Marquette - Close But No Cigar

        Now that Marquette is tied with Syracuse at the half, is it time to finally give them some love? I don't think that they'll be able to stay with the Orange in the second half, but its time for the Golden Eagles to finally get on the map. Sure they are just 11-7, but a closer look shows six of their losses are by four or less points, including two two-point losses to Villanova and one-point losses to Florida State and West Virginia. But Marquette is going to have to find a way to win these games. The NCAA Tournament committee isn't going to hand out a bid to the Golden Eagles if they can't find a way to win close games or win on the road (0-4).

    But on the road today, Marquette is hanging in #5 Syracuse. Can they stay with them? We'll just have to wait and see. In the second-half, I expect the Orange to pull away; Marquette has just two first-half turnovers, to Syracuse's 12 and Marquette has hit their blogoutside shots over Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone. If Marquette can pull out this win, don't be surprised. They have been doing this all season long.


By Corey Ruff - President - 1-23-10