Marquette Golden Eagles did not have a good day at the arena last Tuesday against UConn. It was a bad collapse that left many in the Marquette fan base shook. Marquette jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first half. No one trusted it. It is like your friend that drinks too much at parties, who, tells you he or she is going to calm down and things are going well, they’re pacing themselves but you’re just waiting for them to go off the rails. That’s how it feels cheering for Marquette. At any point, things could change. Thankfully, Marquette did not let it get any closer than 66-64 with three minutes as they pulled away late to beat the Friars. It’s a good victory for the Golden Eagles.

Player of the Game: Justin Lewis – It is a hard debate when it comes to who is more fun to watch – Justin Lewis or Dawson Garcia. Each have their merits. When Lewis is cooking, good things tend to happen. Lewis scored 11 points, grabbed six boards and blocked three shots. Even though that stat line doesn’t read ‘Player of the Game’, Lewis’ block + tip-back slam combination gave a sense of Marquette isn’t losing tonight. He took over late and that’s what Marquette desperately needed.

Honorable Mention: Dawson Garcia – One of the big developments with Marquette lately has been Dawson Garcia becoming a man. He is playing great basketball of late. Garcia finished the game with 20 points and six rebounds. He had an offensive rating of 167. He did mostly inside the three-point line scoring 6/8 from inside. He also made all five free throws that he attempted. Garcia along with D.J. Carton and Lewis are the stars of the night. They show up almost every night.

What went right for Marquette; Golden Eagles were dominant inside the three-point arch – Garcia wasn’t the only one who had a day from inside last night. Marquette went 58% from the field on two-pointers yesterday. That’s very good. While I’m a fan of the three, it didn’t work for the Golden Eagles. They also understand that Providence was vulnerable inside. Golden Eagles took full advantage of that.

What went wrong for Marquette: The score doesn’t show it but it got hairy in the second – Everyone will look at that box score and say ‘Things are okay.’ Not so fast. Marquette had a nine-point lead at half. Providence immediately opened up with a 12-2 run after the break. The game was tight almost the rest of the way through the second half. The home team needed to come out with a better response than that one.

Next up: Marquette goes back on the road to take on St. John’s. The Johnnies are not doing well this season with only one Big East win. It has the potential to be a track meet. The two worst defenses in the Big East getting together in this one. St. John’s cannot cover inside the paint though which is a huge disadvantage. Big stretch here for Marquette, let’s hope they can take advantage.

Charlie.