2010 Big East Basketball Tournament: Marquette vs St. John's

Just once, Marquette head coach Buzz Williams would like to sit back and relax in the closing minutes of a crucial game. Wednesday’s matchup with St. John’s in the second round of the Big East Tournament was once again not the day for such relaxation.

The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (21-10), in their first action of the tournament after receiving a first round bye, survived a second half charge by a persistent and unrelenting Red Storm team playing on its home floor to secure a berth in the quarterfinals with a breathtaking 57-55 victory. Marquette forward Lazar Hayward led all scorers with 20 points, 12 coming in the first half, and nine rebounds. Sean Evans and D.J. Kennedy each scored 12 for the Johnnies. Evans also pulled down seven rebounds.

Marquette’s accuracy from the perimeter was the prevailing force in the first half of play, with 15 of the Golden Eagles’ first 19 points coming beyond the arc. By comparison, the Johnnies struggled to find any offensive rhythm, going 0-for-7 behind the three-point line and scoring only 17 points in the first 20 minutes of play. SJU's futility caused the 13th seed to trail the Golden Eagles, 27-17, at the break.

To begin the second half, the Red Storm stormed back into contention with an 18-9 run in the first seven minutes to cut the Marquette lead to one point at 36-35. The turning point in the game came at the eight-minute mark when D.J. Kennedy, apparently channeling Rutgers’ Mike Rosario from the Rutgers-Cincinnati matchup on Tuesday night, fell forward in an attempt to draw a foul and failed to do so, but drained an off-balance 3-pointer to tie the game at 42. In the next two possessions, Kennedy and teammate Paris Horne found Justin Brownlee for slam dunks to give St. John’s, playing on its home floor, a 46-42 lead.

Despite leading by 14 points just three minutes before halftime, the Golden Eagles found themselves in another fight, a position very familiar to a team that has played 14 games decided by five points or less, and 11 games by three points or less. Marquette managed to draw upon its experience in close games, and regained the lead with four minutes left, 52-50. After the Johnnies tied the game at 52, the deciding blow was landed with 1:17 to play when David Cubillan’s three-pointer gave the lead back to Marquette at 55-53; the lead would not be surrendered again.

Although MU's Maurice Acker was fouled with 3.4 seconds remaining and failed to convert on the front end of a one-and-one, the final heave from St John’s bomber Malik Boothe from 55 feet was far offline, allowing Marquette to escape to the quarterfinals. For St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts, this could be the final game at the helm after six seasons that yielded only an 81-100 record. For the postseason, the Johnnies continue to hold out hope for an NIT bid.

WHAT’S NEXT

Despite a 12th game decided by three points or less, Marquette advances to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament to face fourth-seeded Villanova on Thursday. The game will mark the first appearance of the Wildcats, who were awarded a double-bye as one of the top four finishers in the regular season standings. The Marquette-Villanova matchup is second on the docket for Thursday, and will begin 30 minutes following the Georgetown-Syracuse game, which tips off at noon. Television coverage will be provided by ESPN.

BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

DAY TWO DAY SESSION

WHAT’S NEXT