Chalk ruled the day. The teams having a bye all advanced. Sandwiched between some reasonably competitive games were a couple games that never had the outcome in doubt.
DePaul spent most of the game looking like they were going to take care of any bubble talk in the Big East by putting Providence out of the Big East Tournament (BET). Ultimately, Providence managed to play some defense while DePaul maintained their stance on no defense if at all possible.
Losing three games against the top three teams in the Big East, with two of the games coming on the road would not be that big a deal. Especially with your starting point guard out with an injury. It hurt Marquette's seed a bit, but they could still show that they are a top-25 team to end the season. Turns out, the Golden Eagles are in free fall.
Falling at home, on senior day in overtime to Syracuse was the clincher. The Orange are nearly as depth-challenged as the Golden Eagles, so it was not depth that cost Marquette. Simply put, Marquette does not have enough good players to challenge other teams at this point.
The offense was more vibrant, the swing in the score more violent, but much like Marquette's Sunday game with Louisville, the Golden Eagles just did not have enough depth to stay in the game. Marquette, without Dominic James, simply does not enough bodies to survive against the top teams. Especially teams that play physical.
Pitt, while not comfortable as the No. 1 team, clearly wants a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers shot over 60% in both halves, and just kept coming at Marquette with more bodies and scoring options.
Marquette gave it a battle. In their first full game without Dominic James, the Golden Eagles would get a big test against Louisville. The two teams went back and forth in the first half, but Louisville slowly took the lead and never let go, yet Marquette always kept the game within a couple of scores.
Marquette's lack of depth caught up to them in the second half, though. Late in the game you could see the Marquette players were just a step slow, their shots falling just a little short, their legs offering less lift.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is now a member of one of college basketball's most exclusive coaching fraternities, winning his 800th game, topping Marquette. The two-time national champion coach is just the seventh Division-I men's coach to crack the 800-win mark and is just five wins from passing Eddie Sutton for sixth all time.
And as a bonus, the game meant plenty for the Huskies' March aspirations.
Marquette has arguably the best backcourt in college basketball with Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Each player is a talented guard that defends well, and is capable of hitting threes and driving to the basket. Add in the fact that all three are seniors that have played together for their entire career, and you will not find a backcourt in the country that can match that combination of talent and experience.
The star billing for the East 8/9 game between Marquette and Michigan State is first the coaches. Pupil Tom Crean against mentor Tom Izzo. The next set of stars are the guards Marquette's Dominic James versus Drew Neitzel.
This is a huge blow to Marquette's chances as McNeal has been a lockdown defender for them all year. The kind of defensive pest that a team needs to keep Neitzel in check. Tom Crean will either have to put Dominic James and/or freshman guard David Cubillan. Wesley Matthews is not nearly a good enough defender to be put on Neitzel.
Marquette's best defensive efforts come from the guards pressuring the perimeter. This is also where Michigan State has struggled, as they turn the ball over a ton. Without McNeal, the turnovers on defense have been harder to produce.
Conference:Big East Record: 24-9, 10-6 in conference RPI: 22 How They Got In: At-large Seed/Bracket: 8 / East (East Rutherford)
Mascot: Golden Eagle. Once upon a time it was "Warrior," but there was no getting past the connection to Native Americans from the Milwaukee area and eventually the school moved to the semi-generic Golden Eagle. The move was resented and disliked by a majority of the students and alum. So much that huge donations were offered conditioned on changing the name back to Warriors. Deciding a few years ago, that Golden Eagle just wasn't being accepted, the school decided that it should be simplified. No, not "Eagles." They thought "Gold" was the better option. Within a few days, the hue and outcry forced a reversal.
Big Wins: They have beaten Duke and beaten Pitt 2 of 3 times this season.
Notable Loss: I still don't understand how in the world they lost at home to the Northwestern State Demons. Player You Should Know: Sophomore guard Dominic James is a superb talent. His shot, though, has become more unpredictable this season. When he is on, he is one of the most dynamic players in the country. When he is off, then Marquette fans just pray he keeps creating..
Outlook: There is no doubt that Marquette could make it to the Sweet 16 and perhaps the Elite 8. Especially if they get Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Jerel McNeal back for the NCAA. They are also equally likely to go out in an opening round game.
Notre Dame's record now stands at 22-6 and 10-5 in the Big East after their big win over Marquette. It put them at 18-0 for the season (20-0 dating back to last year). They needed the perfection at home considering their floundering on the road. 4-6 in road and neutral games and 2-5 on the road in the Big East.
Freshman Center Luke Harangody came up huge for Notre Dame. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with just under 23 seconds left. And even when he fouled out, he got Dan Fitzgerald so pissed, he shoved back to get nailed with a technical foul.
Four ND starters hit double digits. Colin Falls broke the Big East record for most 3s in the conference for a career with the 4 he hit. He broke the 183 made by Gerry McNamara of Syracuse. The Irish were 27-34 at the free throw line. The Irish withstood a hot start from Marquette early in the first half, that found them down by 13 halfway through. Then, ND started hitting and Marquette went cold to take control of the game and be up by 6 at the half.
Marquette, as often predicted, went the way of their start point guard Dominic James. He struggled, and Marquette fell. James had 14 points, but it came on 6-20 shooting and he looked frustrated the entire second half. The other two guards -- Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal -- contributed 33 points, but the Golden Eagles frontcourt players were non-factors against the bigger Irish players.
Notre Dame has clinched their Tourney bid with this win. Even ND, with all of their road issues, should be able to win their final game -- at 10-18 Rutgers.
Villanova came out strong and got a lead in the first half. Scottie Reynolds came out hitting shots and taking it right at the Marquette defense. In a way, for Villanova, the game started out a lot like it did on Saturday against Georgetown. Unfortunately for 'Nova, the outcome was also the same as Marquette won 80-67.
Marquette withstood the early surge and being down 28-19 and clawed back to a 33-33 tie by the half. The second half saw the Golden Eagles slowly pull away as both teams continued drawing fouls by going at the basket. 67 free throws were attempted in this game. Marquette hit 31-35 to help build their lead. A big switch from their 15-24 free throw shooting in the loss to Louisville.
The Marquette trio of guards shot only 13-33, but were 20-20 from the line. Freshman forward Lazar Hayward helped get and keep Marquette in the game in the first half with 13 of his 18 points.
Villanova's big problem was that no one else really gave Reynolds any help. Reynolds was 7-15 with 25 points. The rest of the team was 11-33. Villanova has struggled to score lately.
Marquette avoids back-to-back home losses and keeps themselves in position for still grabbing a top-4 finish in the Big East regular season, giving them a bye in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Troubling for Marquette, though, was that the guards still struggled with making shots. Possibly more of a concern is the ongoing inconsistent free throw shooting. They have had games like this, where they hit everything; then they have games where they struggle to get much above 50%.
Chalk ruled the day. The teams having a bye all advanced. Sandwiched between some reasonably competitive games were a couple games that never had the outcome in doubt.
Losing three games against the top three teams in the Big East, with two of the games coming on the road would not be that big a deal. Especially with your starting point guard out with an injury. It hurt Marquette's seed a bit, but they could still show that they are a top-25 team to end the season. Turns out, the Golden Eagles are in free fall. 
The offense was more vibrant, the swing in the score more violent, but much like Marquette's Sunday game with Louisville, the Golden Eagles just did not have enough depth to stay in the game. Marquette, without Dominic James, simply does not enough bodies to survive against the top teams. Especially teams that play physical.
Marquette gave it a battle. In their first full game without Dominic James, the Golden Eagles would get a big test against Louisville. The two teams went back and forth in the first half, but Louisville slowly took the lead and never let go, yet Marquette always kept the game within a couple of scores.
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is now a member of one of college basketball's most exclusive coaching fraternities, winning his 800th game, topping Marquette. The two-time national champion coach is just the seventh Division-I men's coach to crack the 800-win mark and is just five wins from passing Eddie Sutton for sixth all time.
Marquette has arguably the best backcourt in college basketball with Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Each player is a talented guard that defends well, and is capable of hitting threes and driving to the basket. Add in the fact that all three are seniors that have played together for their entire career, and you will not find a backcourt in the country that can match that combination of talent and experience.
The star billing for the East 8/9 game between Marquette and Michigan State is first the coaches. Pupil Tom Crean against mentor Tom Izzo. The next set of stars are the guards Marquette's Dominic James versus Drew Neitzel. 
Conference: Big East 
At home. A 85-73 win.
Villanova came out strong and got a lead in the first half. Scottie Reynolds came out hitting shots and taking it right at the Marquette defense. In a way, for Villanova, the game started out a lot like it did on Saturday against Georgetown. Unfortunately for 'Nova, the outcome was also the same as Marquette won 80-67.
