Post-Game - Video Closure

Sorry, we at Cracked Sidewalks have been too bummed to write much about yesterday's loss to Stanford. You all watched the game anyhow. What are we going to tell you? That McNeal is a stud? That the Lopez twins are great players but need to keep their mouths shut? Like you didn't know that.

I'm sure if our heartbreak mends today, we'll write something later. Maybe a few dozen Cadbury bunnies will clear up our angst.

In the meantime..

Tom Crean didn't make it on Homer's radio broadcast, and ESPNNews didn't carry the MU press conference after the game. After Tivo-ing every news broadcast I could find, to hear something from the team, I've got this.

Here's some closure for you:

McNeal Destroys Notre Dame

UPDATED

Jerel McNeal went off for 28 points to defeat #14 Notre Dame in the 2nd round of the BET, in what is the biggest post-season victory for Marquette in the Post-Wade era. Marquette beat the hated Domers 89-79.

Marquette, down 10 early in the 2nd half, came roaring back to take and keep a 10 point lead. MU scored a whopping 57 points in the 2nd half. MU shot a blistering 52% for the night.

McNeal was beyond superlative, hitting 9 for 16, including 4 for 7 from long range. Lazar chipped in 16 and James 10. DJ had 10 points and you take a line score of 10/6/6 any day of the week.

Mo Acker started slow, missing his first couple shots, but he heated up, collecting 11 points with several daggers in the final 5 minutes.

Barro did a very decent job guarding ND's Harangody, who ended up with 13.

Marquette will face Pittsburgh, as the Panthers upset Louisville, who most picked to win the BET. Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel. 8:30 CST, ESPN.

Marquette white-washed Pittsburgh last month, beating them at the Bradley Center by 18 points. Pitt may have some tired legs, using 8 players in their OT win. MU used 11 players tonight, in regulation.

Fire up, Marquette!

• Wrap/Official Box Score
• Video Highlights
• Chicago Tribune's coverage of the game (mostly from an ND perspective)
• Separate story on McNeal by the Chicago Tribune
• Rosiak's Recap
• Rosiak's blog focuses more on the favorable matchups from the 6th seed. Lots of good stuff in Rosiak's blog (as usual)
• ESPN's video highlights of the game

MU Ends Season with Thumping at Syracuse

Marquette, a pre-season Top 10 team, was picked to compete for the Big East Title, instead ended the season with a whimper, losing at Syracuse by fifteen, 87-72.

Marquette could not stop Syracuse's starters, two of whom hit 20+ points, and 4 hit double digits. Syracuse shot a blistering 58%. On the other side of the court, Syracuse served up a 2-3 zone that, for the 800th time, has proven to be Marquette's kryptonite.

Jerel McNeal had 22 points and 6 rebounds, the only bright spot for Marquette.

While my prediction to finish the BE season 11-7 was derided as pessimistic the time, it turned out to be spot on. Marquette returned their entire 10-6 team from last year, but the team I observed in practices and pre-season scrimmages this year appeared to have the exact same strengths and weaknesses as last year's squad. Same team = same results.

However .. while the team met my "expectations" I am disappointed, as they were low expectations. 5 of our 7 BE losses were blowout-double-digit thumpings. 9 of our 11 wins came against the lower half of the Big East. While we had no "bad" losses, we had few wins versus quality teams, winning 3 of 11 games versus Top 50, a stat that does not bode well for the NCAA Tournament.

Many thought we'd compete for the Big East Title. Instead, we ended firmly in the middle of the pack. Three years of the "Big 3" have gained us a 4th place finish, 5th place, and now 6th place. Time is slipping away.

Marquette has locked up the #6 seed in the BET, and should play 8pm CST on Wednesday, most likely versus Seton Hall, who MU beat twice this year. A second round matchup versus Notre Dame is predicted, which is much better than if we were a #5 seed, playing UConn in the 2nd round

AP Wrap / Official Box / Play by Play

Dozens Watch as MU Crushes Pirates

Marquette jumped out to a 30-10 lead in front of an empty Prudential Center, and cruised to an easy 89-64 win.

Lazar Hayward notched another double-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds. Matthews and McNeal chipped in 14 each.

Marquette crushed the Pirates on the boards, with a whopping 43 to 22 advantage.

The Pirates didn't put up much of a fight, except to fight. The coach got Tee'd up early, Nutter, their Sr. captain gave a blatant elbow to James' jaw and was ejected, and Mike Davis decided to say some choice words to Ooze, evoking a double technical. (You can get a technical for Sengalese cuss words?)

Marquette heads back home to play Pittsburgh on Friday at the Bradley Center.

Video clips from TallTitan:


AP Wrap / Box / Play by Play
Rosiak: Nutter Ejection

MU Loses @ Notre Dame

Marquette loses another on the road.

Marquette trailed Notre Dame for most of the game, down 10 with 2:34 to play, heading for a double-digit loss. Playing inspired offense and defense down those last 2 minutes, MU nearly tied the game on a last second shot, but fell short. Final score, 86-83 bad guys.

Dominic James led the Warriors with 23 points, scoring 10 in the final 2 minutes of play, with ND playing soft. Lazar Hayward had 21 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. One sore spot was Jerel McNeal's play, who went 3-15 and missed a layup/dunk attempt while completely unguarded. The Ooze also had a tough day, going 1-9, although he did snag 12 rebounds.

While Marquette still might have lost, the officiating was lopsided, to say the least. The refs awarded Notre Dame 31 free throws to MU's 8, and blew some obvious calls, most notably, a kicked ball that a ref called an over-and-back violation, giving ND the ball.

No one should be surprised Marquette couldn't pull off a victory at Notre Dame today. ND has a 33 game home winning streak (which began after a MU victory 2 years ago). MU was a 5 point dog. MU was 1-3 on the road in the Big East. Notre Dame, while picked to finish 9th in the Big East, is easily one of the top 4 teams in the Big East, and are #21 in the country. It was a game we were supposed to lose, and if there's a bright side, played hard in the 2nd half and weren't blown out like our other road losses.

With the loss, Marquette is solidly in the middle of the Big East, at 6-5 and is on the road to Seton Hall on Tuesday.

For the record, I am now 11 for 11 in picking BE games for CS's pre-season predictions. Let's hope that's right down the stretch, winning 6 of the last 8 games. Hope, hope, hope.

• AP Wrap / Official Box / Play by Play

Marquette Breaks Seal - Beats UC on Road by 15

Marquette wins quality game at Cincinnati, 75-60.

After another slow start that had Marquette down 9 after 16 minutes of play, a new player hit the court. While #41 Ousmane Barro has been on Marquette's roster all year, this Ousamane Barro was someone entirely different.

This Oooze was hitting shot after shot, going 9 for 10.

This Ooze was grabbing rebound after rebound, ending the game with 10.

This Ooze has been on the back of a milk carton, missing in action for a score of games.

An evil twin, perhaps? Maybe it was Ousmane "Barrow", as ESPN flashed on the screen several times.

Lazar Hayward also had a superlative game again, hitting 19 points for the second game in a row. In total, 4 MU players hit double figures, with Ooze, Lazar, Matthews and McNeal reaching. McNeal also dished off a whopping 7 assists.

Scott Christoperson sparked MU's run, as he entered the game and 5 seconds later, promptly hit this 3: (props to TallTitan)



This is the first road win in the Big East for #16 Marquette (16-4, 6-3), who, let's face it, needed this win badly, losing the past 3 away from the Bradley Center. The win gives MU a solid grip on 3rd place in the Big East, with a 6-3 record. Half the BE season is now complete. Marquette will head into Monday's showdown with Louisville with some good mo-jo.

AP Recap / Play by Play / Box Score
Ooze Montage - Scoring Barrage
JS Online Recap
Rosiak - Wrapping up Cincy
Cincy Newspaper Story
Cincy Columnist on Game

Marquette Road Woes Continue

Marquette was easily beaten by the UConn Huskies today, 89-73. Don't let the 16 point gap fool you. This game wasn't close. When down by 29, Marquette scored 35 points, nearly half their total, in the final 9 minutes to narrow the gap.

Marquette's shooting woes continued for the first 30 minutes of the game, shooting around 28%. As UConn had a 20+ point lead, MU hit a number of late 3 pointers to make their final numbers a respectable 40% from the field and 47% from long range.

Road wins are tough to come by in the Big East. 43 games have been played, only 9 visitors have left the court with a victory. And 5 of those wins were against the 4 worst teams in the BE. We were 3 point underdogs, on the road, half of us predicted this as a loss, and surprise, we lost.

HOWEVER. Marquette's performance during the last two games, road games indeed, has been dismal. UL shot 49% and UConn 54%. MU has been out-rebounded 5 straight games now, with a whopping -11 today. Our game of slash to the basket hasn't worked with enough efficiency to actually win games. Ooze and Burke have a grand total of zero points, 7 rebounds, and 11 fouls between them in the last two games.

In short, while our last two games have been on the road and were expected losses, it's the way we've lost that's most troubling.

Marquette has 6 days off, then plays DePaul on Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

AP Recap / Box / Play by Play

MU Lays Powder Blue Egg @UL

Marquette rolled out its 4th uniform of the year for a big road game versus Louisville on national TV. If you like that color, it was the only bright spot of the game. The Cardinals owned Marquette tonight, with a final score of 71-51.

In short, Marquette couldn't shoot and couldn't rebound. MU hit a meager 30% from the field, and big goose-egg 0-12 from behind the arc.

UL out-rebounded MU by 13. Marquette has a serious rebounding problem, being bested by 13, 10, 4, and 12 over the past 4 games.

Finding a player of the game for Marquette is tough. McNeal had 16 points on 7-17 shooting .. but he also had a whopping 7 turnovers. Blackledge is my personal best off the bench winner. He's consistently added energy on both ends of the floor for several games now, and one wonders why he isn't getting more minutes.

To add injury to insult, Dominic James, in an off-balance attempt at a circus shot, braced his fall and re-injured his bad wrist. No report has been filed on his condition, but with the UConn game three days away, on the road, I would be surprised if DJ heals in time.

So, what does this all mean? Losing at Louisville is not surprising. None of us here at CS predicted this game as win. However, something is to be said about the way in which we lost. Horrendous shooting from long, medium, and short range, which was nearly the opposite of MU's performance 5 days ago vs. Notre Dame. Being out-rebounded each and every game, however, is more of a concern. We've gone .500 being out-rebounded, and I'd expect that to continue if it isn't addressed.

AP Recap / Box / Play by Play

Marquette Stomps ND 92-66

Marquette (13-2, 3-1) scored its first bucket immediately after the opening tip, and never looked back.

Jerel McNeal led MU with 18, but the Warriors had 5 guys in double digits, and the stud of the game was clearly Lazar Hayward.

Lazar poured in 17 on 6-11 shooting, 4 steals and a team high 11 rebounds, a quality double-double in 28 minutes. His performance was superlative, though the rest of the team had a couple dozen highlight reel moments themselves.

Marquette had no answer for ND's Luke Harangody, who easily poured in 29 points. With 15 minutes left, a guy in the row behind me said "That guy is going to hit 30 points." My answer: If we're lucky. -- Harangody is the real deal, and Burke, Ooze, and occasionally Trend Blackledge, "guarded" him to no avail, getting whistled 13 times.

Fortunately, when Marquette did have the ball, they found the net, hitting 46% for the night, and an huge 50% from 3-point land. MU also stole the ball 17 times, and had a great 23 to 13 Assist/TO ratio.

Trend had a quality outing, however, going 3-3, 6 points and two blocked shots in 14 minutes. On the post-game show, Crean gave credit to his wife Joani, who told him to play Trend more. Who knew Joani was the evil genius behind Tom?

Of note, Notre Dame had a couple thousand fans in attendance in the "sold out" Bradley Center. I'd bought tickets for a group of friends, who ended up next to a large Domer section. My good friend, Matt, said it was OK to be so close to them, because "you could see their tears better."

AP Recap / Box Score / Play by Play

JS Audio of Crean's Post Game

Game Shots from 204

ESPN Video Highlights

Since SOMEBODY has to give you the bad news . . .

At the start of the day, MU had never won at Morgantown, losing on both previous trips--dropping a 78-76 loss in 1995, and a 104-85 decision two years ago. MU did nothing to change that record today, dropping a 79-64 decision at the hands of Bob Huggins' Mounaineers.

For most of the game, it looked like this one had the makings of a classic, with each team making well-timed runs to build or retake a lead, which ranged from an early 10 point West Virginia advantage to a 3 point MU margin midway through the 2nd half.

But as with the Syracuse game last season, after playing even for much of the game, MU seemingly ran out of gas with about 6 minutes to play.

With a slim 53 - 50, Alex Ruoff hit one of his 5 treys with 6:28 to go, and that appeared to be the nail in the coffin for Marquette. The Mountaineers used that trey to start a 13-4 run, extending their lead to 12, 66-54 with 2:30 to g0. After that point, that insurmountable lead resulted in a parade to the FT line, where WVU hit 13 of 14 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the victory.

The problems for MU stemmed with the 3 point line--specifically on defense. West Virginia shot 9-18, for 50% for the game. Rebounding was another trouble spot, with the Mountaineers taking a 38-26 advantage in that stat for the game--much of that rebounding advantage built during that final 6 minute stretch.

The game was not without highlights for MU--after a slow start and falling behind 21-11, Marquette turned up the defensive intensity and held WVU without a field goal for nearly a 10 minute stretch in the middle of the first half. FT shooting was the other bright spot, MU posting an 80% performance on 12-15 shooting.

At the start of the season, few (aside from me) at Cracked Sidewalks expected an MU victory in this game. And my thoughts on how tough WVU would be changed after seeing how strong the Mountaineers had responded to Bob Huggins early in the season. I still maintain that this will be one of the four toughest games all season (along with @ND, @UL and Georgetown at home). Still, after seeing how well MU played against Providence last week, hopes of a road victory by the MU faithful were raised, perhaps to unrealistic levels.

MU has a chance to avenge the loss with a quick turnaround game on Tuesday against Seton Hall.

AP Report / Official Box Score / Play By Play

The J/S Online version here.

One for the Record Books:

Next time you're looking for a good MU trivia question, try this on for size:

What is the 10th largest victory margin by a Marquette team?

Answer:
47 pts. 101-54 vs. Wis.-Milwaukee Feb. 9, 1962
47 pts. 74-27 vs. U.S. International Dec. 1, 1984
47 pts. 85-83 vs. Morris Brown Jan. 2, 2002

And now . . .

47 pts. 89-42 vs. Coppin State, Dec 21, 2007

If MU kept records for quickest first basket, James' score about two seconds in set the tone for the game.. As expected, MU put the Eagles of Coppin State away early, running off to a 15-4 lead before the first media time out. A few interesting lineup notes:

--Trend Blackledge started for MU and directed the opening tip.
--Pat Hazel was in for an extended stretch over the last 8 minutes, and showed a couple of nice blocks.
--For the first time in years, MU played a lineup (albeit briefly) featuring 3 bigs: Hazel, Blackledge and Barro
--Despite the absence of the the two best outside shooters, MU had one of its best 3 point shooting games of the year, shooting 9-20 or 45%

Dominic James paced MU wtih 18 points and 8 assists. Jerel McNeal added 18 points of his own, and Lazar Hayward was close behind with 17.

Dwight Burke, after some surprising strong games early in the season, was surprising by his virtual absence tonight, losing not only the starting job but apparently some major minutes to Trend Blackledge. For his part, Blackledge looked much improved over his play from just a few weeks back.

While one might argue that impressive stats are meaningless against marginal competition, one stat stands out as a bright spot that can't be attributed to weak competition--MU shot 24 of 27 (88.9%) from the Free Throw line.

MU improves to 9-1 with Savannah State on 12/29 standing the way of Big East play.

AP Recap / Box Score / Play-by-play

Story on the game from gomarquette.com

Video highlights from TallTitan:

MU Beats IPFW 80-56

Marquette continued on its "taking care of business" parade, beating the Mastodons by a bunch of point on a sleepy Monday at the Bradley Center to go 8-1 on the season.

Dominic James was superlative, scoring 17 in 29 minutes, with 6 assists, including a pretty 4 point play. Hayward, Matthews, and Coobie all hit double digits in the 24 point drubbing. Added into the mix was 39 deflections and a whopping 50 rebounds.

Trend Blackledge had some very nice minutes, with 4 rebounds and a block and two steals in 10 minutes.

A definite concern is Marquette's FT shooting. MU went 12-23 tonight, as well as 21-38 two days ago. This cannot continue when Big East games start, 3 weeks from now.

AP Recap, Box Score, Play by Play
ESPN / AP Photo Gallery
Todd Rosiak's JSOnine Recap

Here's 40 seconds of the game that should be on Sports Center tonight:

Sunday Reading Material

Good Morning, Marquette Fans.

Pancakes tasting a little fluffier? Bacon a little crisper? Donuts a little gooier? Maybe your Count Chocula is a bit sweeter? Yeah, same for me.

Here's some reading material for your Sunday Breakfast.

• Appleton Post-Cresent: Upon Further Review
• Wisconsin State Journal: Matthews Pleased
• WSJ: MU Snaps UW's Streak
• Badger Nation: King James Rules
• JS: A Sizable Advantage
• JS: Michael Hunt - A Surprise Party in Madison
  
• JS: Notes & Quotes
• PRN: Biggest Win Since Kentucky
• Recap, Official Box Score, Post-Game quotes
  

Christmas Comes Early: Warriors Beat Badgers

In what may go down as one of the top 5 regular season wins in the Tom Crean era, Marquette soundly beat UW@Madison 81-76.

Dominic James was outstanding and poured in 20 points in 34 minutes, adding 6 assists and 2 steals. McNeal added14 points and had an amazing 5 steals.

Definitely worth noting is the play of our inside guys, Dwight Burke and Ooze, who went 7-10, 13 rebounds, and 21 points between them. You can't ask for much more.

Marquette shot a respectable 47% .. but more importantly, out-rebounded the taller Badgers 37-29.

Marquette led most of the game, and controlled the always rowdy Kohl Center crowd, withstanding every run UW put together. The can be proud of the composure they maintained at the end of the game, rebounding tough, both offensive and defensive.

When thinking about the biggest wins of Coach Crean's tenure, clearly beating Kentucky in 2003 remains at the top of the heap .. Beating #2 UConn in MU's first Big East game .. a few UL games stand out, beating Pitt twice last year .. but tonight's beat down of our most hated rival, on the road, is right up there.

This kind of win gives you the shivers, in that, most of us had it down as an "L" at the beginning of the season. Winning it, snapping a 28 game streak for UW, handing Bo Ryan only his 6th (s-i-x-t-h) loss at home in front of a crowd frothing at the mouth .. makes you excited for how far this team can go this year. Our shooting% is up, our FT% is up, our bigs are producing.

This is going to be a fun year, people.

• Box Score / AP Recap
• AP Photo Gallery
• Go Marquette Recap
  

MU hangs 100 on UWM, wins by 35 to go 35-0.

Marquette crushed UWM into a fine powder tonight at the Bradley Center. After 9 years of not playing this series, Marquette showed no mercy in sending the Panthers back across town with nothing short of a mighty beat down. Marquette is 35-0 against UW@Milwaukee.

There's really not much more to say. DJ lead the team with 22, Lazar with 19, Coobie with 12, McNeal with 16. MU shot a blistering 53% from the field.

Marquette had an amazing 26 assists to 7 turnovers.

Christopherson got in his first official Marquette game and scored his first bucket. Oddly, it wasn't a deep 3, but a put-back in the paint.

Dan Fitzgerald was dressed for tonight's game, but did not play. He was sporting a brace or cast on his left wrist. Marquette has not released information as to the extent of his injury, or when we can expect him back.

Attendance was excellent, at 18,300, just a few short of a sell-out. Certainly the first year of this 5 year series was worth the cash-outlay by Marquette. Large turn-out, and big-time thumping.

• AP Recap & Box Score
• Go Marquette Recap
• Photos from my seat at the BC

Marquette Puts up 30 Spot on OSU

In the 2nd round of the Maui Invitational, Marquette beat up Oklahoma State 91-61, in a game that saw Marquette shooting 11-16 (69%) from 3 point land and 52% over-all. MU stole the ball 12 times, Jerel McNeal hit 20 points, DJ with 18, outrebounded OSU by 15, Ooze with 10 rebounds himself, 5 guys in double figures.

In short: Wow. This was one 40 minute highlight reel. When Trend, Hazel, and Brice get in the game for more than a couple minutes, you know you've had a good game.

DJ's play deserves additional mention. He went 4-6 from 3 point land and did so with utter confidence, pulling up with authority and knocking them down.

Marquette will take on the winner of the Duke/Illinois game at 9pm CST on ESPN Wednesday night.

• Box Score / AP Recap
• GoMarquette Recap
• Photo Gallery
• MU Photo Gallery
• Crean comments, Scoop comments.

Marquette defeats Chaminade to advance to second round of Maui Classic

It wasn't pretty to be sure, but the Marquette Golden Eagles defeated host Chaminade in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Classic by a score of 74-63 on ESPN2.

The win marked the 5th consecutive pre-season tournament opening round victory in the last 6 years. In each of those previous years, MU had mediocre results against their first round opponent but managed to capture the tournament championship.

2007 MAUI Classic Round 1....MU Beats Chaminade 74-63 (11 points)

2006 CBE Classic Round 1...MU beats Idaho State 59-56 in overtime (3 points)

2005 Great Alaska Shootout Round 1....MU beats Eastern Washington 83-73 (10 points)

2004 Black Coaches Classic Round 1....MU beats Western Carolina 74-65 (9 points)

2002 Great Alaska Shootout Round 1....MU beats Tennessee 85-74 (11 points)

MU was led today by Jerel McNeal's 22 points with Lazar Hayward chipping in 15.

The game was largely in control by MU, but in several instances they let the Silver Swords hang around to cause some angst among the fans. In the first half MU jumped out to a sizeable 14 point lead only to have Chaminade close to within 9 at the break.

The Silver Swords opened the second half with a 6-0 run and trailed #10 ranked Marquette by only 3 points. Slowly MU regained it's footing and held control of the game until roughly the mid seven minute mark when Chaminade again cut the lead down to just three points. Jerel McNeal took over at that point on a missed free throw by Hayward. McNeal came out of nowhere to tip it in with his left hand and put MU up by five points. Chaminade never got closer the remainder of the game.

Concerns from this game remain the same from earlier this year and most of last year. Poor shooting and poor interior defense. MU shot only 2 for 15 behind the arc and were killed by Chaminade's big men. MU was outrebounded for the game, something Tom Crean certainly will address with his club before tomorrow's contest.

Marquette will play the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the semi-finals.

• AP Recap
• MU Recap
• Box Score

Marquette loses to Notre Dame. Buh-Bye, Bye.

Marquette lost to Notre Dame today, 85-73, officially ending MU's bid for a second consecutive bye in the Big East Tournament.

Marquette started very strong, building a 13 point lead in the first half, but due to foul trouble, faded quickly.


It was an angry game, as Coach Crean was livid about a push and non-call, needing to be restrained by Coach Rab, nearly earning a Technical. DJ later received a T, as did Fitz.

Marquette has now lost 4 of its last 5 games, heading into the season finale with Pittsburgh at the Bradley Center next Saturday.

This post will be revised later, as the sting of losing to Notre Dame subsides.

AP Recap
GoMarquette Recap
Official Box Score
Marquette Photo Gallery