Howard falls three 3-pointers short of all-time record percentage

Before the game I joked with Steve Novak that I never thought I'd question if he was the greatest 3-point shooter in Marquette history until this year - and he was humble in agreeing. I talked with Andrew Rowsey on the way up the elevator at 3 a.m. and was happy he had seen my 6-second amateur phone video of him sinking the half court step back.

During the game one of the top sports reporters in the country texted me with a simple, "Markus Howard is just a lovely basketball player." Later when Howard ripped the pass to Sam Hauser for a late bucket, the guy behind me yelled, "That is the future, and bring along baby Hauser too! (referring to 5-star Joey Hauser, who I believe was sitting in front of me, but I could be wrong).

The fact is people were either upset or surprised when I sent out my mass email and posted by bracket and picked South Carolina tonight, but with South Carolina's Sindarius Thornwell the top ranked player in the country at www.valueaddbasketball.com and their defense being one of the best at denying the 3-pointer (which we need to win) and stealing the ball (where we are week) in a near home game, I just didn't see it tonight.

However, the future is bright. If Howard hit all six of his 3-pointers tonight he would have set the all-time record for 3-point percentage for a season. Going three of six, he finishes with the second greatest season in the history of college basketball in only his second season. No player has even shot 50 percent for a career. Here is where he finishes - the future is bright, but thank you seniors for getting the team back to March Madness in your final year to help build:

Rank	Best 3pt seasons ever	3ptM	3ptA	3P%	School	Season
1	Micah Mason	65	116	56.03%	Duquesne	2013-14
2	Markus Howard	82	150	54.67%	Marquette	2015-16
3	Roosevelt Moore	50	119	53.28%	Saint Peter's	1992-93
4	Nick Masterson	78	147	53.06%	Kenneshaw St.	2015-16
5	Travis Ford	101	191	52.88%	Kentucky	1992-93
6	Royce Olney	80	156	51.28%	New Mexico	1997-98
7	Troy Hudson	134	262	51.15%	Southern Illinois	1996-97
8	Brad Lechtenberg	71	139	51.08%	San Diego	2003-04
9	Ross Land	83	163	50.92%	Northern Arizona	1998-99
10	Ross Land	64	126	50.79%	Northern Arizona	1996-97

Here is the bracket based on the Value Add bracket which takes the www.kenpom.com rating and adjusts it by any returning or missing players, as explained here. A win in South Carolina just wasn't in the cards.