MUTV’s “FaceOff” guys, Chris Gaulke, Brian Hoffman, and Joe Sitkowski, hand out their nominations for the “Marquette Big Ups of the Week” for the time between Friday, Feb. 20 and Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

ESPN write Andy Katz talked with Marquette boss Buzz Williams in his latest Podcast.

(Go to the 11:13 mark in the interview. Keno Davis is interviewed from start-11:12)

ESPN’s Dick Vitale interacts with the Marquette Fanatics before the Marquette/Connecticut game.

The Connecticut Huskies came into the Bradley Center perfect on the road. The Marquette Golden Eagles stepped onto the court untarnished, untouched, and invincible at home. The Huskies left Milwaukee with their road winning streak in-tact. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, lost not only home perfection, but their starting point guard of four years. Dominic Jame broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot–the same injury Liam McMorrow suffered in the preseason. Coach Buzz Williams walked into the post-game press conference, stated James’s injury, and declared, “His career at Marquette is over.”

Uh-oh.

One of the Big Three is down, and out. He will continue to be an immensely important part of this team, no doubt. But the play must go on. As the guys proved last night, they are a formidable bunch that can adjust on the fly. “Tonight,” Buzz Williams said, “Our character was revealed.”

It certainly was. Marquette gave America’s second-ranked team a run for their money. Coach Jim Calhoun won his 800th career game last night, and said that the win over Marquette was one of the toughest of the season. A.J. Price had alot to do with that, going 8 for 12 from 3-point land, and finished with an astounding 36 points.

A back-and-forth offensive battle in the second half brought the sellout crowd–the Bradley Center’s first on a weeknight–to its feet. As Marquette Tribune Sports Director John Borneman said during the incredible see-saw tilt in the second half, “They are unconscious out there!”

The Golden Eagles forced 15 turnovers, which resulted in 25 points. Plus, as Coach Williams loves to say, they got paint touches. But in the end, Marquette’s perimeter excellence was not enough to match UConn’s 46 rebounds.  Jerel McNeal led the Golden Eagles in scoring, again, with 26 points. His senior counterpart, Wes Matthews, had 20. Lazar Hayward was limited to just 15 points. But Jimmy Butler played phenomenally, crashed the boards, and finished with 12 points off the bench. His role will obviously increase with the loss of James for the season.

Credit Buzz Williams’s crew. They fell behind in the first half, watching the Huskies make a 16-0 run. They fought back without their point guard of four years. They battled with a team taller than them at nearly every position. They even had five players with 4 fouls, but had enough composure to keep everyone in the game. This team is resilient, they prove that every time they step onto the court. All season, they have been scrutinized. Yet they have continued to excel.

Now, they are about to be scrutinized like never before. The season is not over. Buzz Williams knows that. At 12:01 today, they had to shake off the loss of their home perfection, their loss to a BIG EAST rival, and the loss of their heart and soul. This team is down, but don’t you dare count them out.

Brad Galli
MUTV Assistant Sports Director

Box Score
GoMarquette Summary

As a Marquette Senior, the match-up with UCONN is a little extra special. I was a freshman on winter break when Marquette had its first BIG EAST game. UConn was the #2 team in the land and they were led by an all-star cast of Josh Boone, Rudy Gay and Hilton Armstrong. And if that wasn’t enough to scare most teams away, Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun was prowling the sidelines for the Huskies.

But with the heroic efforts of senior forward Steve Novak’s 41 points and 16 rebounds, the Golden Eagles were mightier than the Huskies. The entire east coast was up in arms that a former C-USA team, which was 3 years removed from the Final 4, could embarrass the “Old Guard” of the nation’s best college basketball conference.

On a side note, I personally believe that Marquette not being ranked at all that season was a huge slap in the face to a program that finished 4th in the BIG EAST.

But let’s flash forward to tonight’s match-up. Once again UCONN is ranked #2 in the nation. Yet again the Huskies are led by a powerful front court and a group of likely NBA Lottery picks. However, this Marquette team has a few leaders of its own.

They were just freshmen at the time. But this year the 3-guard combo of Dominic James, Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal accounts for over 50 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists a game. But who fills that forward position from their freshman year that Steve Novak vacated? Why that would be match-up nightmare Lazar Hayward, who averages 16 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game.

Marquette has also attained respect from the National media since our Big 3 were freshmen in 2005. The Golden Eagles are a top 10 team. The magical tournament entry number of 20 wins was eclipsed weeks ago. McNeal and James are on National award watch lists. But most importantly of all, the Bradley Center crowd will be behind these 13 Warriors. This is the first time Marquette has sold out a weekday home game at the Bradley Center. Let that soak in for a second. Dwyane Wade couldn’t even sell out the BC (…on a weeknight)!

So if you haven’t done it already, get your Fanatics t-shirt on, cheer loudly, and get ready to watch your team protect our 90 acre nation of 11,000 strong. Because when Connecticut walks onto the Al McGuire Court they’ll know that they’re in trouble and they’ll know that they’ve messed up, because they’ll hear a chant of 3 words:

WE ARE MARQUETTE

Ritchie Donnelly
MUTV Sports Director

GoMarquette gives us their official breakdown.
Also featured on GoMarquette are the (.pdf) Marquette-UConn Game Notes.

Our friends at Cracked Sidewalks brought the following articles to our attention:
USA Today write-up on Buzz
New York Times feature on Buzz

Tonight’s tip is at 6 CT and MUTV will be there. Marquette Radio has the call, starting with a pregame at 5:30. Tune in LIVE to hear the call.

Part 1 features Men’s highlights vs. Georgetown and analysis of GU & a look ahead to UConn.

Part 2 features Women’s highlights vs. St. John’s and analysis of SJU & a look ahead to their Tourney push.

Brad Galli and Robbie Shimp anchor the weekend recap of Marquette Athletics, while Chris Gaulke, Todd Warner, and Joe Sitkowski take a look ahead to the upcoming games on Marquette’s schedule. The episode of SportsTime originally aired Feb. 23, 2009 on Marquette University Television.

MUTV Sports Reporter Robbie Shimp checks in from the Verizon Center