Now that's more like it: MU Thumps #22 PittUPDATED:
(http://lh6.google.com/hilltopper91/R7ZtZw3YmdI/AAAAAAAAAdg/OUTFgjj7AQc/s400/IMG_0930.jpg)
(http://picasaweb.google.com/hilltopper91/MUCrushesPitt/photo#5167437911835580882)Starting from the last 3 minutes of the Notre Dame game, through Seton Hall, and into an electric Bradley Center on Saturday Night versus #22 Pittsburgh, Marquette has played 83 minutes of inspired basketball with a 72-54 beat down of Pitt. Marquette now moves to 8-5 in BE play, in 5th place.
Jerel McNeal led the team with 17 quiet points, followed by a superlative effort by The Oooze, who racked up another double double, 14 points, 12 boards.
But they weren't the only stars last night, in that, MU got solid contributions from just about everyone. While James only had 4 points, he had a whopping 12 assists. Matthews accounted for another 10 points. And the Cube is back, with 13 points, hitting 3-5 from behind the arc.
The only minor disappointment last night was Trevor Mbakwe, who played his first minutes as a Warrior. With the expectation that Trevor farts thunder and craps lightening, his grand un-redshirting was uneventful at best, missing one shot, and getting zero boards in 8 minutes. If the game was tighter, I don't believe Crean would have played him for more than 1-2 minutes.
A note should be made about the crowd .. it was fantastic. Raucous. Students filled their section to the brim. That crowd went to 11. Some of it was for Pittsburgh, some for the Converse commercial, some for the Final 4 ceremony, and some for the Mbakwe unveiling. It will be interesting to see the Converse commercial, once complete. I thought the Bradley Center could have done a better job informing the non-students (who make up 75% of the crowd) what was going on, and to join in with the We Are--Marquette chant. I'll have video up later today.
Huge win. Next up, @SJU and home vs. Rutgers. Can you smell a 4 game winning streak?
One more item: Could Pitt fans be bigger a-holes? Quote: "Please let James have a broken wrist (http://pittsburgh.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=538&tid=111265194&mid=111265194&sid=996&style=2)" and .. "I hope James has to have his hand amputated." Wow. Classy fan base.
- Game photos (http://picasaweb.google.com/hilltopper91/MUCrushesPitt/photo#s5167437014187415650)
- Recap / Box Score / Play by Play (http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/men_s_basketball/pitt_02_15_08)
- Rosiak's Recap (http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/02/16/wrapping-up-pittsburgh.aspx)
I need to put up a picture of a guy who sits a row behind me. Clearly, he reads Cracked Sidewalks (http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2008/02/marquette-hosts-pittsburgh.html).
I give you, the Cracked Sidewalks Fan of the Game:
(http://lh3.google.com/hilltopper91/R7ZtRA3YmZI/AAAAAAAAAc8/5kKXEPnUnjk/s400/IMG_0913.jpg)
(http://picasaweb.google.com/hilltopper91/MUCrushesPitt/photo#5167437761511725458)
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2008/02/now-thats-more-like-it-mu-thumps-22.html