NEW YORK – Marquette desperately needed a victory after losing its final four games of the regular season. The Golden Eagles got it emphatically this afternoon with a 74-45 win over St. John’s in a Big East tournament second-round game.
The 29-point margin represented the eighth-largest margin of victory in Big East tournament play. The largest margin of victory occurred in 1999 when Syracuse whipped Boston College, 96-55 (41 points).
Marquette not only needed this win for its confidence but to stop the slide down the NCAA seed line. Before Dominic James was injured, the Golden Eagles had been on the second or third seed line. Because the NCAA selection committee takes injuries into account as well as the way a team finishes the season, the Golden Eagles were slipping, perhaps all the way down a No. 7 or 8 seed before yesterday.
Marquette has another opportunity tomorrow to impress the committee. The Golden Eagles move on to play Villanova. The Golden Eagles and Wildcats split two games during the regular season, with each team winning at home. In the most recent game, Villanova won in a blowout, 102-84, on Feb. 10.
Posted
Mar 11 2009, 04:50 PM
by
Ray Fittipaldo