How sweet it is.
Just as Wisconsin did a night earlier, the Marquette Golden Eagles punched the ticket to their first Sweet 16 since 2003 with a grind-it-out, down-to-the-wire, 66-62 victory Sunday against Big East Conference rival Syracuse.
Marquette (22-14) over came a slow start to pull off one of the more memorable victories of the three-year Buzz Williams era. The Golden Eagles hit just two of their first seven shots and found themselves behind by 10 midway through the first half.
"I thought we tried to be way too pretty the first 6 or 7 minutes of the game," Williams said. "We're not talented enough. I'm not a good enough coach to be able to play like that. I thought the last seven minutes of the first half we were much more active. I thought we were playing much harder. I thought we were tougher."
Down six (29-23) with 3:16 left in the half, the Golden Eagles took over, finishing the half on an 11-2 run and went into the locker room with a 34-31 lead. Six of the points during that stretch came from Jimmy Butler, who finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 39 minutes.
Syracuse came right back in the second half, erasing the deficit with a 15-7 run and led by five (46-41) with just under 13 minutes left to play. The Golden Eagles clawed back and trailing, 59-56, with 2:53 left, scored eight unanswered points including back-to-back three-pointers from Jae Crowder.
With the game tied at 59 and 27 seconds left, Darius Johnson-Odom connected on a three-pointer that put Marquette up for good.
"Jimmy made a hard dribble to the left, and I happened to be spotting up right behind him," Johnson-Odom said. "He just found the open man, what we do every day, and luckily I knocked the shot down."
Marquette finished with big advantages at the free-throw line (19 of 23 compared to just seven Syracuse attempts) and on the boards (30-24) and was led by Johnson-Odom's 17 points.
Next up is a trip to the round of 16 -- one that's especially satisfying after tough tournament losses in each of Williams' first three seasons. In Newark, where the East Regional will be played, the Golden Eagles join college basketball heavyweights Ohio State, Kentucky and North Carolina -- Marquette's Sweet 16 opponent.
"All those teams are great, but I feel like we are just as good," Johnson-Odom said. "We worked so hard during the off-season, preseason, to put ourselves in the position in the way we are now.
"When guys come out and play just as tough as ever and put it all on the line, then you're supposed to be in positions like this."
The 11th-seeded Golden Eagles take on the No. 2 Tar Heels (28-7) at 6:15 p.m. Friday. The game will be broadcast by TBS.
Wisconsin heads to New Orleans: After defeating Kansas State, 70-65, Saturday, the Badgers head south this week for the Southeast Regional semifinals at the Superdome in New Orleans where upset-minder Butler awaits. That game will be played at 8:57 p.m. Thursday and will be broadcast by CBS.
Upcoming schedule
(All times Central)
Thursday
West Regional -- Anaheim, Calif.
No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 3 Connecticut, 6:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 Arizona, 8:45 p.m. (CBS)
Southeast Regional -- New Orleans
No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 BYU, 6:27 p.m. (TBS)
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Butler, 8:57 p.m. (TBS)
Friday
East Regional -- Newark, N.J.
No. 2 North Carolina vs. No. 11 Marquette, 6:15 p.m. (CBS)
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Kentucky, 8:45 p.m. (CBS)
Southwest Regional -- San Antonio, Texas
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 12 Richmond, 6:27 p.m. (TBS)
No. 10 Florida State vs. No. 11 VCU, 8:57 p.m. (TBS)
