MU’s long wait comes to an end
The long wait for the Marquette men’s basketball season hopefully ends on Wednesday.
After another long wait, of course. No game is certain this season until the clock starts, but the Golden Eagles hope to play their first game since March 7 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Fiserv Forum. With college hoops teams tipping off the season, games are scheduled all day and MU drew the 9 p.m. starting slot on Fox Sports 1.
What’s a few more hours added to the extended offseason?
The Golden Eagles’ last game was an 88-86 loss to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. On March 12, MU was scheduled to play Seton Hall in the Big East tournament, but the coronavirus pandemic abruptly ended the season that day.
It has been a long road to the regular season. The MU campus was closed throughout the summer, so the team
couldn't work out together. Then one week after beginning official practices, the Golden Eagles had to pause activities for two weeks due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Since resuming practices three weeks ago, MU has played a couple of intrasquad scrimmages to get ready for the real thing against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“It'll be unusual, there's no question about that,” MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said Tuesday. “What we've lived through over the last half a year and the changes and the adjustments we've had to make because of COVID have all been unusual.
Marquette won't have fans at Fiserv Forum games, at least through December.
“What I'm hoping is that when the ball goes in the air, our guys will find a peace of mind in that they're able to do what they love to do again. I don't think it can be discounted – and we're not unique in this – what these studentathletes have gone through. Whether they weren't able to compete in the NCAA Tournament last year or the uncertainty involving this year or the high school guys not being able to complete their high school seasons. These guys have been through a lot.”
MU has scrimmaged at Fiserv Forum, and the game will not look much different. There will be no fans allowed at MU games, at least through December. That will be a radically different environment than the last home game, when 17,538 fans packed into the arena Feb. 29 for the Golden Eagles' 88-79 loss to Seton Hall, a Senior Night matchup that honored MU's Markus Howard, Sacar Anim and Jayce Johnson.
“It's very different,” MU sophomore guard D.J. Carton said about playing without fans. “As a college basketball player, it's easy to play better when fans are there. And sometimes not, depending if you're on the road or at home.
“So I think this is something you have to find in yourself. You got to do it for each other. We're going to be the only ones in that gym. There's going to be nobody cheering us on or booing against us.”
Maybe piping in crowd noise will help. But coaches and referees wearing masks will be something else showing that everything is different this season.
The college basketball season has already been interrupted by cancellations and there will likely be many more disruptions. There is a reason the NCAA set a minimum of just 13 games to make the NCAA Tournament this season.
It will likely be a bumpy ride, and it begins on Wednesday for MU.
“As far as I know we have a game (on Wednesday),” Carton said. “I just got to take it one thing at a time. Can't look too far into it.
“I know here at Marquette we've done many precautions to make sure us players and coaches are safe. They're going to extreme efforts to make sure we're good to play the game we love. I'm confident in it.
“I think we're doing the right thing, but it's also something you have no control over.”