For those unfamiliar, the hoopcap is for Marquette and Wisconsin basketball. During the conference season, we’ll do every game for both squads, and for the non-conference, every big game. Hopefully, these aren’t as late as I have done them for two of the Marquette games, yet sometimes, you get drunk on a Friday night and ignore your blog.

Marquette has no defensive concept… again
One of the more concerning things for Marquette basketball is they continue to struggle in a man-to-man defense. There’s no sign Marquette knows how to actually play defense out there. It feels like every night against a good team these guys will have to outscore their opponent to win the game. Steve Wojciehowski has made zero strides to make his defense better. That’s not an encouraging sign for the future of this program. If Marquette’s defense is a little bit better on Friday, they win this game easily.

Rowsey breaks through
One bright spot from this game is Andrew Rowsey found his role on this team. He scored 17 points and hit a few big shots for Marquette when they needed it. Granted, I do think Rowsey went hero ball in the final minute, but that’s more on the coaching staff than Rowsey. I like what he does for the offense though. Curious to know whether Wojociehowski will continue to bring him off the bench or will he take the second guard spot which has currently been up for grabs?

Marquette needs more from Katin Reinhardt
So far, it’s been a rough start for the former USC, UNLV player. Katin Reinhardt went 1-for-8 with three points in 16 minutes of play. In the two New York City games, Reinhardt went 2-for-16 with 8 total points. If we go further and add Vanderbilt to the mix, he’s 6-for-30 against high major competition. That’s not good at all. Wojciehowski needs to rethink if Reinhardt is deserving of starter minutes.

Nothing easy
Marquette made it extremely hard on themselves for March, and we’re not even at Thanksgiving. This Pittsburgh loss might really hurt by mid-March. This was a golden opportunity to get another win against a high major team who will be in the best conference in basketball this season. There’s no guarantee Pitt is a tourney team, and they could be on the same bubble as Marquette. The games against Georgia, Fresno State and Wisconsin all become more critical than they were last Thursday.

Players of the Game
Rowsey (Marquette) Michael Young (Pittsburgh) – The Panthers have a star in Young. He was awesome in this game especially down the stretch for Pittsburgh. He went off for 30 points and led the comeback. Marquette had zero answer for him.

Next up: Marquette welcomes IUPUI for the second straight season on Tuesday night. They played a nailbiter versus Jaguars last year needing overtime to win. Let’s all hope it’s a little easier this year.

Charlie.