Marquette Reaches The Semifinal For First Time Since 2010
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
A lot has happened since the last time the Marquette Golden Eagles reached the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. That would be way back in 2010, by the way.
Let’s see, in no particular order, Kate Middleton married Prince William (and now the Royal Couple has a couple of little royals of their own). Superstorm Sandy created havoc for most of the East Coast. Barack Obama was elected president, then re-elected, and now he’s gone, working the lecture circuit. One Trade Center rose on the spot that used to be the home of the World Trade Center towers. The San Francisco Giants won three, count ‘em, three World Series. And LeBron James left Cleveland, brought his talents to South Beach, brought them back to Cleveland again and now has taken them with him to Los Angeles. which looks to have been a miscalculation on his part.
The Golden Eagles have also made four appearances in the NCAA Tournament since their last trip to the conference tournament semifinals. So as you can see, lots has happened during Marquette’s tournament drought.
But if you can imagine, things are considerably worse for St. John’s. The Red Storm are on a 19-year drought of their own as far as BIG EAST semifinal appearances go. That’s the Year 2000, if you’re counting. When everyone was worried about Y2K, Tom Hanks was talking to his volleyball friend, Wilson, in “Cast Away” and George Clooney and some friends took an ill-fated fishing trip in “A Perfect Storm.”
Ah, good times. Seems so long ago, doesn’t it? But just think how Johnnies’ fans are feeling about it.
Fortunately for Marquette fans, and unfortunately for Red Storm Nation, the Golden Eagles’ drought is over while Johnnies’ fans are going to have to deal with another semifinal-less season as Marquette got 30 points from BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard as the Golden Eagles built a comfortable 38-26 lead at halftime, then used a relentless 23-3 run early in the second half as second-seeded Marquette overpowered No. 7 St. John’s, 86-54, in a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday night at a raucous - and sold out - Madison Square Garden.
It was a particularly satisfying win for the Golden Eagles as St. John’s had swept Marquette during the regular season. Guess the third time was the charm for Howard and Friends.
Marquette (24-8), ranked 23rd in the country in the latest AP Top 25 poll, will now take on Seton Hall in Friday night’s late semifinal at 9:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles split the season series with the Pirates this season.
Howard was brilliant, as is usually the case when he steps on a court. But what is also typical with Howard is when asked about his accomplishments, he chose instead to talk about the team. Always deflecting credit and dishing it to his teammates.
“My team, they kind of helped me through things,” said Howard, who shot 8-for-15 from the field. (Sacar Anim) really gave us a spark to start the game (and) Sam and Joey (Hauser) were really aggressive. It kind of opened things up for me.”
It was still anyone’s game at intermission as Marquette was up by a dozen (38-26) and Howard had only dropped in 13 points at that point.
But boy, did things ever escalate in a hurry for the Golden Eagles in the second half as Howard put on a show for the packed house as the 19,000-plus in attendance got an up-close look as to why Howard was named the conference’s best this season.
“Markus is BIG EAST Player of the Year for a reason,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “And it’s not just because he can score. You’re talking about a complete player who every team’s game plan is geared to stop him. What he’s been able to do this year is fantastic.”
Early in the second quarter when st. John’s was still within six points (43-37), Howard took it upon himself to put the game away as he scored 12 of Marquette’s net 14 points and suddenly the Golden Eagles had themselves a 57-39 lead. And it just kept growing from there.
Marquette was so dominant in the second half that it sounded like a Golden Eagles’ home game as Red Storm nation had little to cheer for as Golden Eagles’ leads hovered around the 30-point mark in the game’s final 10 minutes. And when Howard dropped in a free throw with 5:11 to play to give Marquette a 74-46 lead, it also gave Howard his 17th career 30-point game as he exited the game to thunderous applause.
The final indignity for St. John’s came when Marquette fans starting chanting “This is our house” in the final minutes of the game. Yes, Marquette’s semifinal drought was over and they ended it in spectacular fashion.
“I always expect to see the best of Markus because I have an incredible amount of belief in him,” Wojciechowski said. “There’s nobody I’d trade him for."