ESPN Forde's column

[mu_hilltopper]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2732695&campaign=rss&source=NCBHeadlines



Marquette (14). The Golden Eagles looked great in an 8-0 start on the season, then were stunned at home by North Dakota State, lost a hard-fought game to Wisconsin and dropped their first two in Big East play. Since then they've won three straight impressively: at Connecticut, by 18 over West Virginia and by nine at Louisville Monday night.

Marquette has reinserted itself into the Big East's best-besides-Pittsburgh discussion because, in the words of coach Tom Crean (15), "We're starting to learn how we're supposed to play. Before you win, you've got to learn why you lose."

The Eagles lost to Providence and Syracuse because they relied too much on 3-pointers, didn't get to the free-throw line and were beaten up on the glass. In a word, they were soft. Temporarily.

After averaging 22 attempted 3s in those losses, they've shaved that to 14.7 in three victories. Free-throw attempts went from 18 to 25. The rebounding margin went from minus-8 to plus-9.7.

Those are classic Crean-style stats.

"We have to learn how to play in character," guard Wesley Matthews (16) said.

Leading Marquette's cast of characters is Dominic James (17), who was The Minutes' preseason choice for first-team All-America point guard and played that way Monday in Freedom Hall. When Louisville closed from 15 down to five in the middle of the second half, James responded like a stone-cold stud. He scored 13 straight Marquette points -- nine of them on contested 3s from out top and four on difficult drives to the basket. Then James dished the assist on a Matthews 3-pointer that effectively ended it.

Crean was tipped off about James at the beginning of the kid's junior year at Richmond (Ind.) High School by former assistant Tim Buckley, then the head coach at Ball State. All it took was one look at James in action for the Marquette staff to be hooked.

"It was a no-brainer," Crean said. "We made him a priority."

So did Louisville Monday night. Didn't matter.

"We played him great," Louisville coach Rick Pitino (18) said. "He's a great little player, maybe the best point guard in the nation. He's very tough -- very tough-minded. There's a young man who's only a sophomore but has the mentality of a 40-year-old."

Forgive Pitino for feeling a bit envious of a sophomore with a titanium toughness about him. His youth-laden roster is riddled with mental frailty that leads to critical lapses in shot selection, offensive execution and defensive focus at key times.

Which is a big reason why the 12-6 Cardinals look like an NIT team -- at best. And why Louisville isn't on this comeback list.