I'm Back, Baby!!

Some of you may have noticed that I've been gone for quite a while. Nine months to be exact. Well, the fact of the matter is that I just never got around to posting as much as I would have liked last year, and near the end of the season I just sort of stopped posting. I've never really posted much over the summer, and I since I've transferred out of Marquette, I wasn't really planning to keep this going, so I didn't see the point in coming back and giving updates on things like Marquette Madness and Trevor Mbakwe's season ending injury. But now the season is upon us, and I just felt like I can't stay away any longer.

I'm going to give this one last try. Obviously, since I won't be at Marquette this season, I won't be able to provide the same things that I have in the past. The game previews and recaps (which were too few and far between as it was), will be gone. I will sometimes post a few post-game thought, especially for big games, but for the most part, this site will be all about commentary, which is what I originally intended, anyway. As before, I won't post too much breaking news, because I would just be re-posting things that I found elsewhere, so unless it is something really big, you'll have to wait a little bit until I provide some commentary on it (assuming that it warrants commentary). So with all of that stuff out of the way, here are some of my thoughts on the upcoming season, which begins tonight against IUPUI at the Bradley Center.

• With all five starters returning, I see no reason why this team can't win 25 games, plus whatever they can get in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.
• Trevor Mbakwe's injury will hurt this team, but not as much as some people think. He would have contributed rebounds and some solid defense, but there's no way he was going to average more than 4 ppg this season.
• Dwight Burke needs to step it up this year. He doesn't need to score too much, but rebounds and defense will be critical.
• Marquette fans are going to be happy that Mo Acker is around. I saw him play at Madness, and he is the fastest guy on the court. Add that to the fact that he is a great passer and pretty good shooter, and the team won't lose too much when D James goes on the bench.
• A big strength for this team will be its depth. With Acker, Cubillan, Hayward (or Fitz, depending on the lineup), Christopherson, and Burke as the main guys off the bench, this team is deep. Barring injury, this team will be able to give guys crucial rests and not lose to much on the floor.
• Not getting Iman Shumpert hurts, but it doesn't affect this years team, and if DJ comes back next year and Mo Acker has the type of impact I think he will, he wouldn't have that much of an impact on next years team either. What I'm saying is, it's not as big of a loss as it seems.
• I predict that this team will win 25 regular season games, 2 more in the Big East Tournament, and will reach the Elite 8 in the Big Dance, for a total of 30 wins. A bit ambitious, I know, but with the talent on this team, I think its possible.

I think this will be a really good season for Marquette basketball, and I am certainly looking forward to it.

Game Preview - February 3 vs. Providence

This seems like as good a game as any to get back at it, so let's go. This afternoon Marquette will get a chance to get revenge for a tough loss on the road to Providence in the conference opener. Jerel McNeal sat out that game due to injury, but has played solidly since returning, and has played a major part in the current six-game win streak. Ousmane Barro has also been solid during the streak, averaging double figures in points and recording two double-doubles. It should be a capacity crowd today as Marquette will retire the jersey of Dwyane Wade at halftime. Fans will also recieve a DWade figurine.

Prediction: 78-69 Marquette

Game Preview - January 7 vs. Syracuse

On Sunday night, the Marquette Warriors will try to recover from a tough defeat against Providence by taking on the Syracuse Orange at the Bradley Center.

The Warriors need to shoot the ball better, especially from behind the arc, as they have shot poorly in all three of their losses. Jerel McNeal sat out the last game with an injury and his status for this game is unknown. Tonight's game will also mark the return of the student section, as many students will likely drive up for the season's first conference game.

Prediction: 72-68 Marquette

Game Preview - January 4 at Providence

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. That's right, it's time for Big East Basketball. The 13-2 Warriors will start off their conference schedule on the road against Providence College. They beat the Friars without too much difficulty last season at the Bradley Center in the last game of the season. Tonight's game will be televised on ESPN Full Court, so find someplace to watch it and enjoy.

Prediction: 83-74 Marquette

Game Preview - December 19 vs. Oakland

On Tuesday night, the 20th ranked Marquette Warriors will play host to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. The Warriors are coming off of an 18 point victory on Saturday against UMBC.

Freshman Lazar Hayward had his coming out party on Saturday, picking up 13 points, most of them coming down low. Dominic James led the way with 17 and had several impressive dunks on the fast break. The Warriors would like to control this game from start to finish just like they did the last, something they have not been able to do for much of the season.

This will be the sixth game of an eight game homestand for the Warriors, and it will be the first with the students on Christmas break. Finals ended Friday, but a decent number of students stayed around for Saturday's game. Starting tonight, there will be very few students in the crowd for the next three home games. They should return in force for the first home conference game of the season against Syracuse.

Prediction: 83-64 Marquette

Rob Stack's Top Ten - December 18

Here's this week's set of rankings. We had number two Pittsburgh knocked off, albeit on the road to Wisconsin, another Top Ten team. Nobody dropped out of the rankings, but Pitt was the only team to lose and no one on the cusp did enough to get in. If you have questions, or more likely, complaints, send them to marqbball@excite.com.

1. UCLA 9-0 LW: 1
Sure, they may have only beaten Oakland this week, but they were good enough for number one last week and they didn't lose this week. They'll stay where they are until they lose.

2. Ohio State 9-1 LW: 7
I had them a bit low last week, then they went out and destroyed Cincinatti by 22. This team has only one loss, and that came to North Carolina on the road without Greg Oden. Big test will come this weekend at Florida, where we'll see just how good they really are.

3. Witchita State 8-0 LW: 3
They may not be a big name from a power conference, but they keep on winning. That's what counts in this Top Ten.

4. North Carolina 8-1 LW: 4
The only team to beat Ohio State so far, even if they didn't have Greg Oden. This team has a lot of talent and Tyler Hansborough may be the best big man in the country.

5. Oklahoma State 11-0 LW: 5
Didn't play a game this week, so I can't really move them up unless someone in front of them drops. Pittsburgh fell, but the Buckeyes leaped forward, evening it out. They play Tennessee and Pitt this week, giving them a great opportunity to move up in these rankings, if they can hold on.

6. Wisconsin 11-1 LW: 9
I really do hate to give the Buckeyes any praise, but this is a real good team. They followed up last week's win over rival Marquette with a win over another rival UW-Milwaukee. Oh yeah, they also beat Pittsburgh by 14. With each win, Warriors fans are feeling slightly less bad about that loss.

7. Pittsburgh 10-1 LW: 2
A five spot drop might be a bit harsh considering they lost at Wisconsin, an impossible place to play. They have a nice chance for redemption against OK State this week. I expect them to take advantage of it.

8 9 and 10. Arizona 8-1 Duke 9-1 and Florida 9-2
None of these teams really did anything to distinguish themselves this week, with Arizona and Florida beating up on weak competition and Duke inactive. That should change this week as each team has a team ranked in the Coaches poll on their schedule for the week.

Close, but not quite:
Alabama, UCONN, Butler, Kansas, and Washington

Game Preview - December 16 vs. UMBC

On Saturday, the No. 22 Marquette Warriors will take on the UMBC Retrievers in their first game since a four point home loss to the Wisconsin Badgers last weekend. Despite the loss, the Warriors are a pretty good 9-2 with a CBE championship.

As always, Dominic James will lead the Warriors into battle. Whenever he has a big game, it usually means a Marquette victory. Look for everyone to at least try to get into it offensively, as some poor shooting against the Badgers was the team's ultimate downfall.

This will be the last game before Christmas break as finals ended yesterday, so the student section will be under represented for the next few games. Expect them to be back in full force for Syracuse on January 7. As always, you can drop questions and comments to marqbball@excite.com

Prediction: 82-65 Marquette