Brad Galli reports from San Jose, CA, where the Golden Eagles’ stylish new ‘dos have kept with the theme of hair-inspired stories in this 2009-10 campaign. Lazar Hayward and Buzz Williams chime in as Maurice Acker plays barber. Plus, Williams compares first-round opponent Washington to BIG EAST teams.

MUTV’s Brad Galli gives you an exclusive look at Marquette’s night at ESPNZone in New York before the BIG EAST Tournament begins. Check out Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler’s gaming battle as well as Coach Buzz Williams’ philosophy on fun. Plus: Rob Frozena vs. Maurice Acker in Air Hockey, Joe Fulce vs. Erik Williams, and more!

On Al’s Night at the Bradley Center, Marquette punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, demolishing Louisville, 69-48. Brad Galli reports from Milwaukee, where a very exhausted Buzz Williams was left gushing about his team. Darius Johnson-Odom’s dunk (and Buzz’s reaction to it) was also a hot topic after the game.

MUTV Assistant Sports Director Todd Warner reports from the Bradley Center after Marquette defeats Providence, 93-63. Maurice Acker and Buzz Williams speak from the podium.

On the second episode of Marquette Basketball Weekly, host Brad Galli has an exclusive interview with Head Coach Buzz Williams. Coach Williams answers the “8 Burning Questions” Marquette fans want answered before the 2009-10 season.
Rob Frozena stops by to talk about the walk-on tryouts, and Dwight Buycks joins Brad Galli in studio for his Golden Eagle Spotlight interview.
Plus, Chris Gaulke chats with Darius Johnson-Odom in our second Golden Eagle Spotlight. That’s all here on Marquette Basketball Weekly.

MILWAUKEE — Early Friday morning, the Marquette Athletic program announced Freshman Junior Cadougan suffered an injury to his achilles on Thursday and will miss significant playing time. An injury of this severity will likely sideline Cadougan for the season.

According to gomarquette.com, “Cadougan will undergo surgery on his right foot in the coming days and will immediately begin the 4-to-6 month rehabilitation process.”

Coach Williams was quoted on the site, saying, “We all know injuries are a part of sports. As a program, we are all hurt and disappointed for Junior. He will receive the absolute best care possible prior to, during, and after his surgery. Even though he will not be in uniform this year, he will still be a valuable member of our team this season.”

Cadougan was expected to compete for the starting point guard position. This unfortunate situation adds to a continuing stretch of changes to the starting lineup fans are projecting. Maurice Acker is back, and will most likely suit up at the “1,” but to most fans, the spot seemed like Cadougan’s to lose.

Tune in to MUTVSports’ new show, Marquette Basketball Weekly, this Thursday for more. You can find the full show on Thursday on mutv.mu.edu and clips on MUTVsports.com

Maurice Acker is back on the Marquette Basketball roster after leaving the team in June.

Senior guard Maurice Acker will return to the Marquette Basketball team this fall. Our very own campus newspaper, the Marquette Tribune, confirmed the report with MU Athletics’ Scott Kuykendall. The Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak was first to the story.

In Rosiak’s August 29th blog post, he includes a quote from Coach Buzz Williams: ”He was on track to graduate in the fall, and he’s going to need probably six more hours in the spring,” said Williams. “This summer, all he did was focus academically, he did fine, and this has been going on over the last couple of weeks. I talked to his dad, talked to his mom over the phone, face-to-face, and they think it’s the right thing for him.”

Back on June 25th, the school released a statement saying Acker would “not return for his senior season.” The statement included the following from Williams:
“He is one semester shy of completing his degree and we all believed it was in Maurice’s best interest for that to be his priority.”

Coach Williams told Rosiak the team was “excited” upon hearing the news of Acker’s return. Clearly, his veteran presence will be a much welcomed addition to a roster with numerous players without BIG EAST experience. He will most likely compete for the starting point guard position this season.

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.