NOTABLE NCAA TOURNEY GAMES
Ranking Marquette’s greatest NCAA Tournament games is a no-win project. With dozens of entertaining and memorable contests, the list of potential winners seems endless. But nothing provokes disagreements more among die-hard MU basketball fans than a list of thrilling games. So here they are:
Marquette 79, Kentucky 71 1955 East Regional semifinal Marquette played only six players but five of them scored in double figures, led by Terry Rand with 19 points. The Warriors also made 10 more free throws: 23 to 13.
Marquette 72, Bowling Green State 71 1968 Mideast Regional first round Despite shooting 57% (16 of 28) from the freethrow line, Marquette hung on behind George Thompson’s 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Marquette 81, Kentucky 74 1969 Mideast Regional semifinal George Thompson led four MU players in double figures with 22 points, and the Warriors survived despite shooting 21 of 38 (55.3%) from the freethrow line. “That was one of the greatest games any Marquette team ever played,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to be there.”
Purdue 75, Marquette 73 1969 Mideast Regional final Despite shooting just 11 of 32 from the field, Rick Mount sank a 20-footer at the buzzer to beat the Warriors and send the Boilermakers to the Final Four.
Ohio State 60, Marquette 59 1971 Mideast Regional semifinal Marquette, which was unbeaten entering the tourney, struggled after the Warriors’ first-team All-American, Dean “The Dream” Meminger, fouled out with five minutes remaining. Buckeyes guard Allan Hornyak converted a pair of crucial free throws to end Marquette’s 39-game winning streak.
Indiana 75, Marquette 69 1973 Mideast Regional second round The Warriors had no answer for Indiana center Steve Downing, who scored 29 points by shooting 70.6% from the field. MU went to the free-throw line only five times.
Marquette 72, Michigan 70 1974 Mideast Regional final Marcus Washington had 17 points and Bo Ellis added 15 points and 10 rebounds as Marquette edged Michigan to earn its first Final Four berth in program history. The Warriors had only five assists in the game. North Carolina State 76, Marquette 64 1974 NCAA championship With the Warriors leading, 28-27, the Wolfpack scored 26 of the next 31 points. The Warriors never got closer than nine points as N.C. State’s 7-foot-3 center, Tom Burleson, had seven blocks and helped limit MU to 36% shooting from the field.
Indiana 65, Marquette 56 1976 Mideast Regional final It’s hard to believe but Indiana’s Bob Knight was actually the more sedate coach in this game. Marquette coach Al McGuire got not one but two technical fouls in the second half. The Warriors, who trailed, 36-35, at halftime, scored only 21 second-half points.
Marquette 67, Kansas State 66 1977 Midwest Regional second round Kansas State, champion of the Big Eight Conference, gave Marquette all it could handle. But the Wildcats had no answer for MU guard Butch Lee, who finished with 26 points. Forward Bo Ellis added 19 points and the Warriors shot 15 of 18 (83%) from the free-throw line.
Marquette 51, UNC-Charlotte 49 1977 National semifinal This was an instant classic. With 4 seconds remaining in the game, Marquette guard Butch Lee threw the ball to the opposite free-throw line, where MU center Jerome Whitehead won the struggle for possession and rammed the ball through the hoop at the buzzer. “This time Coach told me to get the ball way down court and Jerome would put it in,” Lee said. “And Jerome put it in.”
Marquette 67, North Carolina 59 1977 National championship The Warriors, who finished the regular season at 20-7, weren’t even a lock to make the field of 32. But tears of joy flowed for coach Al McGuire when Marquette won its first-ever championship in his farewell season. McGuire left the bench before the game was even over with tears running down his cheeks. “I want to be alone,” he would later say. “I’m not afraid to cry. All I could think about at the end was — why me?” Butch Lee, who was named the most outstanding player, scored 19 points.
(3Q) Miami (Ohio) 84, (1L) Marquette 81 (OT) 1978 Mideast Regional first round The biggest upset of the tournament took place when unheralded Miami (Ohio) stunned the defending champions. The Warriors had a comfortable 10-point lead in the second half when MU center Jerome Whitehead was whistled and ejected for a flagrant foul after hitting Miami’s John Shoemaker in the face with an elbow. While defending Whitehead, MU coach Hank Raymonds also was assessed a technical. Miami made 3 of 4 free throws, scored on a jumper and Marquette never recovered. Butch Lee paced the Warriors with 27 points.
(2) Missouri 73, (7) Marquette 69 1982 Midwest Regional second round The Tigers had a 13-point lead in the second half, but the Warriors came storming back. Trailing, 60-59, MU’s Terrell Schlundt was called for a questionable foul. The Tigers’ Jon Sundvold made both free throws, the first of 13 points from the line, to help Missouri prevail. Marquette’s Glenn Rivers, Michael Wilson and Dwayne Johnson all fouled out.
(8) Tennessee 57, (9) Marquette 56 1983 Mideast Regional first round Poor free-throw shooting and the Volunteers’ Dale Ellis would make this Marquette coach Hank Raymonds’ last game. MU guard Glenn Rivers missed three key free throws down the stretch. “I was a loser,” Rivers said. “I had free-throw problems all game.” Ellis hit 7 of 9 field goals for 20 points.
(6) Marquette 75, (3) Kentucky 63 1994 Southeast Regional second round Students stormed Wisconsin Ave. celebrating the Warriors’ upset victory over the star-studded Wildcats. MU shot 51% from the field and held Kentucky to 32%. Forward Damon Key had 24 points and guard Tony Miller carved up the Wildcats’ defense with nine assists.
(12) Tulsa 71, (5) Marquette 69 2002 East Regional first round The Golden Eagles were the victims in a dreaded No. 12-No. 5 game. Guards Cordell Henry and Dwyane Wade combined for 35 points, but it wasn’t enough.
(3) Marquette 72, (14) Holy Cross 68 2003 Midwest Regional first round Travis Diener was Marquette’s third scoring option throughout the regular season, but he scored a career-high 29 points and Dwyane Wade added 15 points and 11 assists as the Golden Eagles advanced. Marquette won an opening-round game for the first time since 1996.
(3) Marquette 101, (6) Missouri 92 (OT) 2003 Midwest Regional second round In 17 minutes off the bench, freshman sharpshooter Steve Novak was perfect. He was 4 of 4 from threepoint range and 2 of 2 from the foul line as the Golden Eagles hit all of their shots in overtime to pull away. For Novak, the Brown Deer native, the storyline read like a movie script. He entered the game only after starting forward Robert Jackson fouled out. Novak scored nine of his 14 points in the final 5 minutes.
(3) Marquette 77, (2) Pittsburgh 74 2003 Midwest Regional semifinal This tight affair turned into the Dwyane Wade show in the second half. Wade scored 20 of his 22 points after intermission to lift the Golden Eagles into the Elite Eight. Trailing by 10 with 3:56 to go, the Panthers scored nine straight points to pull within one three times. But Wade made sure Marquette didn’t lose the lead. With the shot clock running down, he drove the lane and sank a twisting layup high off the glass to make it 75-72 with 23.4 seconds remaining.
(3) Marquette 83, (1) Kentucky 69 2003 Midwest Regional final Led by Dwyane Wade’s triple-double (29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists), Marquette shot 56.4% from the field, second best by a Kentucky opponent this season, and buried 10 three-pointers (Steve Novak had five). The Golden Eagles streaked to a 21-point lead in the first half and never allowed the nation’s No. 1 team to creep closer than 12 points thereafter. Robert Jackson chipped in with 24 points and 15 rebounds as Marquette returned to the Final Four for the first time since 1977.
(3) Stanford 82, (6) Marquette 81 (OT) 2008 South Regional second round Stanford’s Brook Lopez rolled in an awkward, off-balance 5-footer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime as the Cardinal advanced. Lopez finished with 30 points and his brother Robin tallied 18. Jerel McNeal, MU’s all-time leading scorer, led the Golden Eagles with 30 points, and Dominic James had 10 assists.
(5) Marquette 58, (11) Utah State 57 2009 West Regional first round Marquette, which blew a 14-point lead and then fell behind by six points, rallied behind Lazar Hayward’s 26 points. The Golden Eagles advanced by making 10 consecutive free throws (19 of 23 overall) down the stretch. Guard Jerel McNeal added 14 points.
(11) Washington 80, (6) Marquette 78 2010 East Regional first round The hot-shooting Golden Eagles stormed out to 60-45 lead with less than 14 minutes remaining by hitting numerous three-pointers. For the game, MU shot 63.2% (12 of 19) from beyond the arc, but the Huskies fared better, making 64.3% (9 of 14). But it wasn’t a three-pointer that sent the Golden Eagles home. Quincy Pondexter split a pair of MU defenders and banked in an 8-foot leaner for the gamewinner with 1.2 seconds left. Lazar Hayward paced MU with 20 points.
(11) Marquette 66, (3) Syracuse 62 2011 East Regional third round There was a buzz after this nail-biter between Big East rivals. Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who is known for his postgame celebrations, jumped in the air, pounded his fists on courtside tables, cried and shared hugs with his family and fans. Guard Darius Johnson-Odom, who hit a tie-breaking threepointer with 27 seconds left, tallied 17 points.
(3) Marquette 59, (14) Davidson 58 2013 East Regional second round After being ice-cold from long range the entire game, Marquette drilled all three of its three-point attempts in the game’s final minute. Still, Davidson led by one and had possession with 10.9 seconds left. However, the Wildcats threw the ball away, giving MU one last chance. Taking Jamil Wilson’s inbounds pass at midcourt with 5.5 seconds remaining, Vander Blue drove left past Davidson defenders for a layup that completed a rally from nine points down.
(3) Marquette 74, (6) Butler 72 2013 East Regional third round Once again Vander Blue played hero by rallying the Golden Eagles from a 35-27 halftime deficit. He finished with 29 points and tied the game at 69 on a three-pointer with 1:25 remaining. MU, which hit some clutch free throws down the stretch, was 23 of 27 (85.2%) for the game. Trent Lockett and Jamil Wilson added 13 points apiece.