Marquette’s Final Four dreams doomed without James
Wednesday’s night’s loss to Connecticut was a killer for Marquette: First, it pretty much ended its Big East regular-season title hopes. Second, it ended the school’s 17-game home winning streak and no doubt was a blow to their confidence. Third and most important, the Golden Eagles lost starting guard Dominic James for the season due to a broken bone in his left foot.
Marquette has little inside game to speak of, with the team relying on its excellent three guard trio of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and James, a senior captain and considered the leader of the team and probably the best defender on the perimeter. He left Wednesday’s game after only four minutes of play and returned in the second half on crutches.
MU lost 93-82 and has three very tough games remaining with Louisville, Pittsburgh and Syracuse – bet on the games at WagerWeb.com. If the Golden Eagles aren’t careful, they will fall out of a bye situation for the Big East Tournament.
“We’re hurting as a program and an institution,” coach Buzz Williams said. “He has been incredible throughout his career.”
That means that 5-foot-8-inch reserve Maurice Acker will see plenty more time in the rotation. The junior was averaging just 8.8 minutes per game going into Wednesday night’s game. He played 33 minutes against Connecticut, scoring six points, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out four assists.
“It’s a big loss not having Dominic,” said Acker. “He’s one of the leaders of the team, and a game like this we need everybody. Everybody has to pick it up and get ready for the next game.”
James currently is Marquette’s career games leader with 128. He also leads the Golden Eagles with 143 assists on the season. James’ 11.4 points per game were good enough for fourth on the team, and he’ll likely finish his career as Marquette’s third-highest scorer (1,749 points). But his loss can’t be measured in numbers alone. This one will hurt.
Look for Marquette to lose two of its next three games, at a minimum, and fall to about a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Unless McNeal becomes super-human, the Golden Eagles will now be lucky to reach the Sweet 16.
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