Marquette falls apart in second half of frustrating loss to Oklahoma in Chicago
CHICAGO - The Marquette men’s basketball team can't figure out how to win games.
The Golden Eagles looked probably as good as they have all season for most of their game against Oklahoma on Nov. 28 at Credit Union 1, but there were several soul-crushing possessions that spelled doom in a frustrating 75-74 loss.
The Golden Eagles (4-4) face the prospect of finishing the non-conference slate with a losing record, with a winnable game against Valparaiso at home and then tough ones on the road against Wisconsin and Purdue .
MU dropped both of its non-conference games in Chicago, with a 100-77 loss to Indiana at the United Center also on MU's ledger.
But winning any game is tough for MU this season.
Chase Ross misses a tough shot at the buzzer
MU had the ball with 17.9 seconds left in the game with a chance to win after drawing up a play in a timeout.
If that sounds familiar, the Golden Eagles were in the exact same position at the end of regulation in their overtime loss to Dayton on Nov. 19 . In that situation, MU failed to get a shot off.
In this one, the Golden Eagles got a shot, but it wasn't a very good one with Chase Ross taking a fadeaway 18-footer that missed badly. MU freshman guard Nigel James Jr. couldn't shake loose of Oklahoma's Tae Davis , so James passed to Ross and Davis switched onto Ross and didn't allow any ground again.
"Man, Tae Davis did a really good job blowing up that 17-18 seconds," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "We wanted to run an action for NJ. Davis did a great job blowing that up.
"Then we got the ball to Chase. Davis switched on him and did a really good job. We got a shot off, but it wasn't anywhere near what we wanted. So obviously as a team, there's a lot of things to look at. We want to obviously execute in that last play better, but the game is always won or lost over 40 minutes.
"I told the guys 'Life and basketball throw at you exactly what you need to learn and grow from.' So that's exactly where we are right now."
Nigel James Jr. and Chase Ross have hot stretches, but MU suffers cold spells
MU had a hot start, making five of its first seven 3-point attempts. James was especially good early, scoring seven points as MU grabbed a 12-7 lead. MU had its largest advantage at 37-24 in the first half.
Ross took his turn at the controls to start the second half, scoring seven of MU's first 11 points of the second half as the Golden Eagles took a 48-37 lead with 15:14 remaining.
Ross and James combined for 41 points, but what doomed the Golden Eagles were cold stretches in each half in which they didn't get a made field goal for almost five minutes.
The first cold stretch allowed Oklahoma to close within 37-33 at the half. The second one allowed the Sooners to take the lead at 57-54 with 7:25 remaining and set the stage for a back-and-forth finish.
"Combination of missing shots around the basket, not making the right reads when we got into the paint, and then we missed some open threes," Smart said of the second-half lull. "We can't fault anybody for that, those were the same looks we were making earlier in the game.
"And they didn't go down. But I think at that time, when a team going on a run like that, you have to find a way to get in the paint and get fouled. There were considerably less fouls called in this game than some of our other games earlier this year. You got to adjust and you got to play through bumps and physicality and get to the basket."
Same old issues for this MU team
MU struggled shooting the ball near the basket, reminiscent of the Golden Eagles' home loss to Maryland when they shot 11 for 24 on layups.
Against Oklahoma, MU was 9 for 23 on layups. Starting frontcourt Ben Gold and Caedin Hamilton finished a combined 1 for 11 on all their shots.
Despite that hot start from beyond the arc, MU finished 9 for 27 (33.3) on 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles missed nine straight 3s to start the second half.
"I feel like there's some instances where some players miss some shots and are down about it," said Royce Parham, who had 13 points. "But it's just about teammates coming together and letting them know they can make a shot because they worked on that shot thousands of times. Every single day they hit that shot."
MU hasn't beaten a high-major team this season. Those teams are better taking care of the ball, and MU has trouble scoring in half-court games. Oklahoma coughed the ball up only eight times.
How can MU put together a solid 40 minutes against good competition?
"I feel like if we realize it in the moment and kind of go back and reset, then we can really just be there and be ready when they go on their runs," Parham said. "Because that's going to happen in basketball."
The Golden Eagles' NCAA tournament hopes are likely extinguished with their rough start, but there are still 23 games left.
"Basically just putting these games in the past," Parham said. "And not just dwell on the losses we have recently.
"Then just coming out in the next game and the next game and focus on the future ahead of us."
Marquette's potential starters
Guards:Nigel James Jr., Chase Ross, Zaide Lowery
Forwards:Ben Gold, Caedin Hamilton
Oklahoma has Milwaukee-area connections with Kai Rogers and Jake Hansen
The Sooners have a couple familiar names on their roster. Kai Rogers was highly regarded recruit at Wauwatosa West High School before finishing at Overtime Elite . The 6-10 freshman forward missed Oklahoma's first game with a knee injury, but has played sparingly since then.
Oklahoma also has 6-0 freshman guard Jake Hansen, who was Rodgers' teammate at Tosa West. Hansen helped lead the Trojans to their first state championship as a senior .
Marquette vs Oklahoma prediction
MU's remaining non-conference schedule includes a winnable home game against Valparaiso, and then tough road matchups at Wisconsin and Purdue. So the Golden Eagles would like to get this one against Oklahoma. It won't be easy. Porter Moser's offense involves a lot of cutting and spacing, and the Golden Eagles' have had frequent defensive breakdowns this season. The Sooners haven't turned the ball over much in their first six games, and have an older point guard in Nijel Pack . The Golden Eagles might not be able to muster enough offense to overcome those deficiencies.
Predicted score:Oklahoma 84, MU 71
How to watch Marquette vs Oklahoma?
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TV: NBC (Channel 4 in Milwaukee )
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Announcers: John Fanta (play-by-play), Nick Bahe (analyst) and Cayleigh Griffin (reporter) will be on the call.
Marquette vs Oklahoma odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Nov. 27
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Spread: Oklahoma by 2.5
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O/U: 161.5
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Moneyline: Marquette -120, Oklahoma -145
Marquette basketball schedule 2025-26
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Dec. 2: Valparaiso, 7 p.m.
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Dec. 6: at Wisconsin, 1 p.m.
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Dec. 13: at Purdue, 1 p.m.
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Dec. 17: Georgetown 7:30 p.m.
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Dec. 20:at Creighton, 7:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette loses to Oklahoma, 75-74, at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago
