Author Archives: Michael LoCicero

Marquette by the numbers

Posted on March 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

MU as a whole

  • Marquette finishes the season 27-8. The 27 victories are tied for second-most (1975-76 and 2002-03) in school history, one win behind the 1970-71 team that finished 28-1.
  • Buzz Williams is 96-45 (.686) overall as the head coach of Marquette. The 96 victories rank Williams sixth in Marquette history. For coaches with multiple seasons at the helm, Williams ranks third in winning percentage behind Hank Raymonds (.716) and Al McGuire (.787)
  • Buzz Williams is now 5-4 in NCAA Tournament games, tied with Tom Crean for the second-most tournament wins as head coach of Marquette, behind Al McGuire’s 20-9 mark.
  • Marquette was a three seed in the men’s championship for the third time in school history (1979 and 2003). The Golden Eagles are now 7-3 as a three seed.
  • Marquette is 38-31 in NCAA Tournament games. The 38 victories are tied with Maryland and Oklahoma State for the 20th most wins.
  • Marquette and Syracuse were the only two Big East schools to be ranked every week of the 2011-12 season.
  • Marquette finished 14-4 in Big East play this season, the most as a member of the Big East Conference. The Golden Eagles finished in second place, their highest mark as a member of the conference. The 14 victories matched the program record for conference victories with the 2002-03 team that finished 14-2 in Conference USA.
  • Marquette finished 9-0 at home in Big East Conference games, winning by an average 12.7 points. It marks only the second time since Marquette joined a conference in 1989-90 that the Golden Eagles went undefeated at home. The other time was 2001-02 when Marquette went 8-0 in Conference USA games.
  • Marquette has finished .500 or better in the Big East Conference in all seven seasons since becoming a member. Marquette is one of only two teams, along with West Virginia, to stake that claim.
  • Marquette earned a double-bye in the Big East tournament for the first time in program history. The Golden Eagles are the only team in the Big East to have played in the quarterfinals in every season since 2005-06.
  • Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom were named to the All-Big East first team. Crowder was the only unanimous selection. It was the first time in program history Marquette placed two players on the first team in the same season. The Golden Eagles have 13 first-team honorees since they joined a conference in 1989-90.
  • Marquette won 20 games in six of the seven years they have been a member of the Big East. The Golden Eagles are one of four teams to have reached that feat joining Syracuse, Louisville and West Virginia.
  • Marquette defeated Georgetown 83-69 on senior day, marking the first time the Golden Eagles had won on senior day since the 2007-08 season. 19,087 fans attended the match-up, the third highest attendance mark ever at the Bradley Center. Marquette averaged 16,040 fans at the Bradley Center this season, which ranked third among Big East teams behind Louisville and Syracuse.

Jae Crowder

  • Crowder was named the Big East Player of the Year by league head coaches.
  • The Villa Rica, Ga., native was named a third team NABC All-American. It marks the 11th time in school history that a player has been selected to a NABC All-American team. The last Golden Eagle player be named an All-American by NABC was Jerel McNeal as a third team selection in 2008-09.
  • Crowder finishes the season with 88 steals. That mark is second-most in school history, one behind Michael Wilson’s 89 in 1980-81. Crowder averaged 2.51 steals this season, a mark that ranked 10th nationally.
  • Crowder finishes his career with 1,049 career points, tied for the 37th most points in school history with Scott Merritt (2001-04). The first team All-Big East selection is the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 points in two seasons. The 1,049 points are the third-most points scored by a player in only two seasons behind George Thompson (1,187) and Dwyane Wade (1,281).
  • Jae Crowder (1,049 points and 545 rebounds) is the 44th player in program histoty to finish with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Crowder is the fastest player in school history to reach those milestones.
  • Crowder finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals in a win against Brigham Young in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He is just the 3rd player ever to reach those totals in an NCAA Tournament game. He is the fifth player in Big East history to finish with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, and the first since Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair in 2009.
  • Crowder scored 614 points this season, which is the ninth most points scored in a single season in Marquette history.
  • Crowder had 14 double-doubles this season, which ranked third in the Big East behind Kevin Jones (21) and Herb Pope (17). The 14 double-doubles ranked 26th nationally.

Darius Johnson-Odom

  • Darius Johnson-Odom was named first team All-Big East after being named to the second team in his junior season.
  • DJO finishes with 1,649 career points to rank 11th on the all-time scoring list. The Raleigh, N.C., native needed 14 points to tie Bo Ellis for 10th.
  • DJO finishes his career with 221 made 3-pointers, tying Aaron Hutchins (1994-98) for fourth place on the all-time list. The first team All-Big East selection finished his career 221-549 from three (40.3%). He ranks ninth on the Golden Eagle 3-point field goal percentage.
  • Johnson-Odom made 77 three point field goals this season, a mark that ranks as the sixth most in a single season in Golden Eagle history. Only Steve Novak, Travis Diener, Jerel McNeal and Robb Logterman have made more in a season.
  • DJO finished the season with 623 points, a mark that ranks him seventh on the all-time single season list.
  • Johnson-Odom scored 113 points in seven career NCAA Tournament games, an average of 16.1 points per contest.

Published by: Michael Wottreng

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Analysis, Home

Tagged , ,

Season-low shooting ends Marquette’s season

Posted on March 23, 2012 | 1 Comment

A cold shooting performance was too much for Marquette to overcome in a 68-58 loss to Florida in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Phoenix.

Marquette (27-8) shot a season-low 30.8 percent from the field. Its previous low was 32.2 percent against Vanderbilt on Dec. 29.

Coach Buzz Williams was gracious in defeat, giving credit to the Gators (26-10) for a solid performance on both ends of the floor.

“I have the most respect for coach (Billy) Donovan and for his staff and their players were outstanding,” Williams said. “I thought they beat us straight up from start to finish.”

The loss ended the Marquette careers of guard Darius Johnson-Odom and forward Jae Crowder, who finished with 14 and 15 points, respectively.

The seniors were a combined 10-of-30 from the field and Crowder attributed that shooting performance to him having an off night, instead of something Florida did in its defensive gameplan against him.

“I just think I didn’t shoot the ball well,” Crowder said. “I tried to impact the game in a different way on defense somewhat.”

Junior guard Junior Cadougan picked up his third foul with 4:49 left in the first half and played just 21 minutes.

Williams didn’t attribute Cadougan’s absence with foul trouble as a reason for the team’s struggle in the final moments of the first half and first six minutes of the second half after Cadougan picked up his fourth foul just one minute into the second half.

“I think we struggled being in rhythm throughout most of the game,” Williams said. “This was our 35th game and it was the only game we didn’t get to the bonus in the first half.

“It wasn’t just the second half, but it was the first half as well and it’s a rhythm that’s established not just offensively but defensively as well.”

The first half included six ties and seven lead changes, with Marquette owning a 28-27 lead after a 3-pointer by freshman guard Todd Mayo with 4:14 left.

That was the last Golden Eagle field goal of the first half, however, as Florida closed with a 9-2 run to lead 36-30 at halftime. Marquette didn’t score for the final 3:53 of the first half.

Florida guard Bradley Beal led all scorers in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range. The Gators were relatively quiet from distance in the first half, converting on just 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) attempts.

Florida entered the game shooting 38.3 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles did themselves no favors by shooting just 31.4 percent from the field, compared to 43.3 percent for Florida.

Junior forward Erik Murphy’s three with 15:15 left gave Florida a nine point lead. The basket was Murphy’s first make in eight tries. The basket sparked an 8-0 run, capped by a Murphy layup with 13:24 left.

Marquette responded with a 6-0 run to cut Florida’s lead to eight at 48-40, but could not come up with a basket when it needed it the most.

Erving Walker hit a cold-blooded step-back three with 2:07 left to give Florida a 61-52 lead. Marquette would not get closer than six points the rest of the way.

Beal lead all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting and also had six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals, numbers that impressed Williams.

“In a lot of ways, I think Bradley Beal is their swing vote, because he’s so multi-versatile and talented and can guard multiple guys,” Williams said. “I mean he missed two shots, that’s a heck of a line. Really good.”

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Game Recaps, Home

Tagged , , ,

A lot of similarities between this year and ’03

Posted on March 21, 2012 | 1 Comment

When Jae Crowder hit a 3-pointer against Murray State last Saturday afternoon to give Marquette a late six-point lead, I got a feeling of confidence and inevitability that I have only gotten once before in my life.

That was nine years ago, around this time of the year, too. Interesting how that works. Even after as intense a game as I’ve ever seen, one where Marquette easily could have folded, I realized there was never any doubt the Golden Eagles would win.

I also found myself saying the same type of things about Crowder that I was saying about a medium-sized fella’ named Dwyane Wade nine years ago. That 11-year-old me really knew a thing or two about basketball.

In case you haven’t figured it out, this year’s Marquette team sure is reminding me a lot of the 2002-’03 squad that Tom Crean led to the Final Four.

During the 2003 NCAA Tournament, I never thought Marquette was going to lose. Even when they were struggling to beat 14th-seeded Holy Cross in the first round or were taken to overtime in the next round by Missouri, there was always someone who would step up, and Marquette would win. In the first round it was Travis Diener, and in the second it was Steve Novak.

In the end, though, it always came back to Wade.

This year, it seems like it always goes back to Crowder.

After taking his second charge of the game in the second half, I told my mom: “He does everything.”

I told her that three times, feeling ‘everything’ didn’t do Crowder justice. He was playing great defense, blocking shots at crucial times and finding himself in the right place at the right time for any loose ball to tally yet another steal. Then, after one of his worst outside-shooting performances, he came up with the biggest shot of the game, his aforementioned 3-pointer that put the Golden Eagles up by six, giving Marquette fans some breathing room for the first time.

Whenever Marquette needed a big play at that point in the game, it was the dreadlocked senior stud that came up with it, just like Wade would.

I haven’t even mentioned Darius Johnson-Odom or Davante Gardner, who were keys to the comeback last Saturday. With those two capable of scoring whenever needed, along with Todd Mayo’s resurgence and Junior Cadougan’s ability to put scoring opportunities on a silver platter, Marquette is set for a memorable weekend.

I have little reason to think that this weekend won’t end like the Sweet Sixteen weekend of 2003 did for the Golden Eagles.

I know I’m doing a nice job of probably jinxing them by writing this, but this team has a very special feeling about them. It feels like no matter what they do, they’ll find a way to win when it really matters. They’ve shown a killer instinct Marquette fans have been dying for, one that hasn’t been seen from the Golden Eagles since nine years ago.

Teams like that make history. I believe this team will be playing in New Orleans come March 31st, and I know for a fact that I’m not alone in thinking this.

The signs are there, and that feeling is there. Granted, they have laid an egg or two this season with losses to Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Louisville, but in a situation like this, with their leadership, that type of performance is not an option.

So no matter what you think of the players and whether you like them or not, when they make it to the Final Four, get ready to celebrate their accomplishment like it was 1974, 1977, or even 2003.

I want Marquette students invading Wisconsin and Wells like they did nine years ago, and I pray that people miles away hear “We are Marquette” late into the night.

Published by: Matt Trebby

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Home

Tagged , ,

Highlights from player press conference

Posted on March 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom

On seniors not being as highly rated as they used to be:

Crowder: “I think there’s a fair amount of seniors out there that really know how to play basketball and can play basketball, not just in talent, but play overall and play basketball and have talent all in one.”

DJO: “I think the senior class are guys who are built to play now at the next level. They went through hard times and they have matured as a basketball player, because they were able to go through those things.”

Journey to get to this point:

Crowder: “I’ve matured in the sense of on and off the court. Through all I’ve been through, it has helped me tremendously to grow as a person.”

Style of the game playing Florida:

Crowder: “Both teams like to get up and down. We just finished a game, we were playing against Murray State, they liked to get up and down, as well. We can adjust to any kind of tempo there is to play.”

DJO: “Florida has a great team. They do a lot of things well in transition. For us I think we know when to play fast and when to play in the half court game. I think that’s the difference between the two teams.”

Learn from the loss to Louisville in the Big East Tournament:

DJO: “Everybody knows in our program when we don’t play with energy we’re not good at all. And that was the main focus, the main thing. When we’re just playing hard, then the results are pretty positive.”

Jamil Wilson

Playing as a starter in the NCAA Tournament:

“There really are no words you can put on it. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through it (the season) with any other guys. I think we handle things great, and that comes down from our coach who leads us as people, not just as players.”

Know about Florida:

“I don’t know too much about Florida. All I heard about was Billy Donovan when they won championships back-to-back. I know a couple guys that play on the team Kenny (Boynton) and I played USA trials with Erving (Walker) in Colorado. I know they shoot a lot of threes but not too much.”

Junior Cadougan

On what it’s like playing point guard with DJO and Crowder:

“It’s great. It makes my job easier because when I give it to them for the most part they make plays for themselves. It makes the game easier.”

On what the team learned from North Carolina loss last year:

“I think in the North Carolina game last year our bodies were beat up. We were a bit flat and I don’t think we were as focused as we are this year. Our bodies feel a little better and we’re ready to go.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in General News, Home

Tagged , ,

March 11 Bracket Update

Posted on March 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

Last Four In

USF

Ole Miss

Drexel

Seton Hall

 

Last Five Considered

NC State

Marshall

Iona

Miami

Cal

 

No. 1 seeds (in order)

Kentucky

Syracuse

North Carolina

Missouri

 

No. 2 seeds (in order)

Kansas* 

Michigan State* (if MSU beats Ohio State, it moves ahead of Kansas and possibly Missouri)

Duke

Ohio State

 

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized