Going into the season I had high hopes. I thought the team should: be consistently ranked; beat Wisconsin; split with Notre Dame; make the Big East Tournament Semifinals; and win at least one game in the tournament. The optimist in me thought the Sweet 16 was within reach and an Elite 8 was not out of the realm of possibility.
Today I can happily say: Done; Done; Done; Done; and Done.
Beating Notre Dame twice was a bonus, and anything beyond Stanford would be tremendous.
Sure, I could quibble about a few things, such as the absence of a decent big-man and inconsistent play (Syracuse), but this season has been a resounding success.
From time-to-time, I am disappointed with Crean, but when I reflect at how far the program has come in twenty years, and the consistent success Crean has attained, my disappointment seems like whining.
Having gone to school during the Dukiet era with all the misery that entailed, I have to say I am thrilled with where MU stands as a basketball program. Anyone else remember the profound disappointment when Marquette joined the MCC, and a good win was beating the University of Evansville? Back then, the NIT was a dream, and the NCAA's weren't worth the time to dream.
There is so much to be happy about, that win or lose against Stanford, one should be immensely proud to be a Marquette Warrior.