I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Lexington after Thursday’s Second Round game between Marquette and Davidson. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.
Three Key Takeaways:
- Marquette Saved Its Best for Last, and Davidson Saved Its Worst — After trailing for almost the entire second half and staring at a seven-point deficit with under two minutes to play, Marquette found the wherewithal to stage a March-worthy comeback. Through 38 minutes and 57 seconds, Marquette had shot 1-of-11 from three-point range, but they managed to drain three straight contested threes in the final 63 seconds, the last of which pulled them to within a point with 11 seconds left. And that’s when Davidson threw away the game. They’d committed just one turnover in the second half, in the face of heavy perimeter pressure. But De’mon Brooks chose the worst possible moment to throw a wild pass into the frontcourt that Nick Cochran could not track down. With the ball back and five seconds left, Marquette’s Vander Blue drove to the basket, and Davidson’s defense, which had contained dribble penetration all game, retreated, allowing him to convert a relatively easy layup to win the game with a second left.
- This Was As Tough a Loss as They Come — For 39 minutes, Davidson withstood Marquette’s bruising physicality, even seeming to out-tough them at times. Their defense clamped down on Marquette’s guards, clogging the paint, shutting down their dribble penetration, and contesting shots all game. They held Marquette to just 34 percent field goal shooting (and 27 percent from three-point range). And when their hot three-point hand cooled off, they mustered enough offense against Marquette’s tough interior defense to be in a position to win. It was the kind of gutsy mid-major performance that makes March special, and it made the Wildcats’ collapse in the final minute all the more painful.
- Marquette’s Aggression on the Boards Paid Off — Offensive rebounding is an important part of Marquette’s offensive attack, and at halftime, they had rebounded 10 of their 22 misses. But they converted these boards into just three second-chance points. That was due, at least in part, to Davidson’s tough gang defense under the rim. But the Golden Eagles kept at it, and in the second half, they scored six key second-chance points late in the game.
Star of the Game: Vander Blue, Marquette’s leading scorer, had a mediocre offensive game overall, but he came through when it counted most. His three-pointer with 11 seconds to play pulled the Golden Eagles to within a point, and his drive and finish on the final play of the game gave us our first great Tournament moment.
Quotable: “Unfair advantage?” — Davidson head coach Bob McKillop, when asked for his view of the official timeout that enabled Marquette to draw up a play with 5.5 seconds left.
Sights & Sounds: In high spirits after Butler’s win over Bucknell, a small group of Butler fans who remained for the Marquette-Davidson game decided to taunt Davante Gardner with a lame “Taco Bell” chant. It’s one thing to try to get in the head of an opponent your team is playing, but it’s random, at best, to taunt a player in a completely different game about his weight. In the end, Gardner had the last laugh.
Wildcard: Marquette’s three-guard attack struggled offensively, but the Golden Eagles got just enough efficient offense from its post players to stay within striking distance. Davidson didn’t make it easy, but Davante Gardner and Chris Otule managed to score 20 points on a combined 7-of-9 field goal shooting.
What’s Next? Marquette will try to hold off another vaunted mid-major on Saturday when they face Butler for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.