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 Providence Knockout

AMC does theme weeks almost every week with their movies. This week, it has been the Rocky saga. If Rocky, I really have no time for you as an individual, but I digress. Marquette-Providence felt a little bit like Rocky II even though Providence is nowhere near an 'Apollo Creed' of college basketball and Marquette is not a 'Rocky' of the sport either instead one is on the rise for the first time in years and the other is a great disappointment.
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The reason it felt like the movie is Marquette took all sorts of punches from Providence throughout the game and battled back to have a lead late in the game. Friars forced overtime and a second one where they were victorious, 81-80, where Marquette had Providence on their heels yet failed to deliver the final knockout punch.  Derrick Wilson turning in one of his worst games of his starting career aided the problems for Marquette as well as Buzz Williams keeping two timeouts in his pocket along with another disappointing effort from Jamil Wilson and how Todd Mayo has become my Marquette little brother.

Unlike others around college basketball, Derrick Wilson is finishing off his senior season with a complete whimper. The last couple of games have been quite the disappointment for Wilson. This game was no different. The worst came from him in the waning moments of the game. The worst of it being his fifth foul of the game where he reached for a jump ball against Providence's star Bryce Cotton instead of playing defense in the final Friar possession of the game. Cotton made both free throws and won the game. Wilson is known for his defense; that's why Buzz has him out there yet Derrick did not trust him to make a stop against Cotton whom without question was taking the final shot of the game. Such a shame. Let's also not forget he walked the ball up with only 10 seconds left in the first overtime period with no sense of urgency causing a terrible final possession and a bad travel as well. In the end, Wilson put a bun on the dumpster fire sandwich he had on Tuesday night.  

The reason why Cotton got the two free throws were not all Wilson's fault. Marquette had a one-point lead and got the ball back after Providence had a slashing basket. There were 10 seconds left and Williams had two timeouts left. Jake Thomas caught the inbound  pass and instead of trying to dribble or pass to keep the ball away from Providence, he anticipated the foul. With that, Cotton went for the ball and forced a jump ball giving the Friars an extra possession. If Williams gets a timeout there, Marquette at least gets another chance to make a three-point game at the free throw line. I have no idea why no one is thinking about the timeout there. I am sorry, but the ineptitude of this team is mind-blowing. Wilson and Thomas's plays were stuff you would see at the local high school when the freshman team plays, not a high level college basketball team.

The other Wilson on the team was not much better on Tuesday with another game where Jamil Wilson rode the struggle bus in a major way. Jamil's stat line was a sight for sore eyes as he went 4/15 from the field having only eleven points with only getting to the free throw line twice. The senior forward threw up countless mid-range jumpers and nothing was falling for him. The refusal for Wilson to take it to the tin is stunning and amazing. The guy is a beast in size but the mentality of Jamil is that of a soaking wet 140 pound point guard. He could easily be a four with his size on countless teams, but instead, he is a three scared to attack the lane. Everyone will look back on Jamil's career and wonder what if for the next couple of years.

There is such a love/hate relationship right now with Todd Mayo. He did some really dumb things on Tuesday night. He had three turnovers, fouled a guy twice on attempting a three which are bad; Mayo also had 26 points, eleven rebounds and made four threes which are good. While fouling a guy twice on a three is horrible, you cannot say Mayo did not hustle his ass off and attempt to make a play on the ball. Sure it was stupid, but at least he gives a damn. I do not know if I can say about every player on this roster, but I can about Mayo. Let's hope Mayo stays out of trouble in the coming months and has the ability to be a great senior for this team because I believe the future is still bright for him.

For those wondering, Marquette will need a Big East tournament win to be in the tournament. If that happens, they are likely a 12 or a 13 at best so I do not know if you want it.  Marquette has a chance to close out strong and play spoiler against St. John's on Saturday morning in the two Wilsons, Chris Otule, Davante Gardner and Jake Thomas' final game.

Charlie.  

Marquette Shows Its True Colors in Villanova Defeat

The faith in Marquette taking down Villanova on Sunday afternoon was the same faith that one might have in seeing Will Ferrell get an Academy Award... Very little. For the entire year, Marquette failed to step up when the lights shined the brightest and once again, it held true as Golden Eagles fell to eighth-ranked Villanova, 73-56 in a dominating performance. For what seems like the 10th time this year, Marquette could not grab a marquee win. Buzz Williams technical, Jamil Wilson's disappearance, free throw shooting and Derrick Wilson plagued this team on Sunday.

There has been much discussion about the Big East officials in the past couple of weeks probably too much, but Buzz apparently had enough yesterday. He received a technical after Jake Thomas appeared to get a timeout on the sideline yet the officials did not grant him one. Williams could not have picked a worst time for him to get teed up late in the first half. Villanova had an eight to 10 point lead for a majority of the first 20 minutes. Marquette started to gain some steam pulling the lead down to six before Williams drew a technical. Villanova would make the two free throws and Darrun Hillard hits a three to put Nova up eleven as they hit halftime.

Marquette did not get closer than six points for the rest of the game. While it is totally understandable to see Williams' frustration with the call, his technical changed the direction of the game. If he is a first or second year coach, we could excuse the outburst, but not Williams whose been there for awhile. Coaches are not perfect nor should anyone expect them to be, but there needs to be something to just pump the breaks. Marquette might have had the same outcome if Williams did not get the technical, but Golden Eagles needed a perfect game which getting technicals are not a part of it.  

Another thing hindering Marquette from playing perfect was Jamil Wilson pulling a disappearing act. Wilson has been great for almost the entire month of February minus the St. John's performance and then he completely crumbled in a game that should have benefited him. Villanova does not have a player that can play with Wilson on the perimeter with the same size yet he could not take advantage. Wilson's stat line looked like the fourth player off the bench with five points, only made shot on four attempts and only playing 21 minutes. The last part could have been his coach realizing Wilson did not have it on Sunday afternoon. It is hard to believe the senior 'leader' of this team failed to show up in the biggest game. 

While in the grand scheme of things this probably did not make a difference, but Marquette was below or near their average for the fourth straight game. Three of the four featured the Golden Eagles dipping well below their average of 70.8 percent including yesterday's game where Marquette went 64 percent from the field. This is sort of bizarre after the team went 54/61 in two straight games against Seton Hall and Xavier before falling apart on the line. This could likely be blamed on the usual inconsistency of this whole Marquette team throughout the year.  

Derrick Wilson had a great February, but his March looked like November from him. It felt like the game was too big for him which should not happen as he is a senior whose played in big games, but that's what it looked like with Wilson. He played tentative and forced some shots that were not there plus his defensive was subpar to say the least. With seniors you would like to see them close out strong and Wilson did not get off on the right foot of his last month of college basketball.  

My buddy Coach asked me 'What are Marquette's chances of the NCAA Tournament without a Big East Conf. Champ win?'  I said five percent. There are still chances for some craziness, but Marquette looks completely on the outside. Truthfully, the last thing this team deserves is an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

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.

An Unlikely Duo of Thomas & Wilson Powers Marquette

Marquette basketball season has been one where not much went right. But in the last couple weeks, it seems like the Golden Eagles are finally starting to figure things out. They have now won three straight games after beating Xavier, 81-72 in front of a packed house at the Bradley Center, and the team appears to be rounding into form. Golden Eagles received great effort from Jake Thomas, Derrick Wilson's continued strong play and Marquette once again being able to close out a victory.

If you read this blog or follow me on Twitter, there is no one I am harder on than Jake Thomas. The reason I harbor this anger towards Thomas is I feel he takes up time from other guys whom could be contributing in more ways than what Thomas does for the team. But on Saturday, he served me and the rest of the Marquette fan base a heaping pile of crow. Thomas drilled six three pointers as well as going 5-5 to begin the game and became the difference for Marquette. In their short time of being conference foes, Thomas has a personal ownership over Xavier with eleven threes and scoring 35 points in two games against them.

Let's hope this is not a blip on the radar for Thomas. Maybe this jump starts him a bit for the final part of the season. The expectations are not 15-20 points honestly, rather Thomas making a couple threes for Marquette to add some outside scoring. It becomes frustrating when he does not have even an attempt midway through the second half. Thomas' ability to make threes makes Marquette's offense more open than it is when the threes are not falling for this team. This also means I need to keep quiet on Thomas for at least a couple games unless something terrible happens with him. Thomas showed his worth on Saturday afternoon.

Another player whose been heavily criticized throughout the year, Derrick Wilson, put together one of his better games of his career.  Wilson had nine points, four assists and a career-high six steals. Also not showing up in the box score is how well he defend Xavier star Semaj Christon holding him to 10 points. Chirston was the difference in the first game these two teams played as he had 28 points, and Wilson along with other Marquette guards shut him down.  Wilson's last five games have been a revelation of sorts with him doing enough to fill up the box score in one way or another. For the second straight season, the point guard is justifying his head coach's decision by the end of the year.

A couple things that might get lost in the shuffle with how good Thomas and Wilson were on Saturday was Jamil Wilson having a quiet 16 points which is his third straight game with 15 points or more. Wilson continues to put together a strong February after the St. John's disaster. Additionally, Marquette once again took care of business from the free throw line making 24 of 27 meaning in the last two games, Golden Eagles have shot 61 free throws only missing seven of them. That's how you win basketball games. Another way to win basketball games is a turnover differential ratio of 19 to five. Marquette took care of business in all facets of the game.

Many people want to have NCAA Tournament aspirations after this game, but as Anonymous Eagle points out, it is way too early to have that conversation. Even if they beat Creighton, it seems like it could be too early to start talking that way. I agree with the usual great AE, but what I found interesting is Todd Fuhrman, a Las Vegas sharp, has Marquette in as an eleven seed playing UConn in the first round with Kentucky being the three seed in the bracket. This system is not a typical bracketology rather looking at all of Vegas' numbers.  One thing I have learned through my formative years is Vegas always knows better than all of us.

Instead of worrying about the bubble, why not let's just have fun for the first time this season with Marquette. In a couple weeks if the winning continues, we can get things bubbling.

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.

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....  

The Marquette Guard Problem

If Marquette wanted to make a run at the bubble, it probably meant getting a marquee win against number four ranked Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Marquette had won 20 straight conference games at home, and Bradley Center figured to be rocking following the Golden Eagles big overtime victory on Monday night at Georgetown. After a spirited Marquette comeback to somehow force overtime, Villanova pulled away in the extra period winning the game, 94-85 dealing the Golden Eagles yet another defeat against an upper echelon team.

This is a classic game where the Wildcats had an answer for Marquette every time they tried to make it close whether it be a big three or Nova getting a key offensive rebound leading to them finding a way to separate themselves. Marquette tying the game at the end of regulation was the closest it had been since 22-21 favoring Villanova. Simply put, this game is a stellar example of why Marquette is an average basketball team compared to be an above average tournament-worthy team, and how Buzz Williams' mismanagement of this roster cost the team another win.

In the last couple years, Williams did a great job making the most of a marginal roster at times finding the right combinations of players to be great together. This year, Williams deals with injuries to Duane Wilson and others as well as Jameel McKay's transfer right before the season. Williams continues to play Jake Thomas and Derrick Wilson despite the evidence on the court showing these two players are eighth and ninth guys on tournament rosters while on a deep team, they are probably playing garbage time. Rasheed Wallace once said 'Ball don't lie', but apparently, Williams does not buy into that theory. 

Villanova always has a talented array of guards with the likes of Scottie Reynolds, Randy Foye, Allen Ray and others. They are good, but in no way are they good enough to outscore Thomas and Wilson by 64 points as James Bell had 30 points, Ryan Arcidiacono and Darrun Hillard II both had 20 points giving them 70 for the game. If you add Todd Mayo as Marquette's third guard, they still get outscored 70-24. That is completely inexcusable, and hopefully, the wake up call Williams needs to see the Golden Eagles need to do something else because this clearly is not working. Worst part of it all might be Thomas did not have a shot attempt until five minutes left in the game. Think about that for a second given what his role is on this basketball team. 

I would love to hear Williams explain why Jajuan Johnson, Deonte Burton, Mayo (Smaller scale) and John Dawson could do any worse. The more infuriating thing was Dawson played his ass off on Monday and keyed the comeback for Marquette yet he only played eight minutes on Saturday. Johnson did not even sniff the court while Burton's time continued to decrease as he only played five minutes. In the last four games, Burton is averaging 5.25 minutes a game while between December 1st-January 9th, Burton averaged 17.77 minutes a game. Did he pooped in the refrigerator at practice or what? None of this really makes sense. 

There is really no reason why Marquette could not basically just have a 'ride the hot hand' situation at guard. It does not matter who starts honestly, but rather, if a player is feeling it, keep them out there versus relying on Thomas and Wilson to make things happen on their own. Relying on those two is like hoping a seven-year battery will be able to start in a polar vortex... Doubtful.

Marquette faces an emerging Providence team on Thursday night whose guard play is one of the better in the Big East. Maybe it is not the players on the court rather the man whom patrols the sidelines that needs to be figure out a way to make these guards come alive because right now, it is not working.

Charlie.