Marquette Golden Eagles started Big East play on Monday. It was not an easy turnaround for them as they went from Los Angeles to Omaha to play Creighton. The Jays are a top ten team in the country who just lost by a point to Kansas. This was seen as a challenge for Marquette and looked that way early on. Golden Eagles trailed by as much as 12 points in the first half. Marquette battled back though and did not wilt as we’ve seen in the past. Rather, they played inspired basketball and took over this game midway through the second half. Despite a late push, Marquette held on for an 89-84 victory.

Player of the Game: Greg Elliott – There was a lot of good from this game playerwise. But Greg Elliott was the key sparkplug in the second half. Elliott made three 3-pointers and helped Marquette take the lead. The dude is not the biggest, but he has a major heart. Elliott is always battling and making shit happen out there. The threes he hit were a huge lift for Marquette. You can tell he’s the senior leader of this team. They love him and no one was happier than his dudes on the bench.

Honorable Mention: Dawson Garcia & DJ Carton – It is hard not to talk about both of these guys as well for Marquette. Let’s start with Dawson. He played some grown man basketball tonight. Garcia attacked the rim and didn’t show an ounce of fear with the Creighton big men. He ruled the paint. Great line for Garcia with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists.

Carton is starting to really come on strong. It is easy to understand why he’s a five-star recruit. Carton gets to the lane with ease and started to feel it from behind the arc. Carton made five threes with 20 points overall, five rebounds, and five assists. The biggest shot of the night came from Carton as Marquette seemed to be bleeding out. He hit the big shot to put them up for four. Now, play the music.

What went right for Marquette – The bigs and others controlled the paint: What makes the Golden Eagles’ lethal is they have the size to play with just about anyone in college basketball. Because they’re so big, it makes it difficult for teams to get anything in the paint. The hope is you have a ref calling a tight game and you might catch some breaks inside. Creighton settled for outside shots instead of dealing with Marquette’s big men down low. All three are excellent.

What went wrong for Marquette – You have to close out a game: Marquette had this game won with about five minutes left. They were up by nine points or so, and all they had to do was close the door. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Creighton came back to life and made it very interesting down the stretch. That’s going to happen from time to time, but Marquette needs a better final push.

Next up: Marquette gets ready to play Seton Hall. And Marquette owes these guys an ass-kicking. After all the issues with Myles Powell last year, it is time for a big fat victory against those guys. KenPom sees it as a close Marquette victory.

Charlie.