Marquette Golden Eagles
Big East Conference (25-7, 14-4)
The Golden Eagles have certainly fared well for themselves this season. Behind the strength of just two reliable scorers, Marquette would have been the story of the year in the Big East if it wasn’t for Syracuse’s talent and depth. Losing just a single time at home all year, Marquette has not only survived, but thrived in the dark and bruising conference. After winning the first 10 games of the season, mid-December started a bit of a swoon for Buzz Williams’ squad, losing four of six. Although it was not quite as bad as the record indicates. Three of those losses came on the road; two came at the hands of top 10 teams in the country. After that, they won another seven straight games, all in-conference and were on their way to a high finish in what some still deem the best conference in all of college basketball.
Big Wins: 12/3 at Wisconsin (61-54), 1/16 Louisville (74-63), 3/3 Georgetown (83-69)
Bad Losses: 12/19 at LSU (59-67), 12/29 Vanderbilt (57-74), 2/29 at Cincinnati (61-72)
Coach: Buzz Williams (4 seasons at Marquette)
Why They Can Surprise:
Relying on two players is only an intelligent game plan when both players may be in line for All-Big East first team honors. Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder have been nearly unstoppable this season. Accounting for a shade under half of Marquette’s points, the pair shares “The Man” duties better than any other duo in the conference. Where Johnson-Odom is a consistent killer, having scored in double figures in all but one game he’s played in this season, Crowder can be a boom or bust. It’s just that, fortunately for Marquette, 2011-2012 has seen the former way more often than the latter. Accumulating 11 double-doubles and being the team’s leader in rebounds and steals more than makes up for the occasional poor scoring game. In addition, the Golden Eagles are a great passing team, amassing assists at one of the best clips in the country, let alone the conference. This makes for easy buckets and makes the job of the two scorers much easier. If Johnson-Odom and Crowder were forced to pound their dribble and create everything by themselves, the offense would not work and Marquette would not be this successful.
Why They Can Disappoint:
A bit undersized, especially for the banging that goes on in the Big East, Marquette routinely gets beat on the glass. Getting outrebounded has been a pretty consistent theme in Marquette’s losses this season and even in many of their wins. Crowder, the team’s leading rebounder, is only 6’6”. Davante Gardner, measuring in at 6’8”, 290 pounds is really the only Golden Eagle who would be considered a Big. Along with the lack of size, Marquette has also taken advantage of what has secretly slithered into being kind of an easy schedule in retrospect. Traversing the Big East is never technically easy. However, only one of Marquette’s out-of-conference opponents ended up being a stud win (Wisconsin). And they ended up losing three of their four hardest conference matchups, all coming on the road. Protecting home court is well and good in the regular season but come tournament time, there is no more home court.
Probable Starters:
Darius Johnson-Odom, Senior, Guard, 18.5 ppg, 2.8 apg
Junior Cadougan, Junior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 5.5 apg
Vander Blue, Sophomore, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.4 rpg
Jae Crowder, Senior, Forward, 17.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 spg, 1.0 bpg
Jamil Wilson, Sophomore, Forward, 7.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Todd Mayo, Freshman, Guard, 7.7 ppg, 1.1 apg
Davante Gardner, Sophomore, Forward, 9.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.1 (29th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.6 (134, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.0 (71, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (54, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.8 (201, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.2 (172, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.4 (65, 2)
Rebound Margin: -0.1 (189, 12)
Assists Per Game: 17.0 (6, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (106, 8)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Marquette 2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Xavier
Marquette 2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Syracuse
Marquette 2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to North Carolina
Marquette 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Washington
Marquette 2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Utah State
Marquette 2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Missouri
Marquette 2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Kentucky
Marquette 2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Stanford
Marquette 2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
