Let the speculation begin

Lots of emotions flying the past 12 hours in the Marquette community and I'm sure there will be much discussion over the next couple days about the state of Marquette basketball.  Before yesterday's game and eventual 2nd half sleep walk, it was pretty much a consensus that MU was tournament bound regardless of the previous 3 road efforts at Villanova, USF, and Georgetown.  All MU had to do was "take care of business" at home and maybe win 1 of the final 2 roadies.  After last night, however, I'm a changed man.  I don't think this team is at a level where home games versus middle to lower level Big East teams are expected W's.  Rather, I now think that even home games against the likes of Cincinnati, Providence, and Seton Hall are now more of a coin toss.  That said, there is ALOT of work left to make the Field of 68.  So on this all too gloomy Wednesday, open up.....and tell me how you feel.

Why the media has routinely decided to dismiss the Big East as the nation’s premiere basketball conference the past few seasons, I have no idea. After winning six pre-season tournaments, and recently having as many as five teams ranked in the top 10 and seven in the top 25, the Big East has once again proved that it’s at another level when compared to the other pretenders. Aside from the cream of the crop, recently Providence has knocked off ranked Louisville and Villanova in consecutive games, Seton Hall thumped Syracuse IN THE CARRIER DOME, and a once 18-0 Syracuse team has now lost three consecutive games leading up to Saturday’s game in Milwaukee.

In an attempt to inspire this depressed group of Anonymous Eaglers, I remind you all that somehow the bracketologists still have MU as tournament worthy. Overall, the state of college basketball is quite depressed, so this is good for a top 50ish school such as MU. This, along with the fact that the entire nation recognizes how we have lost so many close games and none by double digits, could very well give us the edge come Selection Sunday. While MU may not be a favorite to win, the selection committee knows they’ll put on a good show...and that equals ratings!

Further, while we sit pretty far back in the BE standings, the likes of Cincy and WVU have yet to start their gauntlet stretches so they’ll likely come back to earth in the coming weeks. And considering the most recent upsets, even the best teams are looking vulnerable.

Saturday could be season-defining in my opinion. Getting a W over the Orangemen will definitely inspire the fanbase and should give this squad some much needed confidence going to Villanova, a team that we always seem to matchup equally with and play tough. Enjoy the morning bloodies at Turner's …err Arts…err Cuddys? (It’s been so long I don’t even know where the cool kids hang out for the pregame festivities these days). Go get ’em!

And as always,

Ring Out Ahoya!

Exhibit A why the words "classy" and "humble" are rarely used to describe Syracuse fans:

Syracuse Looking Forward to Ruining National Marquette Day.

Here's to hoping we snap our losing streak with the Orange!

Karma finally seems to be catching up to our old friend Bruce Pearl as the SEC has decided to lay some smack down and suspend him for eight games for his recent shenanigans.  Yahoo!'s got all the details here.

I can't say I feel bad for the guy considering his track record in Iowa, Milwaukee, and now Tennessee. 

This is the fourth of ten posts revealing the ten Marquette nominees for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame.  These are in no particular order, except for the particular order they're in.

It was 2000 when I first heard of this guy on the Marquette men's basketball team named "Wade." 

At that time, a friend was working for the MU women's basketball team, which forced him to spend many hours at the Old Gym, where the men's team also practiced.  When asked for a preseason scouting report on the upcoming team, all my buddy could talk about was some guy named Dwyane Wade.  Unfortunately, we had to wait a year to witness what our friend was trying to convey to us, but it was well worth the wait.  What we didn't know was that this guy named Wade was going to reverse a bit of a stagnant trend of mediocre basketball and lead Marquette University back into the national spotlight after years of relative irrelevance.

All the D-Wade you can possibly handle, after the jump.

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