Marquette faces Seton Hall in Big East tournament
By Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel
March 10, 2015
New York — Over the past four months Marquette has suffered through its worst season in more than a decade, finishing with a 12-18 record.
But that doesn't matter anymore, at least not to coach Steve Wojciechowski.
The Big East tournament is the great equalizer and even though his Golden Eagles are the ninth seed out of 10 teams playing at Madison Square Garden this week, he knows that all bets are off in conference tournament games.
"Why not us? Seeds don't matter," Wojciechowski said. "I've been in situations where I have been coaching on teams who have been the No. 1 seed and we got our butts kicked. Seeds don't matter. (For) everybody it's a fresh start."
Marquette will face Seton Hall (16-14) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the tournament opener. The teams split their regular-season matchups, with the Pirates running away in the second half for an 80-70 win in Milwaukee and the Golden Eagles holding on late to earn a 57-54 victory in Newark, N.J.
The rubber match will feature teams that have gone through changes since the last time they met Feb. 7.
Marquette leading scorer Matt Carlino, who did not play in Newark because of a concussion, will be in the lineup. Seton Hall, on the other hand, no longer has sophomore guard Jaren Sina in the fold. The former starter announced he was leaving the program four days after Marquette and Seton Hall clashed at the Prudential Center.
"I think they're back to playing the way they played when we saw them the first time," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "I think they've added some little different wrinkles on offense that have really helped them.
"Although some of the personnel have changed, the philosophies have stayed the same."
Even without Sina, Seton Hall is well-stocked with talented players led by junior guard Sterling Gibbs, an all-Big East second-team pick who had 24 points and 10 assists against Marquette in Milwaukee. Freshmen Isaiah Whitehead and Angel Delgado were all-Big East rookie team selections with Delgado being a unanimous pick.
"Sometimes when you do lose a player it gives other guys a chance to step up and I think that's what the kids at Seton Hall have done," Wojciechowski said. "I think they're playing well. Maybe it's not reflected in as many wins as they would have liked, but they're playing very well."
Marquette, which snapped a six-game skid with a victory over DePaul to close out the regular season Saturday, knows the daunting task that the Big East tournament poses. If the Golden Eagles take care of business against Seton Hall, they will get a date with No. 1 Villanova on Thursday.
"We're huge underdogs, so we have nothing to lose and we're going to play that way," Carlino said. "Hopefully play aggressive and play to win."
One thing that both Marquette and Seton Hall are keeping in mind is last season's tournament. That's when the No. 8 Pirates upset the No. 1 Wildcats on the second day of action.
Could lightning strike twice this year for the winner of the 8-9 game?
"If we play our best game we'll have a chance to win (any game)," Wojciechowski said. "That's the beauty of postseason college basketball — you don't have to be better than somebody for 30 games, you have to be better than somebody for one night."
Legends Classic: Marquette will be back in the five boroughs in just over eight months for the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. The Golden Eagles will be joined by LSU, Arizona State and North Carolina State at the Barclays Center on Nov. 23-24.
Marquette and LSU have signed two of the top recruits for next year in Henry Ellenson (No. 5 on ESPN's top 100) and Ben Simmons (No. 1 on ESPN's top 100). The matchups for the tournament will be announced later.
March 10, 2015
New York — Over the past four months Marquette has suffered through its worst season in more than a decade, finishing with a 12-18 record.
But that doesn't matter anymore, at least not to coach Steve Wojciechowski.
The Big East tournament is the great equalizer and even though his Golden Eagles are the ninth seed out of 10 teams playing at Madison Square Garden this week, he knows that all bets are off in conference tournament games.
"Why not us? Seeds don't matter," Wojciechowski said. "I've been in situations where I have been coaching on teams who have been the No. 1 seed and we got our butts kicked. Seeds don't matter. (For) everybody it's a fresh start."
Marquette will face Seton Hall (16-14) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the tournament opener. The teams split their regular-season matchups, with the Pirates running away in the second half for an 80-70 win in Milwaukee and the Golden Eagles holding on late to earn a 57-54 victory in Newark, N.J.
The rubber match will feature teams that have gone through changes since the last time they met Feb. 7.
Marquette leading scorer Matt Carlino, who did not play in Newark because of a concussion, will be in the lineup. Seton Hall, on the other hand, no longer has sophomore guard Jaren Sina in the fold. The former starter announced he was leaving the program four days after Marquette and Seton Hall clashed at the Prudential Center.
"I think they're back to playing the way they played when we saw them the first time," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "I think they've added some little different wrinkles on offense that have really helped them.
"Although some of the personnel have changed, the philosophies have stayed the same."
Even without Sina, Seton Hall is well-stocked with talented players led by junior guard Sterling Gibbs, an all-Big East second-team pick who had 24 points and 10 assists against Marquette in Milwaukee. Freshmen Isaiah Whitehead and Angel Delgado were all-Big East rookie team selections with Delgado being a unanimous pick.
"Sometimes when you do lose a player it gives other guys a chance to step up and I think that's what the kids at Seton Hall have done," Wojciechowski said. "I think they're playing well. Maybe it's not reflected in as many wins as they would have liked, but they're playing very well."
Marquette, which snapped a six-game skid with a victory over DePaul to close out the regular season Saturday, knows the daunting task that the Big East tournament poses. If the Golden Eagles take care of business against Seton Hall, they will get a date with No. 1 Villanova on Thursday.
"We're huge underdogs, so we have nothing to lose and we're going to play that way," Carlino said. "Hopefully play aggressive and play to win."
One thing that both Marquette and Seton Hall are keeping in mind is last season's tournament. That's when the No. 8 Pirates upset the No. 1 Wildcats on the second day of action.
Could lightning strike twice this year for the winner of the 8-9 game?
"If we play our best game we'll have a chance to win (any game)," Wojciechowski said. "That's the beauty of postseason college basketball — you don't have to be better than somebody for 30 games, you have to be better than somebody for one night."
Legends Classic: Marquette will be back in the five boroughs in just over eight months for the Legends Classic in Brooklyn. The Golden Eagles will be joined by LSU, Arizona State and North Carolina State at the Barclays Center on Nov. 23-24.
Marquette and LSU have signed two of the top recruits for next year in Henry Ellenson (No. 5 on ESPN's top 100) and Ben Simmons (No. 1 on ESPN's top 100). The matchups for the tournament will be announced later.
Commenti
Posta un commento