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Don't doubt Marquette Golden Eagles have all the parts of a championship teamPosted: Saturday March 29, 2003 8:03 PMUpdated: Saturday March 29, 2003 8:32 PM
Along with every other college basketball junkie, Sports Illustrated senior writer Alexander Wolff was glued to the tube during Marquette’s stunning stomp of top-seed Kentucky on Saturday afternoon. Covering the East Regional in Albany, N.Y., SI.com caught Wolff on an off day and asked him about the Golden Eagles’ victory. SI.com: First of all, how was Marquette able to pick apart Kentucky's vaunted pressure defense? Alex Wolff: The Golden Eagles have the ability to open the floor by making 3-pointers, and that’s easier said than done until you have penetrators like Dwyane Wade and even Travis Diener. By the middle of the first half, Wade had established the ability to dance into the middle of the defense so that Diener, Steve Novak and Karon Bradley were able to spot up. One thing that got lost in the middle of this epic game was Robert Jackson’s fantastic performance. He forced Kentucky to pay much more attention around the basket than it would have liked. SI.com: Was this is a case of Kentucky, which hadn't lost since December, simply running out of steam?
Wolff: It wasn't so much that. The Wildcats' personality is a very impassive one, and Marquette is a very emotional bunch. Win or lose, none of Kentucky's players’ faces ever change expression. That was kind of their M.O. during their impressive winning streak. Here, they found themselves down double digits in the first half, and they don’t have a lot of experience dealing with that. SI.com: How much of a factor was Keith Bogans’ ankle? Wolff: He did not look like himself. In the first half, he missed and missed badly. It must have been a factor. He’s the only one who can answer that, but I’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt. That wasn’t the Keith Bogans we saw during this long winning streak. SI.com: At what point did you feel Marquette had the game in hand? Wolff: I was waiting for a run, and [Marquette coach] Tom Crean was probably telling them that at halftime. There was a stretch in the second half when Wade was out of the game and Kentucky forced two or three turnovers, and I said, "Here we go." Then Wade came back in and everything was OK again. It was all Wade. Remember, he had 11 assists. I know we picked T.J. Ford as our Player of the Year, but picking those awards before the tournament is something we might want to revisit. SI.com: Does Marquette have enough to win the national championship? Wolff: Yes, it does. The Golden Eagles are deep. They have a great player, and I’ve seen lesser teams with one great player win a national championship, such as Danny Manning with Kansas in 1988. Marquette has a good point guard and big bodies. And Novak is a real wild card, a 6-foot-10 forward who can stroke the 3-pointer. This was proof -- they didn’t just beat Kentucky, they sent them home. I don't think anyone should doubt Marquette. SI.com: Where does Dwyane Wade’s day rank among the individual performances in the tournament this year? Wolff: In this tournament? Well, Nick Collison is different because he’s a big man, but Wade’s day is right there with Collison’s 33 points and 19 rebounds on Thursday. I’m trying to think of a better defensive team in college basketball than Kentucky -- maybe the 1994 Arkansas 40-minutes-of-hell team, but not too many others -- and Wade had a triple-double and four blocks against the Wildcats. It was extraordinary -- and Kentucky and Duke were the victims of these performances, which makes you think they were even better.
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