Pitt routed on the road
MILWAUKEE — The Marquette Golden Eagles had the national TV stage all to themselves on Friday night, and to say they took advantage would be an understatement.
Efficient offensively, tenacious defensively and displaying a swagger that had been lacking for weeks, MU wrested sole possession of fifth place in the Big East Conference away from the Pittsburgh Panthers by handing them a 72-54 beatdown at the Bradley Center.
Leading by nine points at halftime, the Golden Eagles (18-6, 8-5) used a 21-4 run over the initial 8 minutes 6 seconds of the second half to turn what had been a somewhat competitive game into the worst regular-season conference loss in coach Jamie Dixon's five-year tenure.
They led by as many as 27 points before calling off the dogs, much to the delight of the announced crowd of 19,011, which included seven members of the 2002-03 Final Four team who were honored at halftime.
"Our guys have had such a great mind-set since the loss at Notre Dame," said coach Tom Crean. "We took it to Seton Hall ... and then we brought it back here. We knew we were going to have to play an outstanding game to beat Pittsburgh."
There were heroes aplenty for MU, most notably senior center Ousmane Barro and junior point guard Dominic James.
Barro continued his strong play with 14 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, while at the same time helping to limit Pittsburgh phenom DeJuan Blair to just six points and five rebounds.
James, meanwhile, played perhaps his best floor game since coming to MU, racking up a collegiate-high 12 assists without a turnover to go along with four points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
Jerel McNeal chipped in a team-high 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, while David Cubillan had 13 points and Wesley Matthews 10 for the Golden Eagles, who fell just one basket shy of holding the 22nd-ranked Panthers (19-6, 7-5) to their season low in points.
MU, meanwhile, shot 49.1 percent, held Pittsburgh to 37.3 percent and, thanks primarily to James' performance, dished out 20 assists on 28 field goals in its most convincing victory since a 92-66 downing of Notre Dame on Jan. 12.
Barro opened the game on fire, throwing down three dunks and hitting all four of his shots in the opening 7:55 as MU took a 15-11 lead. Defensively he was up to the challenge as well, swatting a pair of Panthers shots as he helped set the early tone against the physical Blair.
Dixon didn't wait long to get point guard Levance Fields into the game. Out for nearly seven weeks after surgery for a broken left foot, he checked in at the 14:19 mark but didn't make much of an impact, picking up a charge not long thereafter.
The Panthers pulled to within 21-20 with 8:10 remaining on a putback by Sam Young, but the Golden Eagles used a 12-4 run the rest of the way keyed by 3 3-pointers to give themselves some breathing room heading into halftime.
MU poured it on to open the second half, scoring on five consecutive possessions to go up, 43-28, and on eight of its first possessions overall. The difference between the two teams was striking; the Golden Eagles were seemingly everywhere, challenging everything, while the normally physical Panthers gave up layup after layup with minimal challenge.
"I was disappointed in our performance," said Dixon, whose team has now lost four consecutive regular-season games to the Golden Eagles. "We really got beaten in every facet. It really got away from us about the 15-minute mark of the (second) half."
