Earlier this year, the talk amongst Marquette basketball enthusiasts was that we should lower our expectations. A new coach, seniors that may not live up to the Final-Four hype of three years ago and a ridiculously tough Big East conference all forced us to temper our hopes.
But now, four games into the Big East season, Marquette has looked like the very tough squad we hoped they could be, very much in control against some impressive opponents. Easily handling Villanova on Jan. 1 and a later trouncing of West Virginia has given Marquette a 4-0 opening to the conference season. And along with that has come a rank of 14 in both the ESPN/USA Today and AP rankings.
This is where many fans believed Marquette should be ranked this year. This opening to the Big East season has many Marquette fans hoping another deep run in the March tournament may be possible.
Why has this occured? Senior leadership. In the past, Marquette has allowed opponents to linger in the game and had to fight hard for the win towards the end. This year. however, Marquette has been able to bury its opponents in the second half, leaving the casual fan with a sort of confident ease while watching a close first half.
We Are Marquette.
Interesting Note #1: Big East teams account for 6 of the top 14 teams.
Interesting Note #2: Minnesota is ranked 17th in one poll and 18th in the other. Tubby Smith has the boys playing quite well.
Interesting Note #3: Marquette, Notre Dame and Georgetown seem to be the dominant catholic schools this year with Xavier, Villanova and Gonzaga in the second-tier.
2 comments:
one step too far with the "we are marquette."
Taaaaake it eaaasy Rob.
Post a Comment