Sometimes 20 minutes of hell is enough.After trailing Seton Hall by three points at halftime, Marquette ripped off a 25-7 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to seize control of the game. Fueled by a spate of Seton Hall turnovers, MU extended the lead to 23 points with five minutes remaining before settling for a convincing 79 - 67 victory. Marquette now stands at 22-4 overall and 11-2 in the BIG EAST.
The Three Amigos combined for 50 points tonight led by Wesley Matthews' 24-point effort which included 15 in the second half. Jerel McNeal, who became the program's all-time leader in thefts tonight, finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Dominic James had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists -- and passed Butch Lee to move into third place on MU's all-time scoring list.
Oh, and walk-on Robert Frozena connected on his first field goal of the season. Thankfully Kevin was there to capture the glorious moment on film (see photo to the right), and the guys at SportsCenter took note as well. Frozena now has as many made field goals in BIG EAST play as Maurice Acker.
Now it's time to move on. As Carl Spackler famously said, "I guess the kidding around is just about over."
After vanquishing the Pirates, Marquette begins its most challenging stretch of regular-season basketball to date:
2/21 at Georgetown
2/25 vs UConn
3/1 at Louisville
3/4 at Pittsburgh
3/7 vs Syracuse
......now things really get interesting.
Media Updates
- Official Box Score
- AP Recap
- Rosiak blog recap
- NJ.com on the SHU defeat
- Rosiak newspaper recap
- Scout.com game recap
Slideshow:
And so it begins....
ReplyDeleteThe Gauntlet, 2009.
Any thoughts on whether this is the toughest 5-game stretch in Warrior history?
ReplyDeleteHas MU ever played three Top 10 teams in a row? Or two Top 5 teams in a 3-game stretch?
How about a contest to guess the outcome of the next 2 weeks?
I'll just be happy if the Eagles can bring some momentum into the Big East tourney. As long as they win two games in Madison Square Garden, the NCAA selection committee shouldn't screw us over with another low seed.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing we have to fear is fear itself ~ F.D.R.
ReplyDeleteFrom Hilltoppers to Warriors to Golden Eagles, MU squads play with NO FEAR! Go Marquette!
Love the coverage as always, but I goota say the tweets are great, esp. during a live game.
ReplyDeleteGive props to Matthews. Great defensive game last night and a very opportunistic offensive performance.
ReplyDeleteI was concerned in the 1st half. They looked lifeless against a fairly short and quick team. Nice adjustments by Buzz at the half to emphesis attacking the basket and passing up all but the wide open threes. Marquette almost plays worse against guard-dominated teams. Exactly the opposite of what you would expect.