Coming back down to earth
Eagles never take off after impressive wins
Marquette looked like it had figured some things out after back-to-back easy victories.
But if there is anything consistent about the Golden Eagles this season, it is their inconsistency.
MU struggled on both ends of the court and was overwhelmed by Connecticut, 80-62, on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.
The Golden Eagles (11-13, 6-11 Big East) were solid at the start against the Huskies (12-6, 9-6), getting 2 threepointers from Greg Elliott to take an 11-6 lead. But MU suffered through an over six-minute scoreless stretch, starting a 15-2 run by Connecticut that gave the Huskies a 33-17 advantage.
“The first four minutes of the game, I thought we started pretty decently,” MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “Just the second four-minute contest and the third four-minute contest, in those eight minutes we made nine turn
overs.
“Certainly they played pretty physically defensively. But we did not handle that well and were loose with the ball. And our offense really hurt us today.”
Connecticut pushed its lead to 38-21 at halftime. MU had more turnovers (10) than field goals (eight) in the first 20 minutes. It was a dramatic drop-off from the Golden Eagles' sharp performance against North Carolina just three days earlier and Butler a week before that.
“A lot of it had to do with UConn,” Wojciechowski said. “They were very physical. I didn't think we reacted to their physicality. They're physical in a different way than North Carolina.
“They're physical with their ball pressure. That's not necessarily what we saw in our last game and we did not handle it as well.”
One positive for MU was the return of freshman forward Justin Lewis. He had been the team's top reserve before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined him for six of the last seven games. Lewis finished with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting in 31 minutes.
“It was good have him back,” Wojciechowski said. “After an extended time away from us, I thought Justin did a good job.”
Freshman forward Dawson Garcia led MU with 18 points and eight rebounds. MU's four other starters - Elliott, sophomore guard D.J. Carton, junior forward Jamal Cain and senior center Theo John - combined for just 19 points on 7-for-24 shooting.
Lewis slammed home a dunk with 10:16 remaining that got MU within 5241. But MU couldn't get any defensive stops as the Connecticut backcourt of James Bouknight (24 points) and R.J. Cole (21) dominated MU's guards.
“You know what you're getting from Bouknight,” Wojciechowski said. “He's projected as a top-10 pick for a reason. He's a fantastic player.
“But to me, as good as Bouknight was, Cole was the key to the game. He dominated his matchup and he was sensational throughout the game. Not just his ability to make shots; he led his team, he defended at a high level.”
Carton struggled, missing all nine of his shots and finishing with two points and three turnovers. He only played seven minutes in the second half.
“We're at our best when D.J. plays well,” Wojciechowski said. “And there's been several moments when he's played really well. This afternoon was not one of those afternoons.
“But he'll bounce back. He's a good player and he'll bounce back.”
The Huskies were longer, faster and played with intensity like a team fighting its way into the NCAA Tournament. MU is in 10th place in the 11-team Big East and can only make the Big Dance if they win the conference tournament.
The Huskies scored 40 points in the paint to the Golden Eagles' 20, and Connecticut only had seven turnovers (two in the second half ) while MU had 15 miscues. In the first half, the Huskies had nine fast-break points, nine points off turnovers and seven second-chance points.
“We had a couple miscommunications,” Wojciechowski said. “In the first half, their transition offense was their highest-percentage offensive possessions. Their second shots — they not only got second shots, but they converted them into points.
“Those were two areas coming into the game that we were trying to limit.”