Frustration mounts for Eagles
The frustration finally boiled over for Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski
The Golden Eagles had just fallen to Providence, 77-75, on Saturday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center for their fourth straight loss.
The NCAA Tournament hopes for MU (13-10, 4-7 Big East) were left teetering on the edge with five of its remaining seven games on the road. And the Golden Eagles’ persistent foul trouble and defensive issues cropped up again against the Friars (15-8, 6-4).
“We’re the youngest team in the old-
est conference,” Wojciechowski said. “And if you take out Andrew Rowsey’s 23 years on planet Earth, we’re a lot younger than everybody else. We’re one of the youngest teams in the United States.
“I’m not going to make a big deal of it. But obviously I’ve got to do a great job coaching all this youth we’ve got. Because apparently I’m not. Especially against the No. 10 schedule in the United States and the No. 1 schedule in the Big East where we’ve already played Xavier and Villanova twice. There’s not been one game where we’ve shot more free throws than the other team. I’m not saying it’s the officials, I’m saying it’s my coaching.”
There was plenty in the loss to agitate MU fans. The Golden Eagles had 14 turnovers and just 13 assists. They shot 0 of 8 on three-pointers in the second half. Rowsey struggled for the second straight game before fouling out with 6:27 left in the game.
The game seemed over for MU when Providence senior guard Kyron Cartwright hit a mid-range jumper for a 68-57 lead with 4:33 remaining.
But the Golden Eagles scrapped back into the game, sinking all 19 of their free throws in the second half.
The door remained open for MU when Providence’s Maliek White missed two free throws with six seconds remaining.
But sophomore guard Markus Howard lost the ball when he was trapped in the backcourt, robbing MU of a chance to attempt a final shot.
Howard finished with 16 points but shot just 4 of 15.
After going scoreless against Butler on Wednesday, Rowsey didn’t get a basket until early in the second half and had only seven points on 2-of-5 shooting.
The Friars’ defense was especially attuned to Howard after the sophomore guard set a Big East- and MUrecord 52 points in the Golden Eagles’ 95-90 overtime victory on Jan. 3 in Providence.
“We showed a lot of clips,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “Because there was a lot of baskets that he made, I mean, a lot of baskets. If we couldn’t learn from that, then I’m a bad coach. Last time I checked I was awful, not bad, there’s difference.
“It was just high alert. When he was in your neighborhood - he’s a sniper, you always have to look at those snipers. He’s one of the best in the country at it.”
Now the Golden Eagles have to finish strong to keep alive their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.
“This is part of our journey,” Wojciechowski said. “It’s not the part of our journey that anybody wants.
“I thought the effort was there. I thought the competitive spirit was there. I didn’t think the discipline was there in terms of things we were very clear on in terms of our game plan and prep.”
Frustration indeed.