Madison Square Garden is said to be mecca of basketball. Marquette would like to never see it again. Golden Eagles are now 0-3 there for the season and 3-10 over the last couple of years. New York City is a rough place for most outsiders and Marquette is no different. Golden Eagles delivered a punchless effort against St. John’s as the Red Storm beat them down by forcing Marquette into their style of play among other things falling 86-72. This loss will not be appreciated by the tournament committee.

Turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers.
Man, Marquette looked like a very young team on Wednesday night. They had 17 turnovers, and it seemed like every time Golden Eagles were making a charge, a turnover would happen. Not a good night. Marquette couldn’t figure out the aggressive defense of St. John’s. Who knows if this was a team thing or a coaching thing. To the coaches, the lack of second half adjustments is terribly frustrating. Marquette should have been able to backdoor this team to death or run screens all day yet neither happened.

2-3 Zone came too late
In another coaching conundrum, Marquette found a way to slow St. John’s offense, and that was with a 2-3 zone. Johnnies were making bad shots and decisions to give Marquette a slight chance. This zone should have been a focal point of their defense blending it with man and 1-3-1, instead, it was a last ditch Hail Mary. But the fact Steve Wojciechowski waved the white flag in the final two and half minutes will be remembered for a long time if this thing goes south. He stayed in the zone and didn’t try to extend the game up 10. Why college coaches don’t apply Hack-A-Shaq shit is beyond me.

Haanif Cheatham’s rough second half
What happened to the tough as nails Haanif Cheatham. Marquette had some sore points with last season, but one takeaway was Cheatham had ice in his veins. Couple thing stood out. He missed three free throws down the stretch. Took a foul versus trying a layup even if it could have been blocked and committed two turnovers that turned into Johnnies buckets. The foul play could be considered smart at different points of the game, but not when Marquette needs buckets and more buckets. This game was one big fucking walkthrough for so many players.

Bubble lyfe
Marquette is allergic to staying off the bubble. They can’t help themselves. Joe Lunardi had them at eight before tonight, and my guess is they will see a two seed drop if not more. That’s a bad loss, and now, a good win needs to find its way to Marquette. Opportunties are all over the place in the next two weeks.

Players of the Game: Sam Hauser (Marquette), Bashir Ahmed (St. John’s)

Next Up
Marquette goes to the House of Horrors that is Allstate Arena to play DePaul in an absolute must-win. Last year, they took care of business here, but it’s never easy. I’ll be on pins and needles all game long.

Charlie.