Sleeping with the Enemy: The Golden Eagles of Marquette

Hoyas! Golden Eagles! Again! We're ready to take on Marquette for the second time this season and as usual THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON is bringing you everything you need to know about Georgetown's next opponent.  Here with us as always are our best blogfriends at Anonymous Eagle, your source for all things Marquette hoops.  Let's do this!

Round Two! What did you take away from our 1st battle that gives you confidence that you can pull out a win in this one?

Georgetown had an effective field goal percentage of 33% in the second half of the game in the Verizon Center. Wojo's got y'all pegged.

On top of that, had Marquette not turned the ball over 25% of the time, even just 20% of the time instead, then the Golden Eagles could have snuck out of the nation's capitol with a win. With that said, Marquette is literally the worst team in the Big East at keeping track of the ball in conference play, so maybe I'm just tilting at windmills on that one.

You are going to a desert island and can take only one of the following items: cheese, beer, and sausage. Which do you take, and why?

You're goddamn right I'm taking the beer, and not just because I'm the stereotypical Wisconsinite you're painting me out to be. I mean, of course that's part of it, but come on: how do you propose I'm going to keep my cheese and sausage cold on a deserted island, chief? I'd be dead from some cheese-tainted bacterial infection or salmonella or some shit within two weeks.

And obviously I recognize I won't be able to keep my beer cold either, but even though it is warm I will be drunk when I am done drinking it. Unless you're proposing to exile me with Natty Light or Foster's or something. Then I'll take the cheese death.

So, about the Packers. How bad was that for you and is it possible to suffer a worse loss? Now that a week has passed, who do you blame mostly for the collapse and why?

I think the only way the loss could've been worse is if the Patriots hadn't been taking the air out their balls two hours later, because that nonsense has mercifully reduced the amount of times ESPN has shown the Packers getting kicked in the balls in Seattle. Anyway, we're progressing through the stages of grief here; based on what I saw on the webs today -- where there was like a 20-minute "HEY THE FUCKING REFS MISSED THAT THE FUCKERS HAD TOO MANY FUCKING GUYS ON ONE SIDE OF THE FIELD DURING THE ONSIDE KICK" explosion, which was almost immediately contradicted by anyone who's seen the NFL rule book in the last 5 years -- I think we're comfortably in bargaining right now.

As for who to blame, this seems to be the exceedingly rare case where almost everyone on the roster and on the coaching staff is at fault, because you don't gag away a 12-point lead with 4 minutes to play unless quite literally everyone associated with the team fucks up their job. So from Rodgers playing like ass to McCarthy trying to run out the clock starting in the 3rd quarter to Peppers telling Burnett to lay down on the fourth interception to Ha Ha not knocking the ball down on the 2-point conversion to Bostick acting like a puppy with a chew toy thrown at him on the onside kick to Capers putting 9 in the box on the overtime touchdown ... it was the darkest timeline, no doubt.

(Casual Note: When I throw my puppy a chew toy, he catches it.)

As of right now, who is the best former Marquette player in the NBA? Still Dwyane Wade? Has Jimmy Butler surpassed him? Perhaps you prefer Wes Matthews?

What, no love for Jae Crowder's emergence in Boston?

There is so much to love about what Jimmy Butler has done. It is awesome to see a guy who has made a career out of doing exactly what is asked of him and waiting for his chance to shine break out the way he has. If Jimmy isn't an All-Star this year, then there shouldn't even be a game.

We love Wes Matthews too. Here's a guy that spent three years under a wet blanket in Tom Crean's offense, before finally busting loose as a senior, that went undrafted and managed not only to play his way onto a roster, but play well enough to get himself a nice free agent deal and a starting job, on a playoff caliber team. And through it all Wes, a Wisconsin native, has remained pretty connected and visible around the Marquette program.

But c'mon man, it's still Dwyane F. Wade. As someone that was a student during magical run to the '03 Final Four, Dwyane Wade is going to top any list of Marquette players you ever ask me to make. Someone is going to have to come pretty damn strong to knock him off that pedestal. So while he may not be the super-duper star he was a few years ago, Wade's still the man in my book.

Marquette enters the St. John's game with the worst offense in Big East play and the best defense in Big East play (per kenpom.com). What are your preferred methods of whiling away the time between baskets? Do you knit? Whittle? Drink heavily?

My therapist says I'm not allowed to have sharp objects near me during Marquette games any more, so I'm left with only drinking heavily. Over Christmas-time, I had a family friend introduce me to mixing 2 Gingers whiskey with ginger ale. That's a tasty concoction.

In Georgetown-Marquette Round 1, Marquette's offense appeared to consist of Matt Carlino jumpers, Luke Fischer post-ups, and the offensive equivalent of digging in your couch for loose change. Who else should the Hoyas beware in the rematch?

So here's something fun that's happened since you saw Marquette three weeks ago: our offense now consists EXCLUSIVELY of Matt Carlino jumpers. I wish I was making this up, but I swear to God that I'm not: against Creighton, Marquette scored 25 points in the second half; Carlino had 11 of 'em (and Duane Wilson had the other 14). Against Xavier, Marquette scored 27 points in the second half; Carlino had 17 of 'em (and Duane had 6). Against St. John's, Marquette scored 33 points in the second half; Carlino had 14 of 'em (and Steve Taylor had 8). Fischer has almost completely disappeared in conference play -- he's TOTALED 17 points and 11 rebounds in the last 3 games combined -- so our offense now features catch-and-shoot plays for Carlino and then heat-check 35-footers when he gets bored with that.

And YES, bartender, I would like another shot of bleach, if you're offering.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being REALLY FUCKING IMPRESSED, how impressed were you with Georgetown's dismantling of Villanova?

It's a solid 9, man, and the only reason it's not a 10 is because of the court rush at the end of the game. What in the blue hell was THAT all about? You guys closed Manley Field House. You held Syracuse under 40 points in their final Big East regular season game. You've been to a Final Four in the last 10 years, and you're leading the goddamn conference right now. And you're storming the court after beating fucking VILLANOVA by 20 in January? To paraphrase the immortal Ben Fong-Torres in Almost Famous: "This isn't Seton Hall, man. This is GEORGETOWN."

(Casual Note: This is why we need to start the tradition of storming the court after EVERY win.  We have been forever ruined.)

What is your go-to order at a French bistro?

I don't think I've ever been to a French bistro. But your question reminded me of a really great recipe for quiche: First you make the quiche. Then you bake the quiche. Then you throw the stupid thing out the window and grill yourself a T-bone steak instead.

How will Marquette need to finish this season in order for you to consider it a success?

Alive? Is alive an answer? How about in one piece?

If MU can figure out a way to finish the year with a record over .500, which means 7-11 or better in the Big East, and have everyone looking like they're better than they did when the season started, I'll be happy.

Final score prediction?

Marquette 64, Georgetown 62. MU hasn't lost at home in a conference game yet, and I'm going to boldly predict that this streak doesn't change here. Sorry in advance about making y'all waste all that good karma & attention from beating Villanova.