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Breaking Rank: MU Topples Second Top-25 Team in a Week

Posted on: Sunday, 19 February 2006, 03:03 CST

By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Feb. 19--What a week it was for the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Just two days after knocking off No. 17 Georgetown, they upended the ninth-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, 84-82, on Saturday night in front of a record crowd of 19,007 at the Bradley Center that was in full throat and hungry for some payback over a Big East opponent that's fast becoming a new rival.

"A great exclamation point on one of those weeks that guys won't forget any time soon," Marquette coach Tom Crean said. "Starting it with a loss on the road (at Rutgers), coming back, getting better in the practices. Preparation from the coaches and the players was fantastic.

"But really, this game came down to playing with a lot of heart, a lot of toughness. Both teams did, but we were able to come away with it, which is a great feeling for everybody in the locker room."

The victory was MU's eighth in conference play, guaranteeing it at least a .500 finish in its inaugural season in the expanded 16-team league. But more important, it was the Golden Eagles' third over a top-20 opponent since the New Year, a feat that all but guarantees them a bid in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Final Four run of 2002-'03.

MU (18-8, 8-5) now has a week off before its rematch with Notre Dame in South Bend., Ind.

"It has to help. I don't know how it couldn't," Crean said of the victory's implications on his team's post-season aspirations. "We've beaten UConn, played Villanova great with the exception of a couple minutes and have two high-ranked wins this week. When you look at all the criteria -- big games, going on the road and winning like we did early in the conference season, winning a tournament like we did -- all those things are in our favor.

"But the most important thing is that we keep getting better with this week off."

The closing seconds featured a flurry of activity. But a pair of Steve Novak free throws with 11.9 seconds left gave MU an 83-80 lead and ultimately enough cushion to win the game. Novak finished with a game-high 27 points, hitting 5 of 13 three-pointers and 8 of 18 shots overall.

Freshman guard Dominic James had 16 points and six assists, and another freshman, Wesley Matthews, added 14 points for MU, which helped its cause with 10 offensive rebounds in the second half.

Pittsburgh (20-4, 9-4) got 18 points from senior point guard Carl Krauser, 14 from Levance Fields and 10 points and seven rebounds from Aaron Gray.

Gray, who killed MU with 13 points and 20 rebounds in the Panthers' 77-71 victory on Jan. 28, figured prominently in the finish Saturday.

With MU ahead, 81-80, and time winding down, the 7-foot junior was fouled Ousmane Barro with 24.7 seconds left after getting the ball deep in the paint. But Gray, a 64.7% free-throw shooter coming in, missed both.

MU corralled the rebound and eventually got the ball to Novak, who was fouled Antonio Graves with 11.9 seconds left. The senior forward, who has missed just one from the line since Jan. 20, 2005, calmly drained both free throws to make it 83-80.

Coming out of a timeout, Pittsburgh's Ronald Ramon missed a three from the top of the key, and Gray grabbed the rebound and scored as time expired. Madness ensued as everyone assumed the game had ended, but the officials checked the replay and ruled the Panthers had called time before the buzzer sounded and put two-tenths of a second back on the clock.

MU's Joe Chapman was fouled on the inbound play in an attempt to lengthen the game, but it was too little, too late for Pittsburgh. Chapman hit 1 of 2 and the Panthers had no time to get a decent look at the basket for a potential game-tying shot.

The Golden Eagles led, 52-49, when Gray was hit with a technical foul for jostling with Barro under the hoop during a dead ball. Novak hit both free throws, but even more important to MU was the fact Gray also picked up his third personal foul, sending him to the bench.

Gray picked up his fourth foul at the 7:54 mark of the second half, but Pittsburgh hung tough once again without him, and a little over 3 minutes later cut MU's lead to 78-75 on a three-point play Krauser. Then a pretty hanging, double-pump layup Krauser made it 78-77 with 3:07 left.

With the Golden Eagles desperately needing a basket to halt the Panthers' momentum, Novak delivered. With Gray closing in on him fast, Novak drilled a fadeaway three from deep on the right wing to stretch MU's advantage to 81-77 with 2:48 left.

A Ramon three from the top of the key on Pittsburgh's ensuing possession made it 81-80 at the 1:52 mark.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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