This has been a roller-coaster season for all of last year’s Final Four teams.
Despite some bumps along the ride, Texas and Kansas seem to be comfortably headed toward another NCAA tournament appearance.
But the other two teams–defending national champion Syracuse and Marquette–still could be on the verge of going from the bubble to real trouble.
The Golden Eagles, in particular, are standing on terra squirma.
After appearing to be in decent shape following a win two weeks ago at Louisville, Marquette (13-7, 4-5 Conference USA) is now looking at nearly a must-win situation Saturday against Memphis after back-to-back losses to Texas Christian and DePaul.
“It’s a fine line between staying in the moment and getting ready for each practice and each game, but also getting a sense of urgency about how important all those games are,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said.
Crean acknowledged he has yet to find a regular rotation, let alone anyone to replace All-American Dwyane Wade and unsung hero Robert Jackson from last year’s team. While junior guard Travis Diener has taken his game to another level and senior forward Scott Merritt has been solid, others have been inconsistent.
“Obviously, we lost two great players,” said Merritt, whose numbers (12.6 points, 6.7 rebounds) are a personal improvement from last season but not as good as Jackson’s were. “A couple of players have to step up.”
Said Diener, whose scoring average is up nearly six points to 17.5 a game: “We’re a very young team. It takes a while for a team to find itself. That’s no excuse for the losses we’ve had lately. We’re still trying to define what everyone needs to do.”
Sophomore center Steve Novak is having the toughest time finding that consistency. After coming off the bench as a freshman, Novak has played spectacularly at times, including a career-high 30 against Louisville. But he has not given Marquette any inside presence, particularly at the defensive end.
“You’re asking kids to do things they haven’t been asked to do before,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “They become a little uncomfortable. Plus the league is tough. People are getting better. And they’ve got a banner on their backs that says `Final Four team.’ They don’t get anybody’s second best.”
Diener doesn’t think that the school’s first Final Four appearance since winning the NCAA championship under the late Al McGuire in 1977 has brought any undue expectations. While the team is averaging more than 16,000 a game at the new McGuire Center, the fans have for the most part been patient.
“We have high expectations for ourselves,” Diener said. “Our expectations are a lot higher than anyone else would probably imagine. Right now we’re not fulfilling those expectations, but it’s still early in February, so we’ve got some time left.”
Part of the problem this season for the Golden Eagles is stronger competition within the league. Ranked fourth in the country in league RPI, Conference USA is currently ahead of such perennial powers as the Pac-10 and Big Ten and should get as many as five teams in the NCAA tournament this season.
“I don’t know what five it will be, but I think there should be and would be five,” Crean said. “There’s some really good basketball. Where we sit in the standings right now isn’t where we want to be. We just have to find ways to get better.”
