In the six full games Marquette has played since the James injury, the numbers for MU's other two high profile guards are extremely meager. I didn't realize the stats looked this bad until I took a note from Buzz and looked them up.
In the six games without James:
McNeal> 31-101 FG's (30.6%) 14-51 3's (27.4%) 20 Turnovers (3.3/Game)
Matthews> 23-66 FG's (34.8%) 6-28 3's (21.4%) 15 Turnovers (2.5/Game)
Combined> 54-167 FG's (32.3%) 20-79 3's (25.3%) 35 Turnovers (5.8/Game)
The McNeal TO's are alarming, but the fact he's averaging 8.5 three point attempts/game is even more disconcerting. I hope he starts taking care of the ball and driving to the bucket a bit more like he did on the ultra clutch play at the one minute mark today.
I can't imagine an MU win over Missouri with numbers like this from the two senior stars on Sunday. Both are overdue for breakout performances. I hope it happens this weekend. It's hard to fathom the team has played elite competition so closely with such low offensive output from McNeal and Matthews.
It illustrates the toughness and grit of this team. Today was another example of heart winning out in the end. Heart will only carry MU so far. It's time for the two guards to reemerge onto the scene. I think it happens on Sunday!
It HAS to happen on Sunday................