Marquette's Second Half Struggles Maintain Them on NCAA Tournament Bubble

Should you watch a Marquette basketball game, it sometimes feels as in case you're watching two various teams inside the game. Within the 1st 20 to 30 minutes, Marquette looks like a legitimate Top 20 team. They leave the impression that they'll beat anybody within the Massive East, and therefore, just about any person within the country. In the remaining minutes, they appear very mediocre?aa team that wouldn't be worthy of inclusion within the NCAA tournament. This team typically erases all of the tough work and excellent impressions left by the team of the initial 20 to Half an hour.

Due to the latter, Marquette at present finds themselves a lot more on the tournament bubble than they should probably be. The game on Sunday against Georgetown provided an additional illustration of the Marquette team (or teams, if you will) we've grown accustomed to seeing this season. The Golden Eagles lost 69-60 in Washington, DC. Once again, they led at halftime (by four), and held a slim lead before 12 minute mark from the second half. They then hit their seemingly inevitable cold spell, where time the Hoyas pushed in front to remain. Using the loss, Marquette drops to 15 overall, and 6-6 within the Massive East. That puts these questions tie with Cincinnati for 10th devote the conference. That's not exactly in which you need to be in mid-February in the event you want to be described as a legitimate NCAA tournament team.

That's record could be easily 8??ìC4?aor even if not for some late game letdowns in the last handful of weeks. A couple weeks back, Marquette took a lead to the final eight minutes against then-No. 5 Connecticut. The Golden Eagles led 60-55 with 7:55 left, but allowed UConn to outscore them 21-8 within the remaining stretch of game, losing 76-68. The Eagles demise was their inability to knock down shots late?athey created just two field targets over the game's final 10 minutes. One game just before losing to UConn, Marquette took on Notre Dame in South Bend. The Eagles rode a late-first half charge to guide by nine at halftime. They then took a 12 point lead a minute into the second half.

From there, however, Marquette went right into a significant prolonged shooting drought from which they could not recover. Over a 16 minute span, the Eagles produced just three field targets. Notre Dame outscored them 33-14 over that period and ultimately won the overall game 80-75. However, that was not the worst of it for Marquette. A single week prior to the Notre Dame loss, the Eagles were built with a game effectively inside their control at Louisville. After top by five at halftime, they went on a 25-12 run to take a 63-45 lead with just 6:31 to experience. From there, the Eagles produced just two field targets the rest of the game. Louisville's Preston Knowles caught fire from outside, hitting four three-pointers to find the Cardinals back inside the game. A Kyle Kuric layup with just 4 seconds left completed the Cardinals amazing late game run. The 71-70 final score left Marquette stunned with a loss that did not seem feasible.

Despite these late game struggles, Marquette has closed the offer against a few Top 20 teams from the Large East. The Eagles defeated Syracuse (then No. 10) at home prior to their current three game journey. They also notched an impressive 22-point win in your own home over the very same Notre Dame team that originated from behind to beat them more recently. The win over the Irish?awho are currently ranked within the Top 10 as well as in second spot in the Big East?astands since the Eagles marquee win. The question remains: How much more work does Marquette must do to secure a spot in the tournament?

With two-thirds from the Large East schedule now total, the Eagles do not have an infinite quantity of opportunities remaining for high-quality wins. Their schedule is actually favorable from a win standpoint, although not so a lot from a top quality win standpoint. This Tuesday, Marquette plays host to St. John's, who's also fighting to secure a NCAA berth. The Red Storm appear to be in a little much better position than the Eagles in the moment. A win for Buzz Williams team may well alter that perception. A likely must-win game for Marquette will be on March 2, when they host Cincinnati. That might serve as a de-facto play-in game, using the winner earning possibly the Huge East tenth and final tournament bid.