Marquette University Athletics
Marquette-Kentucky Preview
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 28, 2003
GAME: No. 3 Marquette (26-5) vs. No. 1 Kentucky (32-3).
REGIONAL: Midwest, Regional Final.
TIME: Saturday, 4:40 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome; Minneapolis.
Guard play often determines whether a team will reach the Final Four.
Kentucky is hoping star guard Keith Bogans is healthy enough to play against Marquette and its dynamic backcourt in the Midwest Regional final.
The top-seeded Wildcats (32-3) received their first challenge of the tournament after two blowout wins, emerging with a 63-57 triumph over fifth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday.
The victory extended Kentucky's winning streak to 26 games, but came at a high price as Bogans, the Wildcats' leading scorer and Southeastern Conference player of the year, left the game in the first half with a high ankle sprain.
Bogans will be a game-time decision for Saturday's showdown with the Golden Eagles.
"It's a high ankle sprain," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said Friday. "That can be a real bad thing. I've seen guys go a month without doing anything. He's able to put pressure on his foot and raise up on his toe. That's a good sign."
Bogans watched the second half of Thursday's game from the bench as the Wildcats moved within one win of their 14th Final Four appearance and first since winning the 1998 NCAA tournament.
"That's our leader. We just had to win this one without him," Kentucky's Chuck Hayes said. "He's been there vocally the whole year. That's your family member right there."
The absence of Bogans, who averages 15.7 points and shoots a team-high 38.1 percent from, 3-point range, will affect more than just the Wildcats' scoring and perimeter shooting.
"Keith and his swagger," Smith said. "He has that mentality, `Hey you're not going to stop me, give me the ball.' He raises his intensity when he's challenged and he's the best on our team at doing that."'
Defensive specialist Cliff Hawkins is likely to start if Bogans can't go on Saturday.
Marquis Estill more than compensated for Bogans' absence Thursday, scoring a career-high 28 points as he consistently outmuscled and outmaneuvered the smaller frontcourt of the Badgers. The 6-foot-9 center made 12-of-18 shots in 32 minutes.
Marquette (26-5) rode a strong performance from its own star guard, Dwyane Wade, to a 77-74 regional semifinal victory over second-seeded Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Wade took charge and scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, including a clutch basket in the final minute with the Golden Eagles clinging to a one-point lead.
"When he makes a couple of shots, we know he has the ability to take over a game," said Wade's backcourt mate, Travis Diener, who had only four points and eight assists after scoring 55 points in the first two rounds.
"(Wade) made a couple of shots and carried us. When he gets it going, we just try to find him, that is what makes him the best player in the nation."
Wade also had four assists and three steals as the third-seeded Golden Eagles reached a regional final for the first time since winning the 1977 NCAA tournament.
"It's a long year and a long game, if you have a bad first half, it doesn't mean a thing in the second half," said Wade, the Conference USA player of the year. "I have had some great first halves and some great second halves."
The teams have split eight NCAA tournament games - the most between any two teams. Marquette won the last meeting 75-63 in a second-round matchup in 1994.
The winner will play the West Region champion - Arizona or Kansas - at New Orleans next Saturday.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Marquette - F Scott Merritt, F Todd Townsend, C Robert Jackson, G Wade, G Diener. Kentucky - F Erik Daniels, F Hayes, C Estill, G Gerald Fitch, G Bogans or Hawkins.
TEAM LEADERS: Marquette - Wade, 21.4 ppg; Jackson, 7.3 rpg; Diener, 5.6 apg. Kentucky - Bogans, 15.7 ppg; Hayes, 6.8 rpg; Hawkins, 3.9 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Marquette - At-large bid, Conference USA; beat No. 14 Holy Cross 72-68 in first round; beat No. 6 Missouri 101-92 (OT) in second round; beat No. 2 Pittsburgh 77-74 in regional semifinal. Kentucky - Automatic bid, Southeastern Conference tournament champion; beat No. 16 IUPUI 95-64 in first round; beat No. 9 Utah 74-54 in second round; beat No. 5 Wisconsin 63-57 in regional semifinal.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Marquette - 31-23, 23 years. Kentucky - 94-39, 45 years.
