Marquette Golden Eagles humiliate Ole Miss Rebels 96-69: NCAA Basketball Recap
An exciting encounter was expected as the two undefeated teams in the NCAA Basketball season 2011, Marquette Golden Eagles and Ole Miss Rebels, took on each other for the first time in tournament.
However, it turned out to be a one sided affair as Marquette cruised to an easy win downing their opponents 96-69.
Dominating the game right from the start, the winning team had already turned the game in their favour after accumulating a mammoth 22 point lead by the end of first half. The 3rd and the 4th quarters were a mere formality as lead only mounted with time.
Playing his second game of the season, Jae Crowder was monumental and led the winning team with game high 25 points on a near perfect 9 for 11 from the floor and 5 for 7 from the free throw line. Darius Johnson Odom continued from where he left off in the last game and added 20 points, knocking down 8 for 10 from the stripe. Davante Gardner came off the bench late and scored 15 points on an accurate 9 for 9 from the free throw line.
Marquette’s coach Buzz Williams was thrilled with the win and was all praise for Jae Crowder.
"I think Jae in a lot of ways is the heart and soul of what we do on both ends of the floor," Williams said. "We function with a lot better rhythm when he's playing. I don't know how many minutes he had or points he scored but how in sync we are typically means he's in the game."
Terrance Henry dominated Rebels offense with 19 points on 7 for 14 from the floor and 4 for 7 from the free throw line. Maurice Aniefiok (10) was the only other player from the losing team who managed to end with scores in double figures.
Rebels drew the first blood courtesy of a driving layup from Dundrecous Nelson’s layup in the opening seconds, but after that it was all Marquette. An 11-2 spurt midway through the quarter followed by Crowden’s and Garnder’s dominating offense in the latter half of the frame lifted Marquette into a commanding position as they finished the quarter leading by 25-10.
An early 7 point run in the starting minutes by Marquette then took the game miles away from Rebels. Terrance Henry and Nelson tried hard to bring Rebels back in the game but Marquette continued the onslaught and went on to score 26 points in the quarter to ensure they held the upper hand in the first half. Marquette were leading 51-29 by the end of the half.
Things got worse in the third quarter as midway through the frame, the lead swelled to 30 points 69-39.
The fate of the game had already been decided by then as cutting off the mammoth deficit looked almost impossible. The scores at the end of third quarter were 48-75. Both teams went on to score 21 points in the last frame but the giant lead, which Marquette had managed to gain earlier, led them to a convincing victory.
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