Marquette Is Proving They Are For Real

Vaulted up to a #8 ranking and make on the stage of national prominence, many MU fans were growing nervous that their matchup in Notre Dame was going to be a trap game. Instead, their 71-64 victory on the road proved they not only belong in the top ten, but they may even be a legit national championship contender.

With the victory, Marquette has won ten straight games for the first time since the 2002-03 season. It seems the Golden Eagles have found a nice little formula for victory this season - shoot well, play good defense, and buckle down in the stretch. Three things that any good basketball team needs to be able to do, and Marquette is doing it.

When Buzz Williams was hired to be this team's coach, I thought the hiring was sort of a joke. Marquette had just lost their beloved Tom Crean, and because they couldn't find anyone else quickly they just decided to give some assistant with a goofy nickname a shot. I thought this year would be a decent year for Marquette, but that they wouldn't really be able to do anything with a first-year coach.

Turns out, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Buzz was the perfect hire for this team. The seniors on this team are comfortable with him, and seem to be willing to buy into anything he says. And with this being the final chance at greatness for guys like McNeal, James, and Matthews, I think they have the kind of drive it takes to really make a run at a national title. I'm not sure they have enough as a team talent-wise to pull it off, but it's going to be a fun ride.

And yes, for the record, I'm 100% bandwagoning this team.