Let’s get it out of the way off the top: I think getting the ball to Chase Ross while he was 3-for-11 on the day and 2-for-6 from behind the arc against Villanova here in order to hit a three-pointer and tie
the game and force overtime was a bad idea. I think going to Chase Ross, who came in shooting 18-for-70 (25.7%) on the year and 2-for-20 (10%) in Big East play, was a bad idea. I think going to a guy with those shooting numbers coming in and in that game for a shot from 10 feet behind the three-point line was a bad idea, if that was actually what the play was supposed to do. (Aside: If you have seen a video clip of the last play online, please send it to me, I would like to break it down for a blog post.) I think going to anyone on the Marquette roster right now in this game on this day OTHER THAN NIGEL JAMES, WHO HIT SEVEN OF HIS NINE THREE-POINTERS IN THE GAME AND BOTH OF HIS MISSES WERE SILLY HEAT CHECK MISSES, was a bad idea.
The fact that Ross missed the shot badly and the horn sounded as people scrummed on the floor for the loose ball is the end result of bad decision making by several people who should know better. The decision was bad, the result was ultimately unsurprising, given the general tone and tenor of how this Marquette men’s basketball season is going.
I want all of that to be crystal clear about this. The game did not go to overtime because of the bad decision there. That’s it. That’s not why Marquette lost the game.
If Ross hits the shot, the game goes to overtime. Who knows what happens then? Thus, we can literally say that Marquette did not not lose because of the bad decision or the bad result of the bad decision.
Marquette lost because a Villanova team that shot 28% on three-pointers still finished the game with an effective field goal percentage of 61.6% because the Wildcats hit 24 of the 31 shots they attempted inside the arc. 7-for-25 outside, 24-for-31 inside.
Nova shot SEVENTY-SEVEN PERCENT on twos. Acaden Lewis was 7-for-10. Duke Brennan was 6-for-7. Tyler Perkins — who Marquette could not keep away from the rack on the possession right before Ross’ miss — was a perfect 4-for-4. Bryce Lindsay was 2-for-3. Devin Askew was 4-for-6.
It was the second worst two-point shooting defense by a Marquette team in the KenPom era. Nova shot 11-for-14 (78.6%) in the second half alone.
Marquette lost because they had one kill and 13 deflections at halftime. The goal is eight and 32. That’s not on pace to get to the goal. Time and time again we have seen that is wildly unlikely to beat Marquette when they get to both goals. I don’t know where they ended up on both, but I can safely say they didn’t get the job done.
Marquette lost because they gave up a 12-5 run to end the half after taking a 33-32 lead with 3:20 left before intermission. They trailed by seven pretty quickly because Matthew Hodge hit three three-pointers in the first four minutes which turned out to be three of VU’s only makes from outside in the game, but Marquette battled alllllll the way back from that early hole to take a lead….. and then just threw it straight in the trash on the way to the locker room.
Marquette lost because they immediately cut the margin to just three about 90 seconds into the second half, and a three from James got them back there again with 11:25 left…. and then found themselves trailing by nine as the clock wound under nine minutes to go.
Marquette lost because they answered that deficit with a 6-0 run to get back to down just three but then let Villanova push the margin back out to seven with under five minutes to go.
Marquette lost because they had one field goal in the final three minutes of the game after James capped a 6-0 burst to get the Golden Eagles within one. Two stops on the other end, chances to make something happen. Instead: A Chase Ross missed three and a Michael Phillips airballed three at the end of a scrambled possession with 40 seconds left.
Marquette lost because they got just 13 minutes from Ben Gold in this game because he couldn’t get back out on the floor after playing the first five minutes of the second half. I’m not 100% sure if this is injury or health, as it would appear that most of the team was under the weather here.
Marquette lost because Players Not Named Nigel James shot 4-for-21 (19%) from behind the three-point line in this game before Ross missed at the end.
Highlights, a lot of them from Nigel James as he put up a career high 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting along with a team high six assists, courtesy of GoMarquette.com and TNT Sports:
Up Next: Hey, who wants to go to New York? On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles will head to Madison Square Garden to face the St. John’s Red Storm. Tipoff is set for 5:30pm Central, and Peacock will have the broadcast. The Johnnies are 11-5 on the year and 4-1 in Big East play after beating Creighton 90-73 in Omaha on Saturday.
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