It wasn’t easy, but Marquette did just enough to hold on against Colorado and advance to the Sweet 16. We’ll try to really dive in this week on analysis, but wanted to at least get a few instant reactions down on paper.
Tyler Kolek
He’s him. A legacy cemented. One of the best player’s we’ll ever see at Marquette, who has come back from injury to remind the world he’s the best point guard in the game.
And I didn’t even mention, hit the biggest shot of the game.
Chase Ross
Chase has fought through injury this season, and hasn’t quite lived to (my) lofty expectations from the preseason, particularly on offense. But today was basically an NBA scout’s dream performance. Chase did everything and more.
Big 3s? yes.
Highlight Dunks? You bet.
Defense? Yes, and then some.
Ross finished with 12 points, 5 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks playing in 26 minutes. Just did everything today, and during some of the most critical moments.
David Joplin
There was a sequence in the second half where Jop took over the boards in a way that I didn’t think was possible. And then punctuated it with a slam.
But for me, and most, his cold blooded free throws with Marquette only up 2 and mere seconds left will forever live in glory. He’d been quite poor from the stripe in clutch moments, but after hitting the first of the 1 and 1, he told his teammates and all of MU nation, “I got this.”
At maybe the biggest moment of the season, David Joplin more than stepped up to the challenge.
Kam Jones
I said it on Twitter in real time, but Kam is the kind of player you’d kill to have on your team. He’s so much fun. And we are not taking it for granted.
He scored 16 points in the first half, before foul trouble kept him out of a good chunk of the 2nd half. A 126 ORtg on 30% usage to remind the Big East coaches, there is no way there are 14 better players than him in the conference.
He finished the game a +21, just going to show that when he was on the court, Colorado was in hell.
Oso Ighodaro
His metrics ended up much better than my eyes had given him credit for. 10 points on 5/6 shooting and only 1 turnover, for a 153 ORtg. But to his credit, he did not force the issue when he realized he didn’t have it, keeping his usage down to 11%.
His defense was also impressive, per usual. He gave up a few easy ones to Lampkin, but Marquette was +8 when he was on the floor.
I still think there is another level that we have seen from him, just last week, even. If that version of Oso comes back for the Sweet 16…
Ben Gold
He only played 8 minutes, and never looked comfortable on defense, but his patented corner 3 as well as a few great drives continue to highlight his offensive potential. It’s great to be able to have this kind of change of pace to get Oso a few minutes of rest.
Stevie Mitchell
Didn’t have the same level of offensive contributions, but another 2 steals for Marquette’s do it all guard. Rest that shoulder up.
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