MILWAUKEE -- There’s a hallway in Buzz Williams’ house where
he hangs team photos and other memorable images from every team he’s been a
part of since his high school days.
Last year’s adventure onboard the USS Yorktown in
Charleston, S.C., provided a couple of priceless photos for Williams’ wall, but
Marquette didn’t end up getting to play Ohio State.
One year after watching their highly anticipated matchup
with the Buckeyes get canceled due to condensation on the ship’s court, the
Golden Eagles will host Ohio State on Saturday at the BMO Harris Bradley
Center.
The home-and-home series between the two schools was already
on the docket before the Carrier Classic was called off, and, though not on an
aircraft carrier, this year’s game has just as much hype.
"Ohio State is good enough to win a national championship," Williams said. “We’ve studied them since the summer. They
will pose and put a lot of pressure on us in many ways from the opening tip.”
Ohio State is the first non-conference opponent to visit
Marquette while ranked in the top 10 since Kansas came to the Bradley Center
ranked fifth and won 85-61 on Jan. 28, 1992.
The Golden Eagles haven’t beat a top 10 team at home since
2011 and haven’t beat a non-conference team ranked in the top 10 at home since
defeating No. 5 Notre Dame in 1980. A win Saturday would not only extend
Marquette’s home streak to 28 games, but would give the Golden Eagles a marquee
win right off the bat.
“If you study the numbers of coach (Thad) Matta during his
time at Ohio State, you can say anytime you can play them it’s probably going
to help you as far as your RPI is concerned,” Williams said. “I think they’ve
won 72 percent of their Big Ten games, 77 percent of his games as a head coach.
“Those are staggering numbers. You can stack what they’ve
accomplished up against anybody in the country.”
Much like Marquette, Ohio State returns the vast majority of
its roster but must replace its leading scorer from last year’s Elite Eight
run. Both the Golden Eagles and Buckeyes could have had their top scorers back,
but Vander Blue and Deshaun Thomas left school early only to go undrafted.
Ohio State leaned on Thomas and his 19.8 points per game
quite a bit last season, as point guard Aaron Craft was its only other player
to average double figures in points. Many consider the Buckeyes a national
title contender if they can fill the scoring void left by Thomas.
In early season wins over Morgan State and Ohio, the
Buckeyes have been a balanced scoring team. Led by senior guard Lenzelle Smith
Jr. at 13.5 points per game, five players average more than 11 points per game.
“They play with four perimeter players at all times and put
a great amount of stress on you in how they play,” Williams said. “They always
are going to have four guys on the floor that can shoot. They run a lot of ball
screens, kind of similar to what Butler was doing last year.”
Setting the tone on both ends of the floor is Craft, a
preseason All-American by numerous publications. Craft is one of the peskiest
defenders in the country and is an excellent game manager on the offensive end.
Craft and Shannon Scott will challenge Marquette’s unproven
backcourt, as point guard Derrick Wilson must withstand the ball pressure and
limit turnovers if the Golden Eagles are going to win. Marquette certainly
holds the advantage inside with Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson and Chris Otule,
but the game could be decided by how their backcourt handles the pressure.
“He just badgers the hell out of you defensively, sometimes
when you have the ball, sometimes when you don’t have the ball,” Williams said
of Craft. “He’s almost like a magnet to the ball. Those other four guys kind of
understand how to play off of him. He’s worthy of the acclaim that he’s
received.”
While Ohio State has its rotation down to eight or nine,
Marquette has used 11 different players for extended minutes in its first two
games. November and December are usually used to narrow down the rotation for
February and March, but it’s hard to tinker with things and come out victorious
against a team like the Buckeyes.
Williams recognizes he has to find the balance in trying to
pick up a big win while still trying to figure out what mix of players is going
to give Marquette its best chance going forward.
“The value of a possession is going to increase, but at the
same time from a wisdom standpoint, we have to have a little bit of balance to
know we aren’t playing for a national championship today,” Williams said. “We
do need to get to the point where in February we better understand who guys
are.
“When the dealer calls the bet and you have to show your
hand, I just want to know what’s in your hand. Is what is in your hand against
Grambling what is in your hand today when we practice, and is that what is in
your hand when we play Ohio State?”
Going from playing a team on a 30-game losing streak to
playing one of the best teams in the nation is a tremendous leap in a four-day
span, but Marquette isn’t changing its approach.
“We’ve prepared for this game the same way we prepared for
Grambling and Southern,” Otule said. “We have a lot that we need to work on in
practice, and we’re just looking forward to this game as an opportunity to
improve.
“As a player you want to play the best teams. They are a
ranked team, and this will be a good test for us. We’re excited for the
opportunity.”
