Marquette began to answer a lot of questions with it's first win of the season.
1. What will the opening day starting lineup look like? Tom Crean shuffled the starters once again, getting Steve Novak back into the starting lineup (after missing the first exhibition against Michigan Tech and coming off the bench for the UW Whitewater game). Other than Novak, it's a new-look lineup for MU, with the three freshman guards in the backcourt and Jamil Lott pairing up with Novak up front.
2. Will Fitzgerald live up to his hype? Last season during his redshirt year Dan Fitzgerald was rumoured to be the 2nd best player on the roster. After two disappointing exhibition performances, questions were beginning to form. Fitz answered his critics with a near triple-triple (9 points, 8 boards, 8 assists) in 24 minutes.
3. Can the team rebound? After being outboarded by a couple of D2 and D3 teams, rebounding became a concern for MU. The team answered last night with a 42-31 advantage off the glass.
For their effort, MU earned the right to take on Winthrop for the championship of the Blue and Gold Classic.
The media roundup:
Marquette's offical website covered the game.
The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel report here.
Houston Chronicle says this
And the Richmond, Indiana Palladian-Item filed this report.
Wondering why a paper in Richmond, IN would make a Marquette game it's lead news story? That's where Dominic James went to HS. There's also a Richmond station on the Marquette Basketball Radio Network.
Thanks for the extra links!
ReplyDeleteI really like Houston's scroll-through photos at the top of the article!
:wink, wink JSO: