Marquette University Athletics
Crean Cautious Despite Upset Victories
1/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2000
D. Orlando Ledbetter
MILWAUKEE - Marquette University basketball coach Tom Crean has the Golden Eagles hustling, diving for loose balls and doing the little things that make up for not having the most talented group in Conference USA.
Even the most casual fan has to be impressed by the victories over Xavier, De Paul and Louisville.
"Even when we weren't winning, we were getting better," Crean said Sunday, one day after his squad upset 25th-ranked Louisville, 66-64, in overtime at the Bradley Center. "We have to look at where we can keep improving. In this league, we can keep improving and that may not translate into wins."
The Golden Eagles are 10-5 with 12 regular-season games left. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way to finish at 16-11, you can probably pencil them in for an unexpected National Invitation Tournament berth.
What if they somehow stay hot and go 8-4 down the stretch for an 18-9 record? An unthinkable ticket to the NCAA tournament could be in the mail.
"It's way too early to be talking about that," Crean said. "The moment that we do that, we're looking ahead and not trying to improve day to day. That's what we're trying to do."
Making any tournament would be much more than anyone expected in Crean's first season. Don't forget, the Golden Eagles were selected to finish last in the Conference USA American Division.
"Don't make him into a savior yet," cautioned De Paul assistant coach Larry Harrison, who was still baffled Friday by Cordell Henry's 4-for-7 three-point shooting in the upset earlier in the week at De Paul.
It may be unreasonable to expect the Golden Eagles to maintain this winning level of play. They face North Carolina-Charlotte on Wednesday and top-ranked Cincinnati on Sunday at home before a three-game trip through St. Louis, Charlotte and Southern Mississippi.
"I've gotten a lot of respect for this league in a short period of time," Crean said. "Maybe teams are underestimating us. But we can't underestimate ourselves."
One thing is for sure, the Golden Eagles will keep hustling and playing hard.
"They are real organized but they won't be a factor in the league race," Harrison said. "He's got some guys playing some good ball. Will they be better when they get some better players? I don't know. But they sure are playing hard."
