This has been a rough week for the Marquette men's basketball team. Last Wednesday they were in the first of their final four brutal games to close out the season. They lost to #2 Uconn and today fell to #6 Louisville. Marquette is a good team but they need to close the season with some momentum and dropping two straight means the next two games are of the upmost importanc.e.
The biggest facet that will factor into their run at the Final Four was not decided by a win or a lose. Against UConn last week Marquette senior guard Dominic James went down with a broken foot and will be out the rest of the year. This is a terrible blow to Marquette; James leads Marquette all-time for games started, is second all-time in assists, third in points, and fourth in steals. Not only does he put stats up on the board, he is the quarterback on the court and led Marquette by example. His lose is crucial and unless back-up Maurice Acker can step up big time, it will most likely lead to a premature end to their great season.
Today was really dissapointing, Marquette lost to the #6 team by four points and played terribly. Louisville came out and played the game at a frantic pace and Marquette struggled all game to play at the level Rick Pitino's team was able to dictate. No Dominic James was a huge factor; although Acker did a great job, it was obvious they were lacking a leader on the court to calm them down and force them to focus. Another major factor was Jereal Mcneal not showing up on the offensive end. Mcneal came into the game averaging well over 20 points a game on efficient shooting, but at Louisville he managed 3-19 shooting which included 2-10 from beyond the three point line. Marquette only lost by four points, but to be honest they did not look like they were in any position to win the game at all after both teams came out for the second half.
So what is next? Marquette's road does not get any easier, they play #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and a win would go a long way. The Golden Eagles are poised for a number #3 seed in the March Madness tournament, but if they beat Pitt and Syracuse to end the year, they could possibly bump up to a 2 seed. Worst case is they falter on both of their remaining games, along with a bad showing in the Big East tournament, they could fall to a 4 or even a 5 seed. I had Marquette making a run in the NCAA's but with their showing today and the obvious discombulation due to Dominic James abscence, I do not see them making it past the Elite 8; and that is if they get a favorable bracket.
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With Marquette only losing by 4 to #6 Louisville, and playing a bad game can be taken in a good way. If McNeal would of scored his average, they would of almost of won by 10. Everybody has bad games sometimes, and I think that they can still make a good run in the March Madness Tourney without James.
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