Pittsburgh, Marquette very similar in style
MILWAUKEE (AP) – When the Marquette Golden Eagles viewed film of the Pittsburgh Panthers, it was like sitting down to watch a favorite movie where they knew all the lines and scenes by heart. MILWAUKEE (AP) – When the Marquette Golden Eagles viewed film of the Pittsburgh Panthers, it was like sitting down to watch a favorite movie where they knew all the lines and scenes by heart.
The teams meet Thursday night in the Round of 16 in Minneapolis. It’s their first matchup since Jan. 17, 1976, but they must feel as though they’ve seen each other every day in practice this season.
Both teams have two very quick guards capable of taking over a game, a bulky frontcourt rotation and a deep bench. Defense is the hallmark of both programs, but both sport athletes who can run with anybody.
Pittsburgh (28-4) has guards Brandin Knight and Julius Page and Marquette (25-5) counters with Travis Diener and Dwyane Wade.
“They’re one of the best backcourts in the nation. They’re a tough, physical team. They’ve got some big guys in the front court that can do a lot of damage and then they have a great backcourt.”
That quote came from Diener after practice Monday, but just as easily could have come from Knight.
Wade said it was like looking in a mirror when he watched the film.
“I see similarities,” he said. “I see a team that’s been steady all year. And they’re a team that can do both: they can run transition when they want to and can slow it up.”
Then, there’s the similar size.
In addition to Jaron Brown, the Panthers rotate a frontcourt of Ontario Lett, Donatas Zavackas and Chevron Troutman, who average 6-feet-7 and 246 pounds.
Marquette has Todd Townsend, Scott Merritt and Robert Jackson and bring off the bench Frank Novak, a lanky 6-10 freshman forward who sparked the Eagles’ 101-92 victory over Missouri by sinking three 3s in overtime.
“There’s a lot of similarities,” said Diener, who is averaging 27.5 points in the NCAA tournament. “And I think that’s what makes it such a great matchup.”
Wade said it’s nice to prepare for a parallel opponent for a change.
“That’s what makes it not as hard to prepare,” he said. “You’ve got physical guys in practice who are going to come out and do the same thing you’re going to see in the game.”
Eagles coach Tom Crean watches Pittsburgh wistfully – and restlessly.
“They’ve got a real simple elegance about their game. I mean, they make grinding it out and taking each possession a thing of beauty,” Crean said. “They do such a good job in the halfcourt on both ends, they make it very difficult.
“We have some similar plays that we run. They’ve got great experience, they’re very athletic. Just very skilled and tough. There’s not a lot of weaknesses there.”
Again, that sentiment could have been spoken by Panthers coach Ben Howland as easily as it was from Crean.
The Panthers, champions of the Big East, are seeded second and have won 11 straight, but the third-seeded Golden Eagles, who won their first Conference USA crown, don’t see themselves as the underdog by any means.
“Our goal from Day One was to win the national championship and we’re not going to be happy or satisfied with anything less than that,” Diener said. “So, we still have goals in mind and we’re not satisfied just to be going to Minnesota.”
But they are thrilled to be going to the Twin Cities.
With all else being equal, the one thing that might separate these like teams is the atmosphere in the Metrodome, where the crowd promises to be partisan toward the Marquette.
With Wisconsin facing Kentucky in the other semifinal, fans from the Badger state are snapping up tickets and hoping to give their schools a homecourt advantage in the dome.
“You always want to have the fan support,” Merritt said. “That gives you a little extra edge.”