in the second half, officials whistled every little thing disrupting the flow of the game making it extremely hard to watch in person and I would willing to bet worse on television. Hopefully, this is not a trend for the coming month as officials might head back to the November way of calling everything. Let's pray this group was blind drunk with power and thought everyone in attendance was there to see them.

Marquette is basically in the same holding pattern they have been in all year. The inability to win when the spotlight shines the brightest has crippled this unit. They have to travel to the terrordome that is DePaul on Saturday before heading home for a big one with Georgetown next Thursday. Even if their tournament hopes are about as small as a pebble of sand, they need to keep winning basketball games and not quit on the season.

Charlie.

Jamil Wilson, O-Boards & Free Throws equal a Marquette Victory

Marquette had a week off before heading to New Jersey to play Seton Hall. Golden Eagles had been flip-flopping wins and losses more than a local politician. Somehow, Marquette found themselves in the middle of the Big East which is a current trainwreck, but they could develop some separation from some of the others. Marquette rebounded from 20 bad minutes of basketball to win 77-66 with Jamil Wilson's biggest effort of the season along with Golden Eagles cleaning up on the glass and the free throw line yet concerns are still there about this team.

Other than Jake Thomas, Wilson suffered the most criticism of any Marquette player this season. Reason being is most Marquette fans put him on a pedestal assuming he would make the 'senior leap' as we have seen with Golden Eagles players before. This did not happen with Wilson. He is one of the most athletic players in Buzz Williams' tenure, but at the same time, one of the most frustrating players to watch. Wilson stepped up in a major way on Tuesday night.

Wilson came out firing against the Pirates nailing four straight threes and another basket having 14 quick points. He is only a 32 percent 3-point shooter so it came with much surprise when Wilson made it rain out there like he had unlimited dollar bills. He finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds notching his second double-double of the season. Wilson seemed to be involved with the offense more so than other games of remembrance. For the first time this season, it felt like the offense actually ran through him. This could be a very encouraging sign moving forward with Marquette. In the last two games, Wilson is averaging 21 points and eight rebounds a game. Hopefully, this is not just another trick by the magician.

What does not get talked about much is how Marquette really is not a good free throw shooting team. For the second, they rank tied for 202nd by shooting 68 percent from the charity stripe. I do not think there have been many games where Marquette lost the game from the line, yet still, it is an elephant in the room for this squad. They did a great job Tuesday night making 30 of 34 free throws. Sometimes, the difference from a game being a 10 point advantage to a nail-biter finish is free throws. Further, Marquette going to the line 34 times is a great thing. They shot only 14 threes and got to the line 34 times; this should be the prototype for this team.

Marquette had their own issues with giving up offensive rebounds, but last night, they were the time giving it to the opposition. One of the big reasons the Golden Eagles won this game was their ability to clean up around the glass. Chris Otule, Davante Gardner and Wilson all pulled down three or more offensive rebounds providing another offensive opportunity for Marquette which they usually converted on with 14 second-chance points. Additionally, Seton Hall only had three offensive rebounds and only had 19 for the game. I hope the Golden Eagles big men and the whole team watch this tape seeing how well they can rebound game in, game out.

While it was great to see Marquette fight back and get a big win, there were still some noticeable concerns with the Golden Eagles.  Seton Hall shot 53 percent from the field, and at certain points of this game, Pirates were shooting around 60 percent. If it were not for the free throws and offensive rebounds, Marquette could have gotten wiped out. Additionally, Seton Hall made 10 threes including five of them from Brian Oliver, the second-best shooter in the Big East. Oliver found himself open more times than not. Golden Eagles need to find a way to be better perimeter defenders. I do not know if this starts with who plays at guard position or what, but it might be Marquette's biggest defect this season.

Marquette has now won two straight games. They win another game, it will be a winning streak. They have happened before. It will not be easy taking on Xavier. Golden Eagles will be tied for third in the Big East, and the conversation about the bubble can start again. But until then, Marquette is still on the outside looking in but another win continues to give everyone hope.

Charlie.

A Marquette's Victory Sandwich with Heaps of Mayo

Marquette Golden Eagles trailed by 10 points with 15 minutes left in the game to lowly Butler Bulldogs team. This is not your older brother's Butler team as they only holds two Big East wins in conference, and frankly not very good this season. Combined with Marquette's effort against St. John's, their poor play for the first 25 minutes of this game, the feeling became like the Golden Eagles may have packed in the season and gave up completely on their chances to turn around the season essentially accepting mediocrity.

Except when they hit the lowest of lows, they bounced back with a vengeance. Marquette came back to beat Butler, 69-62, in a second half that featured Marquette doubling their point total from the first half along with a coming out party of sorts for Todd Mayo, Golden Eagles most reliable player. They willed this game away from Butler, and once again put themselves at .500 in the Big East chaos in the middle.

Mayo does not have the cleanest record with Marquette or their fanbase. He missed half of his sophomore year to sort things out. He hung out in the offseason with brother O.J., of the then Dallas Mavericks in South Africa missing team activities raising speculation. Mayo also missed the Wisconsin game this year for a violation of team rules. But like teams, sometimes it takes a player a long time to figure their shit out, and who they are as a person. Signs point to Mayo growing into a different player and potentially a star player.

After Marquette escaping Seton Hall, I made a mention about Mayo becoming a star on this team. No one really found me crazy, but no one really agreed with me either. I am not trying to call myself Marqustradamus, but man, something seemed different with Mayo. He played fully engaged and did not worry about making a mistake plus his clutch free throws against Seton Hall and Villanova for that matter is something that cannot be taught. Since then, Mayo sent the Georgetown game to overtime in a comeback victory, nearly won the Villanova game by his damn self scoring the last 10 points and played a great second half versus Butler on Tuesday night.

There are still some flaws in Mayo's game, but he deserves to be playing 30 or more minutes without question. I have no idea if he has a Manu Ginobili quirk with starting, but regardless, Mayo should be a 30+ minute player for the rest of the season. The team is better when he is on the court. The thing that is dangerous about Mayo is he can make a 3-pointer in an opponent's face then take him to the lane on the subsequent possession. He is not just a 3-point shooter nor just a slasher, Mayo is balanced instant offense when he gets started up like he did on Tuesday night against Butler. Hopefully, things have clicked and he is ready for a major February and March.

Along with Mayo, Marquette seemed to really have a rotation that worked for them with a four guard lineup with Chris Otule in the middle. It featured Derrick Wilson, Jake Thomas, Deonte Burton, Mayo and Otule. They played great together, and even with Otule, they played fast and aggressive. This needs to be one of the rotations for Buzz Williams, and find a version of this involving the likes of Jamil Wilson and Davante Gardner. The rotation issue appears to be a Rubix Cube for Williams, and maybe he has at least solved a fourth of it.

Jamil deserves a mention for his play today even though his minutes in the second half became limited with foul trouble. Wilson had 17 points with six rebounds including the only one to have a great first half for Marquette. Everyone put Jamil on a pedestal to start the season. Everyone expected him to be a star, and simply put, he will never be a star rather just a complementary good player. While it is annoying with his fouls and disappearing in the offense, Wilson has scored in double-digits now in seven of Marquette's nine Big East games. So while there is a disappointment about his play this season, it may not be as bad of a season as some want to say it is for Wilson.

Marquette gets a week off meaning they will have ample time to prepare for Seton Hall, a team they beat soundly for 30 minutes and then fell apart late yet held on for victory. Additionally, they head to an arena that has given them all sorts of trouble and both teams are in the mix with six teams within two games of third place in the Big East. Let's see if the Golden Eagles can do the unthinkable and win two straight games. It has happened before.

Charlie.