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.

Big East Ref Show Tour Makes a Stop in Milwaukee

College basketball games are supposed to take about two hours roughly to finish. 45 minutes or so for the first half and another 45 minutes for the second with minutes for halftime. Georgetown and Marquette took two hours and 25 minutes to finish on Thursday night. The game featured 51 fouls including two horrid technicals but in the end, we need a winner which was Marquette, 75-73.  Golden Eagles had big games from Davante Gardner, Jake Thomas and Marquette is not dead yet.

But back to the #REFSHOW that took place in Milwaukee on Thursday night. Wonder if the ticket stubs had 'Come see the Refs featuring Georgetown-Marquette!'  Personally if I am a Georgetown fan, I would be more pissed than I am this morning. Not just because the Hoyas fell in a must-win game, but due to the officials fouling out two big men with two others playing with four fouls as Nate Lubick and Moses Ayegba left before the 10 minute mark of the second half. Georgetown received the worst end of the stick when it came to the officials and if I am the Hoyas, I would be livid at the officiating.

Big East needs to send out a memo if this how the officials are going to ref the games moving forward. A must-win game became unwatchable rather quickly and that's a shame. Hopefully, they can find a balance where there are some calls here and there, maybe some questionable ones, but let's have a flow to this game versus every time down a whistle appears. Related, I went three paragraphs without complaining about how Marquette missed eleven free throws that nearly cost them the game shows how bad both ways these officials were for the full 40 minutes.


With the officials fouling the Georgetown big men out, Davante Gardner saw blood in the water like an oversized shark. He ended the game with 26 points and seven rebounds. Bradley Hayes is seven foot, but Gardner made him look like a dwarf out there dominating in the lane. To Marquette's credit, they kept feeding the beast in the second half and did not waver from it minus a couple shots from Todd Mayo that would make Russell Westbrook blush. When Gardner is at his best, we see the wide array of post moves he has to offer plus he draws fouls which he did going to the line 12 times. In the last two games, Gardner is averaging 24 points, hopefully this is a sign of a big late season push from the Marquette big man.

If you read this blog, I heavily criticized Jake Thomas throughout the year with wondering why he played and why others guys were not playing. But in the last couple games, Thomas has been great. He had a career-high 22 points making six of nine from 3-point range last night. He hit all shots in rhythm plus Thomas looked confident as ever to nail down these big threes. Nothing better than to see him turn around season. I am more than happy to eat crow with Thomas. While 22 points should not be the expectation, let's hope he starts becoming a 10 to 15 points a game threat in these final games of the season.

There are couple other news and notes from this one. Juan Anderson had four points which is above his average, but he seemed more confident than he has in the past couple of games. Because of Thomas and Gardner's play, we will sort of forget how Jamil Wilson only had three points and Mayo only had six points. Even though he did not score, I liked a lot of what I saw from John Dawson in this one. Finally, 20 assists for Marquette will likely win them ball games. The ball movement was as good as I have seen it from this squad.

Marquette is still not dead for NCAA Tournament talk. They are like a zombie where Marquette keeps wavering around yet no one can seem to kill them. Golden Eagles take on their final marquee game of the season in a road trip against eighth-ranked Villanova. This is a great chance for the Golden Eagles to become more than just a zombie.

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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.

Bad Second Half Bites Marquette

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.

Five Ways to Improve Marquette Basketball

Seton Hall-Marquette game really summed up the season for this Golden Eagles team. It really did show a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde performance from this team with a great first half to have a putrid second half almost costing this team a home victory against the Pirates. Honestly, if this game went for five more minutes, there is no doubt in my mind that Marquette loses this basketball game. So here is the question that probably cannot be answered, 'How do we get the Marquette from the first half all the time?' I am going to attempt to make five suggestions.

1.) 3-pointers are not friends of Marquette - For the last two years, Marquette cannot shoot from the outside. They had a good night at Xavier where they made six threes on 13 attempts. That is a good night shooting from the outside for Marquette's standards. They really should only shoot about that total give or take for most of the games. Golden Eagles shot 10 threes in the second half and missed them all. Is there any other reason why this team nearly lost the game?  Nope. That is unacceptable for this team. Golden Eagles are their best when they are striking towards the basket and making plays rather standing around the outside trying to make something happen. 

2.) Jake Thomas experiment needs to end - I have no idea what's happening here with Thomas. I cannot explain it. My buddy and biggest Badger homer I know, Doz, asked me at the bar Saturday 'What's up with Jake Thomas getting all these minutes, I do not know if he plays at all on the worst Bo Ryan Badgers team.' When your Wisconsin friends are saying things like that, it probably needs to come to an end. Thomas is providing this team with nothing playing 30 minutes a game. He had open looks from 3-point land where is his quote 'specialty' and Thomas clanked all of them. FOX Sports analyst Kevin O'Neil basically called him useless, but he said it in a more polite manner. Marquette has too much talent on this roster to keep trotting out Thomas for more than 20 minutes a night. Further Thomas' effectiveness might be better out there for a shorter period of time instead because he spends a ton of energy on defense due to his lack of prowess on that end.   

3.) Todd Mayo might becoming a star - Am I getting a little Jon Gruden here?  Yeah I am. Do I trust Mayo will stay the course? Not really, no, I think he is on his final chance with the program and university but then again, I thought that last year around this team. In the last five games, Mayo has been a double-digit scorer for this team with him playing really efficiently and not relying on his 3-point shot which is truly important to Mayo's development. He made nine free throws on Saturday against Seton Hall having 19 points in total meaning he is attacking the lane. Now, Mayo should be starting, but I like to think he is one of those Manu Ginobli type meaning he prefers to come off the bench. If it is not the latter, Mayo should be starting for the rest of the year without question. 

4.) Davante Gardner needs to be a rebounding machine - These last two reasons will be me banging a drum from a couple recaps I have had in the last couple of weeks. Gardner had five rebounds on Saturday against Seton Hall bringing his five game average to a sparkling 3.8 which would be good if he played point guard. But Gardner is a power forward meaning he needs to be around the six to eight rebounds per game. Marquette is not going to be beat some of the better teams in the Big East if Gardner is only pulling down only four rebounds a game. I honestly believe this is complete laziness from his end. The man can put his ass into anyone, and get a rebound or at the very least, get a foul out of the opposing team. It should be easy for Gardner to grab five rebounds, and it should not be too  much to ask for him to get close to 10. 

5.) Jamil Wilson cannot be a magician - The disappearing act from Wilson is something I have only seen from one player in recent memory, Wisconsin's Marcus Landry. In his senior year, Landry had the same sort of expectations that Wilson had when the season began. Wilson had the first half that I think we as Marquette fans expected all season then he disengaged from the offense in the second half leading to Wilson only having 16 points rather than a 20 or 25 point afternoon when he started the game off with 12 points in the first half. Additionally, Wilson had only his second double-double of his career which is stunning to think about given his size and stature. Jamil needs to be more than just a role player. Landry never got past that, and my biggest fear is Wilson will remain status quo.

This Marquette team still has a lot of work, but a win is a win. They now get a week off before heading out for a road trip to Butler and Georgetown in two games in three days. Both games are entirely important to Marquette's dimming tournament hopes. Let's hope Marquette is not okay with 'just winning' this team and staying the course because if they are, this team is doomed.

Charlie. 

X Marks the Marquette Struggles

It is hard to say a game in early January is a must-win for a college basketball team, but for Marquette, it
seemed like this was the case. They yet to have a marquee win on the year, and Golden Eagles could have achieved it on Thursday night by getting a road win against Xavier. This did not happen with Musketeers getting their eighth straight win beating Marquette, 86-79 in a game where Marquette once again struggled in late game situations, continued rebounding issues and Jamil Wilson disappeared again putting Golden Eagles' back entirely up against the wall.

This feels like a broken record at this point, but Marquette showed great fight in a losing effort. They were down double-digits at the early stages of the second half, and Golden Eagles found ways to battle back with hitting 3-pointers as well as playing tough defense in stages. The game was tied with a little under five minutes left to play yet from there but Xavier took any dreams of stealing a win by going on an 8-0 run with two big threes from Semaj Christon. The most frustrating part of this is Christon only shoots 1.5 threes per game and he nails two big balls threes in the biggest moment of the game. He took the top dog spot late when it was needed for Xavier, if only Marquette had that sort of thing.

For the first time in awhile, a team annihilated Marquette on the glass. Xavier did a complete glass cleaning against Marquette by outrebounding them 39-20.  The fact Marquette only grabbed 20 defensive rebounds is absolutely incredible in the sense they still had a chance in this basketball game. It comes from Davante Gardner's inability to rebound the basketball. Despite being the biggest guy on the court usually (Xavier's Matt Stainbrook was a behemoth inside and I would love to see Gardner-Stainbrook-Joshua Smith in a steel cage), Gardner does not really seem to care about rebounding the basketball. In the last five games, Gardner is averaging 3.8 rebounds a game as a power forward. That is entirely unacceptable. There is no reason why he cannot throw his ass into somebody and pull down at least five boards a game, do not let his average fooled you.

Another big problem in Marquette's defeat was Jamil Wilson struggling to be a true threat  to score. He had his worst game of the year. Wilson only had five points only shot five times and fouled out with five minutes left in the game. Looking at Wilson's games this year, he is turning in a very inconsistent season without any defining moments. In some of the marquee games, Wilson seemed to shoot more even if he did not make many (Wisconsin game where he went 7/19) or he just did not become part of the game. He needs to go Keyshawn Johnson at some point and just demand the damn ball. There is nothing wrong with being selfish and taking control of the scoring. It will open up the middle for Gardner, and there is no reason to think Wilson cannot find seams in an opposing defense.

Marquette has seven losses. They are virtually nowhere near close to the NCAA Tournament therefore no real reason to talk about it. Golden Eagles probably need to win all of their games for the rest of the month winning at tough environments like Butler and Georgetown even if both teams are having rough years as well as beat the Big East leader Villanova at home. Additionally, a strong February with no bad losses is probably needed for Marquette to be in the conversation of the tournament come March. It is straight uphill from here and it does not seem like Marquette has enough to climb the mountain.

Charlie.

Gardner Guides Marquette past DePaul

The first 30 minutes of the DePaul-Marquette game felt like rock bottom.  This team has been struggling all season, but not to the level where they would be trailing everyone's little brother DePaul by 10 points in the second half at home. Marquette had not lost to DePaul at home since 2001 when I was in sixth grade. Things honestly looked grim for Marquette, but Davante Gardner took control of the game giving Marquette a bolt of energy it needed. Could this be a turning point in the season, or did Golden Eagles just take care of business against a team they are supposed to beat plus what's up with JaJuan Johnson's minutes?

The thing that stuck with me from this game is Marquette could have easily quit in this game and let DePaul win this basketball game. Basketball is probably the one sport when you can definitely see a team quit and Golden Eagles definitely could have laid down letting DePaul win this basketball game, but they did not allow it to happen. Instead, they started nailing down some 3-point shots which in turn opened up the middle for Gardner whose been struggling as of late. He stepped up in the moment after being called out by his coach, Buzz Williams earlier in the week for his sluggish play. 

The head coach had a right to call out Gardner. There is really no leader on this basketball team which is another story for another blog post, but some player needed to grab this team by the collective balls, possibly that player is Gardner which would be my assumption as to why Williams targeted Gardner. Marquette's big man in the last four games before DePaul, he managed only 32 total points and barely grabbed down any rebounds. He still struggled a bit from the rebounding angle getting only six against the Blue Demons, but that is still an upgrade from what Gardner's output has been in the last couple of games. A leader sometimes is not a player who is yelling and screaming rather a player making the biggest plays in the game. It was 40-30 DePaul with 15 minutes left, and Gardner plus the others ended the game on a 30-16 run which was 30-9 before a late 7-0 DePaul run. Marquette found their stride in the final 15 minutes. 

Out of all the things that happened with the game, maybe the most puzzling thing is the lack of minutes for freshman JaJuan Johnson. There is definitely a feel that Williams is not really keen on playing many freshmen. I have no idea how Johnson at least gets 10-15 minutes a game to give Jake Thomas a breather. Honestly, I have no idea why him or Deonte Burton does not start over him at this point. Even though Thomas had some clutch 3-pointers on Saturday, he is nowhere near a starter in the Big East or any power conference. Against Samford, Johnson gave Marquette 25 minutes and had 14 points yet in the first two conference games, he played a full seven minutes all against Creighton. There seems like a disconnect there. Hopefully whatever issue Williams has with Johnson against high quality teams dissolves sooner rather than later. 

It is hard to tell what to expect from Golden Eagles moving forward even with their win against DePaul. Like this is a team they are supposed to beat meaning this win should not be a rallying cry for a 'saving of the season' at this point. There is a long way to go, and as I mentioned on Friday, expectations should not be very high right now meaning it is okay to take what is given right now. Xavier on the road Thursday will be a true test and Seton Hall at home this next weekend will not be an easy task either. 

Charlie.