Marquette Basketball

It was a typical game for the 2012-13 Marquette Golden Eagles. A game with multiple ups and downs, a game that had the Golden Eagles fighting again out of a first-half deficit. After a nervous final minute, Butler had the ball once again with a chance to send Marquette home for the season, which brought back memories of Butler's buzzer-beater by Rotnei Clarke in the Maui Invitational. 

This time, the Bulldogs were unable to get Clarke the ball and it was Andrew Smith who hoisted up the brick that clinched Marquette's third consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16. 

This tournament has been what I like to call "hero time" for Vander Blue. He played his best game of the season against Butler and showed signs of being the star he was projected to be. Blue dropped 29 points and was the catalyst of the victory. Two nights earlier, Blue scored seven of Marquette's final nine points, including the game-winning layup to complete the rally against Davidson in the first round.

Marquette has had a very dramatic ride to the Sweet 16. Despite being down by nine to Davidson and by 10 against Butler, the Golden Eagles have persevered and have found ways to win, something they've managed to do all season.

But as sweet as making the Sweet 16 is, making the Elite Eight would be much sweeter. This time around, Marquette won't just be happy to be here. It is time to take the next step and it certainly will not be easy. 

Marquette will face Miami in Washington, D.C. The Hurricanes are favorites to advance and are led by Player of the Year candidate Shane Larkin. Miami is also coached by Jim Larranaga, the man who coached George Mason to a stunning run to the Final Four in 2006. 

A victory would be a program-changer. Buzz Williams signed four of the top 100 recruits to Milwaukee, and a trip to the Elite Eight could generate more interest from future recruits.

As I have said before, Marquette is on the brink of becoming a big-time college basketball program. But Marquette hasn't advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2003, when a guy named Dwyane Wade led his team to the Final Four.

The Golden Eagles have defied expectations all season. They were projected to finish seventh in the Big East and finished tied for first with Georgetown and Louisville. They were a sexy upset pick in the first round but managed to steal a victory. They also knocked off America's March sweetheart, Butler. This team has shown the heart and desire of a championship team and need to play like one for another weekend.

Not only could this team hop over the barrier to the Elite Eight, but a win next Thursday could put them on the map as a nationally prominent program.

It's never easy when you lose the Conference Player of the Year to graduation. It becomes especially hard when the other senior you lose is also a First Team, All-League player, helping form one of the nation's deadly duos.

That's what coach Buzz Williams of Marquette had to deal with last March when both Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom's collegiate careers came to a close. For most teams, it takes three consistent scorers, with help from other players, to be a special team.

Last year in Milwaukee, however, these two seniors were the guys scoring in double figures every night, with an occasional third scorer rising to the need. Both Crowder and DJO have taken their talents to the NBA, and while Marquette could certainly use them right now, they could be just fine without them by season's end.

Keep in mind that I wrote this article before the Marquette-Florida matchup Thursday night, before altering some of the minutes below based on what I saw. So bear that in mind and while the Golden Eagles looked terrible on Thursday, I still believe they can turn it around but need to ASAP.

Prior to Thursday night's game, each player on the roster's minutes per game are as follows:

Vander Blue-26

Junior Cadougan-26

Jamil Wilson-23

Trent Lockett-22

Davante Gardner-20

Juan Anderson-17

Jake Thomas-17

Chris Otule-16

Derrick Wilson-14

Steve Taylor-10

Jamal Ferguson-eight

Dylan Flood-one

By mid conference play, I believe Williams will need to alter these minutes slightly. While still sticking to a run-and-gun, substitute freely mindset, the best players on the team will need to be on the court at the end of close games. Here is my proposal:

Vander Blue-29

Junior Cadougan-28

Jamil Wilson-27

Trent Lockett-25

Davante Gardner-24

Chris Otule-19

Todd Mayo-17

Derrick Wilson-11

Jake Thomas-10

Juan Anderson-10

According to this rotation, the young guns Steve Taylor, Jamal Ferguson and Dylan Flood would not be a part of the immediate rotation and would only see time in blowouts. This is assuming that Todd Mayo will be back in action, otherwise Taylor could see similar minutes to what he's receiving now.

I had no player listed at 30 minutes-plus, but had 10 players receiving double-figure minutes. I believe playing 10 players on a regular basis is about as deep as a team can go, although Williams could decide against that. He could also decide to go with a smaller rotation, which could take away minutes from one or two reserve players listed above.

While I have no problem with his current starting lineup of Cadougan, Blue, Lockett, Anderson and Otule, I do believe that Jamil Wilson and Davante Gardner should be the front court tandem at the end of games.

No, Marquette does not have the star power that led them to a second place Big East finish a year ago, but they have enough weapons to absolutely be a top-half Big East and NCAA Tournament-bound squad and even a top-third squad in one of the nation's premier conferences (for now).

Senior starters Cadougan, Otule and Lockett will not be present on campus a year from now, but I expect the Golden Eagles to be better in 2013-14 than this current season. For one, I love that MU's current class distribution is so even, with three seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen.

On top of that, Williams will be bringing in arguably his best recruiting class a year from now. The team's top-three scorers, Gardner, Blue and Wilson will all be back next year as seniors and are only starting to scratch the surface of their abilities now.

Anticipate a battle for a Big East title coming Marquette's way in 2013-14 and not just because some of the conference's elites will be gone by then.

Last March, the seventh-seeded Gators defeated the third-seeded Golden Eagles, formerly Warriors, in a Sweet Sixteen contest in which the winner went on to play Louisville. While both teams lost some of their top guns, there are still many familiar faces on each side.

Bill Donovan's team lost senior Erving Walker as well as an NBA early entrant in freshman Bradley Beal. Buzz Williams' team lost their top two players from a year ago, in the form of Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom, both of whom are now NBA-bound.

Both teams enter Thursday night's contest in Gainesville with five wins. Marquette's lone loss was on a buzzer-beating prayer against Butler at the Maui Invitational, while Florida is still unscathed in the loss column.

Here's a quick rundown of each positional matchup in Thursday's battle:

Point Guard: Junior Cadougan vs. Kenny Boynton

Although extremely different, Cadougan matching up with Boynton will be interesting. Cadougan is a natural point guard, looking for open teammates first while still using his big-bodied point guard frame to create for himself. Boynton has played the off-guard position his whole career but moved to starting point guard when Scottie Wilbekin was suspended to start the season. Bounton's agenda will be to get his own shot off, as evidenced by his team-high 16.2 point average.

Edge: Florida

Shooting Guard: Vander Blue vs. Mike Rosario

After sitting on Sunday in a blowout win over UMBC with an injury that occurred in Maui, Blue, who was part of the All-Tournament Team at the Invitational, will be ready to go Thursday. His counterpart, Rosario, was the main man at Rutgers for two years before transferring to Florida. After coming off the bench last season, Rosario is starting to find his old form again.

Edge: Marquette

Small Forward: Trent Lockett vs. Will Yeguete

The addition of Lockett helped ease the pain of losing two All-Big East performers in one year for Buzz Williams. Lockett, who came from Arizona State, is solid in all facets of the game but not remarkable in any one skill. Yeguete averages nearly seven points and eight rebounds and plays as more of a front court player.

Edge: Marquette

Power Forward: Juan Anderson vs. Erik Murphy

Anderson has been a surprise this season. While not putting up gaudy numbers, he has cracked MU's starting lineup when prior to the season I thought he wouldn't even find a way into the rotation. Murphy is the definition of a stretch four. Murphy currently stands as the Gators' second leading scorer, and while preferring to shoot from behind the arc he can also beat you inside.

Edge: Florida

Center: Chris Otule vs. Patric Young

After a season-ending injury last November, Otule is back on the court for his last go around as a college player. As a defensive minded player, Otule will try and mitigate the damage by the bigger starting five of Florida. Young is one physical specimen, built like maybe no other player in the nation. This future NBA player still has room to improve with his post moves, but truly is a freak of an athlete.

Edge: Florida

Bench: Marquette vs. Florida

Maybe as intriguing as each team's starting fives are the players who make up their respective team's benches. Neither team has a player on their roster who plays 30 minutes per game or more, so you can be sure the benches will be used early and often because of each team's fast style of play.

Davante Gardner is Marquette's leading scorer, averaging 14 points in only 20 minutes of action, while not being on the court to start the game. He also leads the team in rebounds. Jamil Wilson will see starter minutes for Marquette and is the team's third leading scorer, while sharpshooter Jake Thomas, freshman Steve Taylor and backup point guard Derrick Wilson will all also be sure to contribute.

Scottie Wilbekin, a hometown boy who left high school a year early to become a Gator, is the team's real point guard and will allow Donovan to play around with lineups when this all-around player is in the game. Freshman Michael Frazier has also been a spark for Florida, while Casey Prather has now returned after missing the team's first four games.

Edge: Marquette

Coach: Buzz Williams vs. Billy Donovan

Buzz is one of the most up and coming coaches that college basketball has to offer, bringing a constant energy while on the court, and recruiting the junior college ranks better than anyone in the business. Donovan, a two-time National Champion, would love nothing more than to get back to the Final Four after blowing late leads in the Elite Eight the past two seasons. This may be the Gators squad that gets him back there.

Edge: Florida

Overall: Florida 4 Marquette 3

While Florida gets the overall edge here by the slimmest of margins, don't expect Thursday's showdown to be quite as close. First off, the game is at Florida, which is by no means an easy place to take a road win. Marquette is a good, not great team, who hasn't quite gelled yet but should be very dangerous later in the season once all the aforementioned players have played together for a longer period. Expect a high scoring, fast-paced, fun to watch tempo throughout. As much as I'm pulling for the upset and revenge from last year's NCAA tournament knockout, I see the home team Gators getting the W by a respectable 8-point margin.