D-Wade supporting Steve Novak yesterday

Yesterday was the 10 year celebration of the 2003 Final Four team.  Video tributes from Tom Crean and Steve Novak were posted online in advance of the celebration.  MU went out and buried #16 Pittsburgh in the process.

Not to be outdone the weekend NBA All Star game festivities had a Marquette flair from members of that 2003 Final Four team.  Steve Novak participated in the 3 point shooting contest and got some Marquette love from his MU teammate, Dwyane Wade in the process.

The gift of life...Trey Schwab...9 years later

I got a note this morning from Trey Schwab on Facebook that today is the 9 year anniversary of his double lung transplant.  Cannot believe it has been 9 years already.  As many of you know, Trey was part of the Marquette basketball staff with Coach Tom Crean. He was diagnosed with a rare lung disease that limited his travel and required him to be on oxygen while sitting on the MU bench. 

Though he survived the double lung transplant 9 years ago, it's what happened a few weeks later that still defies medical logic.  Trey got up out of bed and something wasn't right.  He was struggling to breathe and minutes later was essentially clinically dead after 40 minutes of CPR.  There was almost no chance for his survival as a blood clot measuring an astounding 16 inches long had moved into his lungs.  It was removed from his body in an emergency surgery. 

At a press conference, Dr. Robert Love was asked how Trey was still alive.  "How can he have survived this? Well, I can explain the physiology and chemistry of what happened, but I cannot explain the supernatural. Many, many people here ... and around the country were praying for Trey during this time."

"This is so far out there," he said. "I've been in this business a long time, and I've seen a lot of critically ill (patients). But this is really something that is outside the bell curve of our experience, even at a big university center where we see high-end, complex things. Something beyond us was at work here."

Today, Trey heads up a program in Wisconsin to encourage people to donate organs and give the gift of life to others.

A few articles from back in the day about Trey and the impact to the Marquette basketball program.

Schwab dead for 40 minutes but makes miraculous recovery

MU players and staff send best wishes to Schwab

ESPN reports on surgery to remove clot

MJS article on Schwab's recovery

Home winning streak tied for 4th longest in MU history

Marquette's victory over #16 Pittsburgh today not only kept them in first place in the Big East, it also extended their home winning streak to 23 straight wins.  The win by Buzz Williams' club ties the 4th longest home winning streak for men's basketball at Marquette with the teams from 1958 to 1960 under Eddie Hickey.  Marquette has two more home games this year and if they win both will move into the third longest home winning streak in MU history heading into next season.


Here are the longest home winning streaks in Marquette basketball history


81 games  1967 to 1973  Coach Al McGuire
28 games  2001 to 2003  Coach Tom Crean
24 games  1977 to 1979  Coaches Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds
23 games  2012 to current  Coach Buzz Williams
23 games  1958 to 1960  Coach Eddie Hickey
22 games  1974 to 1976  Coach Al McGuire
20 games  1995 to 1996  Mike Deane

Marquette's Home Winning Streak

Right now, Marquette's home winning streak stands at 21 games, good for 5th longest in the nation. Here is a list of all the teams with streaks currently at 20+ games:

1) Syracuse - 36 games
2) South Dakota State - 28 games
3) Colorado State - 26 games
4) Southern Mississippi - 23 games
5) Marquette - 21 games
6) Iowa State - 20 games

Glancing at that list, I wondered what the odds were Marquette could get that streak to #1. Obviously, it takes more than just Marquette winning, it also takes teams ahead of them losing. For Marquette to get to the end of the season undefeated, they will have to beat Little Sisters of the Poor, who were up all night, Pittsburgh on February 16, Syracuse on February 25, and Notre Dame on March 2. All three will be tough games against likely tournament teams. As far as the rest of the top-5...

Syracuse looks to have two real tests in their final five home games of the season. They face Georgetown on February 23 and Louisville on March 2. One other team that could surprise is St. John's, who already has 3 Big East road wins. Providence and DePaul will also visit the Carrier Dome.

South Dakota State has only two more home games this season and will almost certainly beat woeful IUPUI on Valentine's Day. Their final home game will be against a Western Illinois team that played them even for 30 minutes less than a month ago before letting a shot at a win slip away.

Colorado State's next two home games are against likely tournament teams, San Diego State today and New Mexico on February 23. Both teams beat the Rams earlier this season. Interestingly enough, the last team to beat Colorado State at home was the next team on this list...

...Southern Mississippi, who faces Memphis (8-0 in C-USA play) at home today. If they beat the Tigers, it seems highly likely they'll see out the season unbeaten at home as the Golden Eagles don't face another team in Pomeroy's top-100 at home. Southern Miss beat Memphis at home last year, but including that win they have lost 17 of their last 18 against the Tigers. Before last year, Southern Miss had not defeated Memphis anywhere since Marquette was still in Conference-USA.

What's the consequence of all this? Admittedly, not much, but it's something fun to pay attention to and gives us reason to do a bit of scoreboard watching outside the Big East. Here's hoping that after Marquette gets done exorcising the Blue Demons we can see a couple of those streaks fall over the weekend, starting with Memphis over Southern Miss.