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Marquette climbing up the Top 25 polls

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Steve Wojciechowski

A pair of victories last week for the Marquette Golden Eagles is catching people’s attention.  Riding a three-game winning streak, the Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1 Big East) moved up six spots on Monday in both Top 25 polls.

Marquette climbed to 13th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 15th in the Associated Press writers poll.

The rankings are the highest since Steve Wojciechowski’s took over (fifth season).  It’s also the highest the Golden Eagles have been ranked since they were No. 11 in the coaches poll and No. 12 in the AP poll during the 2012-13 season under Buzz Williams.

Marquette shoots for its fourth straight win on Tuesday night when they face Georgetown (12-5, 2-2) in Washington D.C.

Marquette headed for the N.I.T., will host Harvard (AUDIO)

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Steve Wojciechowski – File Photo (Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)

When the NCAA was handing out tournament bids on Sunday night, the Marquette Golden Eagles were left out.

Instead, Marquette will face Harvard in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday (6 p.m.) at the Al McGuire Center.  The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Marquette (19-13) had a number of moments during the season where they couldn’t afford to slip and they did.  Regular season losses at St. John’s and DePaul were back-breakers.

To their credit, the Golden Eagles did have quality road wins against Creighton, Seton Hall and Providence, but as it turned out, Marquette wasn’t even one of the first four teams left out of the NCAA tournament field.  That distinction belonged to Baylor, Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Southern California.

Six Big East schools made the NCAA Tournament field: Villanova, Xavier, Providence, Creighton, Seton Hall and Butler.  Villanova and Xavier landed number-one seeds.

The last time Marquette played a game in the NIT was March of 2005 when they fell to Western Michigan 54-40.

The tournament will experiment with new rules this season, including an extended three-point line, four quarters instead of two halves, a 20-second shot clock after offensive rebounds and a wide free-throw lane.

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski on the new rules for the tournament :23

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski said his players are excited about the opportunity :15

Marquette falls to Villanova in Big East quarterfinals

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Steve Wojciechowski – File Photo (Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)

Marquette’s NCAA Tournament hopes took a big hit on Thursday night when they fell to Big East power Villanova 94-70 in New York.

Jay Wright became the winningest coach in Villanova history with 414 wins (414-165).

The Wildcats (28-4) took control in the second half as they shoot for their third Big East Tournament title in four years.  Mikal Bridges hit four three-pointers and scored 25 points.  Big East player of the year Jalen Brunson added 21 points.  The Wildcats hit 15 of  their 29 three’s, including 11 of 17 in the second half.

The Golden Eagles (19-13) got 23 points from Markus Howard and 22 from Andrew Rowsey in the loss.

Marquette will now sit and wait to see if their record, as well as the strength of the Big East Conference will be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.  It would seem unlikely, but the Golden Eagles will stay prepared for whatever postseason tournament comes calling.

“I believe we’re an NCAA Tournament team,” Coach Steve Wojciechowski said.  “But that’s not something I get to decide on.  I think our team has had a really good year, especially considering our youth.  And I think our team is capable of winning games in the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova moves into tonight’s Big East semifinals against Butler.

Marquette adds another Hauser on signing day

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Steve Wojciechowski

Steve Wojciechowski and the Marquette men’s basketball program landed the state’s top 2018 recruit in Stevens Point’s 6’8 forward Joey Hauser.  It means Joey will join his older brother Sam on the Marquette roster starting next season.

Joey Hauser officially signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.  He’s joined by Brendan Bailey from American Fork (Utah) High School.  Bailey officially signed in 2016 but is on a two-year Mormon mission in Washington D.C.

Joey Hauser led Stevens Point to three straight WIAA Division 1 championships.  He averaged 23.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game last season as a junior.

Joey’s brother Sam averaged 8.8 points a game as a freshman with the Golden Eagles last season.

Marquette adds Judson to coaching staff

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The Marquette men’s basketball team has hired veteran coach Rob Judson as special assistant to head coach Steve Wojciechowski on Tuesday.

Judson has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including the last four at Indiana under former Marquette coach Tom Crean.  Judson was the Hoosiers’ director of basketball operations for two seasons before moving into an assistant coaching position prior to the 2015-16 season in Bloomington.

Judson was also an assistant for Illinois from 1996-2001, where he served as a top recruiter for Lon Kruger and Bill Self and watched the Fighting Illini make four NCAA tournament appearances in five years and win Big Ten crowns in 1998 and 2001.

Marquette adds transfer forward Ed Morrow

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Ed Morrow

Ed Morrow, who spent the last two seasons at the University of Nebraska, is joining the Marquette men’s basketball program.  Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski made the announcement Tuesday morning.

The 6’7 Morrow will arrive on campus this summer and have two years of eligibility with the Golden Eagles after redshirting in 2017-18.

The Lincoln, Nebraska, native appeared in 54 career games, earning 19 starts with the Cornhuskers.  As a sophomore last season, Morrow posted game averages of 9.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, starting 18 games.

Heldt & Hauser lead Marquette past St. John’s (AUDIO)

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Matt Heldt – Photo Courtesy of Marquette University Athletics

Freshman Sam Hauser hit five three pointers and finished with a team high 19 points and little used sophomore Matt Heldt had career highs in points (15), rebounds (10) and minutes (29) to help the Marquette Golden Eagles knock off St. John’s 93-71 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday night.

Heldt entered Tuesday’s game with the fewest minutes logged among the teams nine scholarship players.  But he had six points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s win over Xavier and earned more minutes last night.

Marquette (17-10, 8-7 Big East) also got 18 points from redshirt junior Andrew Rowsey and 16 from Katin Reinhardt as the Golden Eagles took another step towards earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

The Golden Eagles have three games left in the Big East regular season, two of the three coming on the road.  It starts on Saturday with a trip to Providence.

Marquette made 12 three-pointers on the night, giving them a program record of 275 in a season.

AUDIO: Matt Heldt on his first career double-double :16

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski on Matt Heldt :19

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski says Helt deserved the opportunity :15

Marquette’s offense falters in loss to Butler (AUDIO)

By

Steve Wojciechowski

For most of the season, the Marquette Golden Eagles defense has been an issue.  Last night, the offense took its turn in the Golden Eagles 68-65 loss to Butler in Big East play at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Marquette (15-9, 6-6 Big East) trailed by seven at halftime.  But the Golden Eagles battled back with some solid defense and took the lead midway through the second half.

But Butler (19-5, 8-4) regained the lead just a couple of minutes later and never trailed again.

Marquette’s defense held the Bulldogs to just 28 points in the second half but couldn’t come up with enough offense to pull out the win. [Read more…]

Marquette stuns top ranked Villanova (AUDIO)

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Marquette fans storm the court to celebrate 74-72 win over top-ranked Villanova

The Marquette Golden Eagles came from 17 points down in the second half to upset the number-one team in the AP Top 25 Poll, Villanova 74-72 in men’s college basketball action at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday night.

The Golden Eagles closed the game with a 19-4 run to pull out the win.  Katin Reinhardt scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half, including a pair of game winning free throws with 11.2 seconds left.

Villanova’s Jalen Brunson drove to the basket for a final chance but his layup was off the mark and the Marquette fans stormed the court to celebrate the upset victory. [Read more…]

Marquette notches victory in Big East opener

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Markus Howard – Photo: Courtesy of Marquette Athletics.

The Marquette Golden Eagles got 23 points from 17-year-old freshman Markus Howard and 20 points from senior guard JaJuan Johnson in Wednesday night’s 76-66 Big East opener at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Howard was playing in his very first Big East game but showed no signs of nervousness.  He hit seven of ten from the field and five of six from three-point range.

Markus Howard’s 23 points are the most for a Marquette player in their Big East debut since Jae Crowder’s 29 points in 2011. [Read more…]