NEW YORK – The Jimmy V Classic, always providing interesting matchups, did not disappoint. The Madison Square Garden doubleheader on Tuesday featured a strong Missouri team followed by an entertaining matchup in the nightcap. The scores:
Missouri 81, Villanova 71
Marquette 79, Washington 77
1. Missouri is good. Very good. The entered the game with a 126 offensive efficiency. Against Villanova, the Tigers put up a very impressive 117. Defensively they allowed a 103 efficiency to Villanova but did force the wildcats into a 22% turnover percentage rate. Frank Haith does not employ a full court pressing defense with this Missouri team. Rather, he’s decided to use a tough man-to-man defense that disrupts offenses an creates turnovers in a half court setting. Offensively he has a solid sharpshooter in Marcus Denmon, a game-high 28 point scorer on 6 of 10 three point shooting. Kim English is a capable guard and scoring threat. At the point Phil Pressey handed out 12 assists while committing just three turnovers in 24 minutes. Inside there is one key player. Ricardo Ratliffe is solid and the 6-8 forward made his presence known against Villanova with a 17 point 11 rebound outing. “Missouri is a tough team,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “They are so quick to the ball and rebound very well. They are the type team that can play four guards and be very successful at it.”
2. Villanova will be good. Right now the Wildcats need work and realize it. “A game like this will help us grow,” said junior forward Dominic Cheek. “We will watch tape on this and get back to practice sand get better.” A case in point was the opening of the second half. “We gave Denmon a wide-open three that he hit,” Wright said.”And we let him get loose on a backdoor. Think of that. Two possessions for five points. Down the stretch we still were right there.”
Mouphraou Yarou is solid inside. The junior forward scored 11 points, adding eight rebounds. He needs help in the paint, however. JayVaughn Pinkston, a redshirt freshman, added 10 points and seven rebounds. Pinkston showed some flashes of competence inside but is still a work in progress. “Last year he (Pinkston) was suspended,” Wright said. “He not only lost competition but training because he was working nine hours a day. He’s still rusty.”
Maalik Wayns hit a few threes during the second half Villanova run. Cheek runs the floor and is effective in transition . A freshman guard, Darrun Hilliard, has a nice outside touch and is a player to watch.
The Wildcats, in Wright’s estimation, are on the right track. “It’s almost embarrassing to say after losing by ten but we are getting better,” Wright noted. “We have confidence. We do have room for improvement in a lot of spots but I really like our team. We have a chance to be very good.”
3. Marquette-Washington entertained us. It all came down to the final possession. A last-second Washington shot was off the mark and Marquette held on for a nice intersectional triumph. It was a game with nine ties and 19, yes 19, lead changes. Just moments before the final Husky miss, Jae Crowder of Marquette buried a three for the game winner. It was Crowder’s (18 points) only made trey on the evening.
It was one of those rare games where the Huskies ‘won’ in the efficiency 109-107 but lost the game. Washington had 71 possessions, while Marquette checked in at 74. Terrence Ross (19 points), C.J. Wilcox (15) and Tony Wroten (13) effectively manned the backcourt. The Huskies did not have a solid finisher up front, though the presence of 7-footer Aziz N’Diaye, with his 13 boards and two rejections, was significant.
Marquette lost 7-foot Chris Otule to a knee injury just two minutes into the contest. Coach Buzz Williams felt Otule’s presence would be significant in defending ball screens. Darius Johnson-Odom penetrated well, got out in transition and led all scorers with 23 points. Williams is a tempo free aficionado preaches the value of caring for the ball to his team. Little surprise, Marquette had only 10 turnovers, a sterling 14% TO rate. Washington in contrast checked in with a 23% TO rate. Very significant in a one possession game.
4. Pressure. The window is closing. The Pac 12 may not, probably not, provide Washington with the chance for many signature wins that are needed come Selection Sunday. The Huskies, with this loss fell to 4-3. With Duke coming up at the Garden on Saturday, is there pressure to win that matchup? After Duke, only three home dates, UC Santa Barbara, South Dakota St and Cal State Northridge, remain prior to Pac 12 play. “There is pressure each and every game to be our best,” said Washington coach Lorenzo Romar. “Tonight I thought we played a pretty good game but each game and each practice we put the pressure on ourselves to get better.” Saturday Duke will provide its share as well.
Records: Marquette and Missouri exited MSG with perfect 8-0 slates. Villanova is now 5-3.
