March 4, 2010 –
by Brendon
If you can remember back to the middle of October, you probably recall that the Big East preseason projections, courtesy of the coaches’ expectations, show only a faint resemblance to the standings on this day. Most notably, three teams — Syracuse, Marquette and Pittsburgh — have far outperformed their respective sixth-, ninth- and 12th-place projections.
It’s hard to blame the coaches for placing each team where they did. In fact, I even thought Syracuse was picked too high (not a shining moment for me). All three teams lost at least four key pieces from top-20 teams. The Orange lost its top three players in terms of minutes and usage — Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris — plus rotation big Kris Ongenaet. Pittsburgh lost its top three players in terms of minutes and usage — Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields — plus another starting forward, Tyrell Biggs. Marquette lost three of its top four players in terms of minutes and usage — Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James — plus its tallest player and sixth-highest minutes man, Dwight Burke.
There are several ways a team can rebuild from that, but these three went beyond rebuilding. Despite the personnel losses, Syracuse is the best team in the conference a year after slotting in somewhere in the fifth to seventh range. Pittsburgh has merely slipped from the league’s best team — according to efficiency margin in conference last season — to its fourth or fifth. Marquette has gone from the same fifth-to-seventh mire that the Orange found itself in last year to fourth or fifth with the Panthers. And this is in a league that is probably better top to bottom than it was last season. Read More »
Posted in Big East
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Tagged Andy Rautins, Ashton Gibbs, Big East, Brad Wanamaker, Brandon Triche, Buzz Williams, Darius Johnson-Odom, David Cubillan, DeJuan Blair, Dominic James, Dwight Burke, Dwight Buycks, Eric Devendorf, Gary McGhee, Gilbert Brown, Jamie Dixon, Jerel McNeal, Jermaine Dixon, Jimmy Butler, Jonny Flynn, Junior Cadougan, Kris Joseph, Kris Ongenaet, Lazar Hayward, Levance Fields, Marquette, Maurice Acker, Paul Harris, Pittsburgh, Sam Young, Scoop Jardine, Syracuse, Tyrell Biggs, Wesley Johnson, Wesley Matthews
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November 30, 2009 –
by Brendon
Marquette’s stunning defeat to Florida State, 57-56, in Sunday’s final of the Old Spice Classic at the Milk House in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will take a lot of the sheen off a positive start, but it doesn’t entirely undermine Marquette’s performance in November.
Having lost four starters from last year’s team and then suffering two more significant injuries before the calendar even flips to December, Marquette figured to have struggles against a strong field on Thanksgiving weekend. Until the final minutes of the final game, though, the Golden Eagles were terrific. On Thanksgiving Day, Marquette held off a couple of challenges from a talented Xavier team to win, 71-61. The next day against a then-unbeaten Michigan team, MU did whatever it wanted on offense en route to a 79-65 win.
In the final on Sunday, Marquette built a 17-point lead with just more than 15 minutes left against a Florida State team that, like the previous two opponents, is considered a likely NCAA Tournament team. Marquette, of course, is not — or at least was not. FSU made a furious comeback as the Golden Eagles went cold, especially from the free-throw line. The loss — Marquette’s third straight in in-season tournament finals — stings, for sure, but MU fans have to hope that the showing this weekend is a sign that Buzz Williams’ bunch can make it five straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the school.
In order to fully appreciate the quality of Marquette’s start, it’s important to consider what last year’s No. 6-seeded team lost. The Three Amigos — Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal — combined to win 94 games in four years in Milwaukee. That includes four double-digit-victory seasons in the school’s first four years in the rugged Big East. It also includes four NCAA Tournament berths and two excruciating second-round defeats in the last two years. Read More »
Posted in Big East
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Tagged Big East, Buzz Williams, Chris Otule, Darius Johnson-Odom, David Cubillan, Dominic James, Dwight Burke, Dwight Buycks, Erik Williams, Florida State, Jerel McNeal, Jimmy Butler, Joseph Fulce, Junior Cadougan, Lazar Hayward, Marquette, Maurice Acker, Michigan, North Carolina State, Old Spice Classic, Wesley Matthews, Wisconsin, Xavier
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March 25, 2009 –
by Brendon
In last week’s preview, I mused about the possibility of two Tigers, two Huskies and a Dick Enberg meeting up in Glendale this week. Enberg, two teams of Tigers and one team of Huskies will be there, but Purdue crashed the party with a two-point win over Washington on Saturday evening. Despite being one of just two teams seeded below the top four lines to make it to the second weekend of the Tournament, the Boilermakers fit right in a region where all four defenses are among the nation’s top 10.
Let’s take a look at these matchups, which will leave Enberg saying, “Oh, my!” and Jay Bilas being a self-righteous — though usually accurate — know-it-all. Some things never change.
No. 5 Purdue vs. No. 1 Connecticut (7:07 p.m. ET): Purdue is a team I’ve touted for a long time as a potential Final Four team, but I failed to stick to my guns when I picked Washington to defeat Purdue in the Second Round on Saturday. The Boilermakers weren’t able to keep Washington off the offensive glass, but they did keep the Huskies off the foul line thanks in large part to JuJuan Johnson’s presence inside. Connecticut presents similar problems for Purdue’s capable defense, but these Huskies are better at both shooting and taking care of the ball than Washington is. Read More »
Posted in National Perspective, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged A.J. Price, Cal State-Northridge, Connecticut, DeMarre Carroll, Dick Enberg, Doneal Mack, E'Twaun Moore, Gavin Edwards, Georgetown, Hasheem Thabeet, J.T. Tiller, JaJuan Johnson, Jay Bilas, Jeff Adrien, Jerel McNeal, Jim Calhoun, Keaton Grant, Leo Lyons, Marcus Denmon, Marquette, Matt Painter, Memphis, Mike Anderson, Missouri, Pierre Henderson-Niles, Purdue, Robbie Hummel, Robert Dozier, Roburt Sallie, Shawn Taggart, Stanley Robinson, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Tyreke Evans, Washington, Wesley Matthews, West Region
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March 23, 2009 –
by Brendon
In an opening weekend of “almosts,” it turned out that we almost had all of the top-four seeds advance to the Sweet 16. Only Cleveland State’s tip-to-buzzer beating of Wake Forest (predicted by Lukas last week) and Purdue’s last-minute win over Washington prevented a Tournament chalky enough for a pool cue. Over the next few days, we’re going to do some looking ahead and some looking back, and let’s start with a look at the weekend’s statistical storylines.
Chalk one up for balance: We mentioned in our previews last week that Florida State and Boston College out of the ACC were two teams on opposite spectrums. FSU was the all-defense, no-offense team and BC the all-offense, no-defense team among the major-conference squads in the Tournament. Both tasted defeat against lower-seeded teams in the First round on Friday. Read More »
Posted in National Perspective, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Arizona State, Boston College, Demar DeRozan, Dominic James, Florida State, James Harden, Jerel McNeal, Marquette, Missouri, Southern Cal, Wesley Matthews, Wisconsin
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January 16, 2009 –
by Brendon
Marquette at Providence (9 p.m.): The Big East fan gets about an hour break between games No. 3 and 4 of this quadruple-header before the nightcap in Providence. This matchup may not have the cachet of the previous three, but Marquette comes in at 4-0 in conference, and the Friars are 3-1 after a close loss at Georgetown last weekend. Both teams feature offensive that can explode from the perimeter, and a small lineup that prefers to run. Read More »
Posted in Big East, Reviews/Previews
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Tagged Buzz Williams, David Cubillan, Dominic James, Geoff McDermott, Jerel McNeal, Jonathan Kale, Keno Davis, Lazar Hayward, Marquette, Maurice Acker, Ousmane Barro, Providence, Randall Hanke, Sharaud Curry, Wesley Matthews, Weyinmi Efejuku
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