STEVE YANDA: Surviving without McNeal
Men's basketball
By Steve Yanda
All season, the Golden Eagles' vaunted three-guard attack never looked as vulnerable, as tall and as applicable as it did in Saturday night's 75-71 win over Pittsburgh.
With sophomore guard Jerel McNeal restricted to street clothes due to a thumb injury he suffered Friday in practice, a temporary panic rippled throughout the Bradley Center.
Marquette was facing the No. 12 team in the nation, a Pittsburgh squad that could claim a share of the regular season Big East conference title with a win.
It didn't look good, not even from head coach Tom Crean's perspective. So game-altering was McNeal's injury that Crean pleaded with the fans during his usual pre-game JumboTron announcement to pick up the gaps in energy and intensity that would be left by his guard's absence.
Junior Dan Fitzgerald took McNeal's place in the starting line-up, but that was the least of the Golden Eagles' worries. Who was going to penetrate to the basket on offense without abandon? Who was going to clog the passing lanes on defense?
Who was going to (cliche ahead in three, two, one) step up?
Turns out, Marquette's spark would come from 7-foot senior center Mike "The Ringer" Kinsella. After Fitzgerald committed two quick fouls, Kinsella entered the game with 16:31 to go in the first half and served as the lankiest member the three-guard offense has witnessed in quite some time.
Kinsella nailed a three-pointer 17 seconds after subbing into the affair. He hit another from beyond the arc three minutes later after junior Ousmane Barro and senior Jamil Lott set a double-screen to free Kinsella up for the shot.
You read that correctly -- the Golden Eagles were running plays for Mike Kinsella. Somewhere, Chris Grimm is smiling.
Kinsella finished with just those six points in nine minutes of action, but they were enough to break the dam and begin the surge that was the Marquette offense in the first half.
The Golden Eagles shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range. They held a 13-point lead at intermission.
With sophomore guard Jerel McNeal restricted to street clothes due to a thumb injury he suffered Friday in practice, a temporary panic rippled throughout the Bradley Center.
Marquette was facing the No. 12 team in the nation, a Pittsburgh squad that could claim a share of the regular season Big East conference title with a win.
It didn't look good, not even from head coach Tom Crean's perspective. So game-altering was McNeal's injury that Crean pleaded with the fans during his usual pre-game JumboTron announcement to pick up the gaps in energy and intensity that would be left by his guard's absence.
Junior Dan Fitzgerald took McNeal's place in the starting line-up, but that was the least of the Golden Eagles' worries. Who was going to penetrate to the basket on offense without abandon? Who was going to clog the passing lanes on defense?
Who was going to (cliche ahead in three, two, one) step up?
Turns out, Marquette's spark would come from 7-foot senior center Mike "The Ringer" Kinsella. After Fitzgerald committed two quick fouls, Kinsella entered the game with 16:31 to go in the first half and served as the lankiest member the three-guard offense has witnessed in quite some time.
Kinsella nailed a three-pointer 17 seconds after subbing into the affair. He hit another from beyond the arc three minutes later after junior Ousmane Barro and senior Jamil Lott set a double-screen to free Kinsella up for the shot.
You read that correctly -- the Golden Eagles were running plays for Mike Kinsella. Somewhere, Chris Grimm is smiling.
Kinsella finished with just those six points in nine minutes of action, but they were enough to break the dam and begin the surge that was the Marquette offense in the first half.
The Golden Eagles shot 51.6 percent (16-for-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and 50.0 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range. They held a 13-point lead at intermission.
Published: 3/1/07 Section: Sports
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