Marquette raises roof by improving in three key areas

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On Sunday evening, I sent a text message to Marquette coach Tom Crean, congratulating him on his team's overtime road upset of then-No. 6 Pittsburgh. I've known and liked Crean very much since his days as a hyperkinetic assistant at Michigan State, so I couldn't help but chuckle at the good-natured smack-text he sent in reply: "Did our ceiling get any higher today?"

Crean's comment was a reference to my declaration in last week's Five for Friday column that "the Golden Eagles' ceiling is not very high." When I spoke with Crean by telephone Monday, he told me he mentioned that phrase to his players. He also told me he waited until game day to show Ousmane Barro, his 6-foot-10 junior forward, my assertion he would "be no match for Aaron Gray." Far from insulted, I was thrilled Crean channeled me in an effort to inspire his guys. I mean, when was the last time you heard about Andy Katz firing someone up in a pregame locker room?

Yes, I was wrong to pick Pittsburgh to beat Marquette -- though of course, I reminded Crean that on the very day I went on CBS and picked his team to make the Final Four, they went out and lost to North Dakota State at home. Still, there is no doubt that in the seven weeks that have passed since that loss, this team has steadily and significantly gotten better. Here are the three main ways the Golden Eagles raised the roof:

1. They are centering their identity on aggressive defense.
Though the Golden Eagles forced North Dakota State into committing 25 turnovers, they still allowed the Bison to shoot 48.1 percent from the field, including 4 for 8 from three-point range. "We did not play defense with a great sense of purpose, and we didn't guard the dribble," Crean said. In fact, that has been the case in all four of Marquette's losses, during which opponents have made 47.9 percent from the floor -- as opposed to the 38.5 percent its opponents shot in the 16 wins before the Pitt game

Marquette's defensive pressure was what allowed it to win on Sunday. Pittsburgh came in having averaged just 11.6 turnovers per game. The Panthers committed 10 in the first half and 18 overall. Marquette is not blessed with a lot of size (hence its modest 3.8 blocks per game, which ranks ninth in the Big East). But it does have a lot of speed and toughness on the perimeter. The Golden Eagles are learning that in order to beat good teams, they have to be a great defensive team first.

2. They are taking better shots.
The shooting percentages for this team are pretty galling. None of its three heralded guards is shooting better than 33 percent from three-point range, and as a team, the Golden Eagles are ranked 13th in the Big East in three-point shooting and 15th in free-throw shooting.

Yet, Crean says his guys are good shooters. "When we've struggled, it's because our guys tend to create threes rather than take threes," he said. "We've got numerous guys who are play makers, but they're learning to come off screens and shoot off the catch as opposed to trying to create for themselves." Consider that in Marquette's losses, the Eagles took an average of three more three-point attempts than free throws. In their wins, they took 6.8 more free throws than threes. The change is most evident in the case of Dominic James, who is shooting 32.1 percent from behind the arc on the season but has gone 11-for-21 in his last three games.

3. The role players have really improved.
Barro, whose playing time has more than doubled since last season, has now scored in double figures in three of his last four games. (He had five points and three turnovers in the loss to North Dakota State.) Dan Fitzgerald, a 6-9 junior, did a pretty fair Steve Novak imitation against Pitt, scoring a season-high 14 points (making 4-of-6 three-pointers) in 30 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard David Cubillan also played 30 minutes off the bench against Pitt and made valuable glue-guy contributions, even though he did not score. As Crean put it, "We're getting some good middle-inning relief."

Even with all these gains, Crean is quick to point out that this is still a team that starts three sophomores, a freshman and a junior. "There's a lot of room for growth," he said. "Where I'm confident is that we have that ability. It's just a matter of continuing to figure it all out."

Looks like this team has a high ceiling after all. My bad, Tom.