By Brett McMurphy, Special to CNNSI.com
Although Marquette returned three starters from last year, there were some
doubts how the Golden Eagles would be able to replace one starter in
particular: Brian Wardle, the school's third all-time leading scorer.
There wasn't one player in the league last year who meant more to his
team -- both production wise and emotionally -- than Wardle. His 18.8
scoring average accounted for nearly 30 percent of the Golden Eagles'
offense, easily the highest ratio in C-USA.
Fortunately for Marquette where there was a will, there was a Wade --
Dwyane Wade. After sitting out last season as a freshman because of
ineligibility, Wade had a spectacular debut, leading the Golden Eagles to
the Great Alaska Shootout with victories against Tennessee, Indiana and
Gonzaga.
Instead of an over-achieving, plodding club as in past years, this was a
newer, flashier Marquette club.
The Golden Eagles proved their performance in Alaska was not on a fluke
by upsetting Cincinnati 74-60 Saturday. MU ended the nation's longest
winning streak and handed the Bearcats their worst C-USA loss in one
glorious afternoon at the Bradley Center.
Even third-year Marquette coach Tom Crean, the former Michigan State
associate coach, has been surprised by the Golden Eagles' 19-3 start.
"I think what these kids have done, winning 19 games already, is
incredible," Crean said. "We're changing as we go on.
"We're getting better and what these kids have done all year and what I
thought they did this week was really just try to make sure the day we're in
is the most important."
Marquette has been known for its intense defense and this year is no
exception. Just ask Cincinnati's Steve Logan, last year's league MVP.
The Golden Eagles were the last team to hold Logan under 10 points, in
January 2001, and on Saturday limited him to 15.
"I have to give them credit for throwing different matchups at me," Logan
said. "They double-teamed me every time I got it. They tried to keep the
ball out of my hands."
The difference in this year's team is the Golden Eagles have more than
one offensive weapon to go with their defensive tenacity.
Besides Wade, point guard Cordell Henry is averaging 14.3 points and
among the league leaders, hitting 77 percent from the free throw line.
"I love Cordell Henry," DePaul coach Pat Kennedy said. "He's the single
biggest mistake I've ever made in recruiting. I told him next year, he could
be one of my assistant coaches, and he laughed."
At forward, MU features 6-foot-7 bookends Odartey Blankson (9.1 points,
6.7 rebounds) and Oluoma Nnamaka (7.5, 4.3).
"I'm a huge Nnamaka fan," UAB coach Murry Bartow said. "He's always hurt
us. They're just a balanced team."
Marquette also benefits from a bench featuring freshman long-range
specialist Travis Diener, the Golden Eagles' top 3-point shooter (43
percent).
Despite all their different contributions, the key is unquestionably
Wade. He earned conference player of the week honors after his 25-point,
eight-rebound effort against Cincinnati.
Wade also is the league's only player to lead his team in points (18.5),
rebounds (7.0), assists (3.7), steals (C-USA best 2.7) and blocked shots
(1.2).
"He's a great athlete," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. "He makes a
lot of plays a lot of people can't make."
Added Saint Louis coach Lorenzo Romar: "Dwyane Wade is an NBA player.
He's all over the floor. He can score in transition. He gets offensive
rebounds. He's a great, great slasher to the basket."
Crean said Wade is showing a great deal of maturity as well.
"What Dwyane is learning is when things aren't going great for him
offensively, he can still get things done defensively," Crean said.
"He does a lot of different things for us, out of instincts and now out
of fundamentals. He's made great strides in all facets of the game and I
think he'll continue to because I think he really wants to be good.
"I think Dwyane is going to be a special player over time."
A special player on a special team. The Golden Eagles appear to have all the components necessary to reach
their first NCAA tournament since 1997.
"This program has progressed a lot each year," Henry said. "Each year we
keep building and getting more recruits and the student section keeps
growing. This is my senior year, along with three other guys who are
seniors, and this is what we've imagined and envisioned since we were
freshman."
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Before this season, South Florida's Will McDonald was known more for
frequenting the fast-food joint of the same name than what he could do on a
basketball court.
But during the summer, McDonald put in extra hours to work on his physique
and endurance. He dropped nearly 20 pounds off his 6-foot-11 frame and
reduced his body fat by 10.6 percent.
A junior center, the 249-pound McDonald has transformed from a 2.7-point
scorer last season into one of C-USA's most improved players. "It's quite a
story," USF coach Seth Greenberg said.
McDonald, who scored 55 points all of last season, has exceeded 20 points
four times this year. He had 23 points and eight rebounds at Memphis, but
his best showing was back-to-back games against Cincinnati (28 points, nine
rebounds) and UCF (29 points, 13 rebounds, both career highs).
Louisville coach Rick Pitino called him one of the league's most
dominating big men. After McDonald outplayed Cincinnati's Donald Little,
Bearcats guard Steve Logan had another description.
"McDonald was a beast," Logan said.
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HOT: The Brown Five
Pick a Brown, any Brown. There's Tulane's Brandon Brown (15.6 points, 7.3
rebounds), DePaul's Andre Brown (14.1, 8.2), TCU's Jamal Brown (11.7, 10.2),
Charlotte's Demon Brown (4.3 assists) and Saint Louis' Kenny Brown (6.7
rebounds), each of whom rank among the league leaders.
NOT: UAB
passing
UAB exceeded its season high in turnovers (22) with 10 minutes remaining
against South Florida on Tuesday. The Blazers were continually dumbfounded
by the Bulls' 1-3-1 trap. "We were pathetic," UAB coach Murry Bartow said.
HOT: MU and
UC's homecourts
Marquette and Cincinnati are the league's only teams that have remained
unbeaten at home. The Golden Eagles are 12-0 in the Bradley Center, while
the Bearcats are 11-0 in the Shoemaker Center.
NOT: Houston
Just two weeks ago, Houston was riding a season-high four-game losing
streak. Since then the Cougars have dropped three of four and are falling
back toward .500.
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Last week, we questioned Pitino's motives for dismissing Louisville's
NCAA tournament chances. "It's not going to happen," Pitino said.
One week later, Pitino is happy to announce, his Cardinals are back in the
hunt. Despite losing starting point guard Carlos Hurt for the season to a
back injury, Louisville has improved its play entering Saturday's huge
matchup at Indiana.
The key was capturing what Pitino called a "must win" game against South
Florida on Friday. Less than 45 hours after an emotional loss at Memphis, U
of L set C-USA and school records, by hitting 19 of 32 3-pointers, in the
96-77 rout. The Cardinals, however, gave a game back on Tuesday with a 67-64
home loss to Saint Louis.
Still with Pitino as coach, it could help sway the NCAA tournament
committee to take the Cardinals come Selection Sunday.
Sophomore Bryant Northern said Pitino had backed off talking about
the NCAA tournament. But not anymore.
"Now, he's talking about it again," Northern said. "He told us talk is
cheap. If we really want it, we've got to go out and get it."
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Memphis' Dajuan Wagner
Just days after the death of his maternal uncle, Scottie Atwater, Wagner had
one of his best games, scoring 25 points vs. Tulane, including Memphis'
final eight points. Wagner visited Atwater over the weekend before returning
to Memphis Monday morning. "He's devastated. They were very close,"
Wagner's father Milt said.
Louisville's Bryant Northern
A sophomore walk-on, Northern hit a career-high 7 of 9 3-pointers against
South Florida. Nicknamed "Cardinal Arena MVP" by his teammates for his
legendary shooting exhibitions in U of L's practice facility, Northern
finally delivered in Freedom Hall. "I felt I couldn't miss," Northern said.
Added USF's Reggie Kohn: "It was ridiculous."
UAB's Murry Bartow
Bartow joined Cincinnati's Huggins and TCU's Billy Tubbs as the league's
only coaches to win 100 or more games at their current schools. Bartow
picked up win No. 100 at TCU and is 100-77 in six years with the Blazers.
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Wednesday night's DePaul at TCU contest may not have the sex appeal of Cincinnati
vs. Marquette or Memphis vs. Louisville, but it ranks as one of the biggest
league games of the year. Seriously.
When these teams meet, you can throw the record books out the window.
Actually, they would probably miss the window. Anyway, why is a game between
DePaul (8-12, 1-7) and TCU (11-12, 1-8) of such importance?
With the addition of TCU and East Carolina to C-USA this year, only 12 of
the league's 14 teams will advance to the C-USA Tournament. DePaul and TCU
are the league's only teams with one victory. Tonight's contest marks the
only meeting between the Blue Demons and the Horned Frogs, so if they finish
the season tied for the 12th spot, tonight's winner would own the
head-to-head tiebreaker.
Both teams have struggled for different reasons.
DePaul coach Pat Kennedy has been sidelined the last four games with a
back injury, but will return tonight. The only thing hurting worse than
Kennedy's back is the Blue Demons' depth. Forward Sam Hoskin and point guard
Imari Sawyer have been suspended indefinitely and Lance Williams will serve
a one-game suspension tonight. Also, forward Jon Oden left the team last
week because of personal reasons.
And just think, this would be Quentin Richardson's senior season.
Tubbs got a quick hint at how different life would be in C-USA in
the Horned Frogs' league opener at South Florida. TCU scored 108 points --
and lost 117-108.
TCU has had trouble adapting to the more physical style of C-USA than it's
free-wheeling past seasons in the Western Athletic Conference.
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Louisville's Reece Gaines scored a career-high 37 points in Tuesday's loss
to Saint Louis. It was the most by a Cardinal since Wes Unseld
had 45 vs. Georgetown College in 1967. ... Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz takes
pride in the 49ers' defense. However, the 49ers are 3-0 this year when their
opponent shoots better than 50 percent. ... Louisville won the 1,400th game
in program history Friday against South Florida. ... Memphis sophomore
forward Arthur Barclay will miss the rest of the season with a left knee
injury. ... After compiling a 22-4 home record the last two seasons, USF
already has lost four times at home this season. ... Thankfully for DePaul,
Charlotte senior Jobey Thomas won't be returning to AllState Arena. Thomas'
career average in Chicago was 22 points, 58 percent from 3-point range,
including an arena record seven treys in one game. ...
Saturday's crowd of 18,698 to witness Marquette's win vs. Cincinnati at the
Bradley Center was the largest ever at a college game in Wisconsin.
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