by Jim Plautz
The three-time defending NCAA champion Marquette Golden Eagles entered the final year of Matthew’s reign ranked No. 1 in the nation, despite losing four starters from last year’s championship team. They still had Matthew Wilson and Marquette’s version of The Three Amigos; Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews. They also had Lazar Hayward, and undersized 6’6” power forward.
Tom Crean bolted for greener pastures despite the wealth of talent. Crean’s replacement was assistant coach Buzz Williams who had virtually no head coaching experience. The jury was out.
It was soon evident that the Three Amigos, and Hayward, would become future stars. Dominic Jones, only 6’1”, was a tremendous athlete and could sky with much bigger players. Matthews was a solid six five, played great defense and showed the maturity you would expect from someone raised in a basketball family. His father, Wes, stared for Wisconsin in the ‘70s and later played in the NBA. The Badger’s were not pleased when the younger Matthews chose Marquette over Wisconsin. Jerel McNeal would go on to become Marquette’s all time leading scorer.
All three played with poise and confidence not usually seen in freshmen, and together with AAU friend Lazar Hayward, played an unselfish brand of basketball that was beautiful to watch. This style of play fit right in with Matthew Wilson.
Marquette played two exhibition games before departing for the Maui classic in Hawaii where all five starters averaged in double figures. The Golden Eagles won the tournament easily, whipping Duke in the finals 85-63. Matthew Wilson again retreated to a supporting role, content to play defense, rebound and spread the ball to open teammates – willing to do whatever was necessary to win.
Marquette enjoyed a great non-conference season, beating Wisconsin for the second consecutive year, in a hard fought game in Madison where the Badgers seldom lose. The lead switched hands six times in the final two minutes before McNeal hit a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer for a 72-71 victory. The Golden Eagles entered the Big East conference with a perfect 10-0 record and ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Marquette easily won their first four conference games before the injury bug hit. Dominic James broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and would require season ending surgery. Travis Diener, a 6’1”, highly recruited prospect from Fond du Lac, replaced James in the starting lignup. Diener didn’t have James’ athletic skills, but he sure could shoot the basketball.
Marquette finished the Big East season with two losses for the second consecutive year; a three-point defeat to highly regarded Louisville Cardinals and a five-point loss to Connecticut.
The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 2 in the country as they headed into the Big East tournament. Hayward and McNeal were playing great basketball and Marquette easily swept through the Big East tournament, beating the Georgetown Hoyas by 12 points in the semi-finals and Connecticut by 14 points in the finals.
Marquette sat back and waited for their expected No. 1 seed. The tournament committee had no choice but to keep them in the Midwest region. The ‘Final Four’ would be in St. Louis, but the initial two games were at the Milwaukee Arena, providing the Golden Eagles with a tremendous home court advantage. They did not waste this advantage as they easily defeated a shell-shocked Bob Huggin’s Cincinnati team in the opening round and won by 38 points. It was the first time the University of Cincinnati had been in the NCAA tournament since Oscar Robinson dominated the tournament in the late 1960’s. The district championship game was against George Mason University out of the Colonial Athletic conference and again Marquette won easily, this time by 22 points. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen tournament in Chicago.
The opener in Chicago was against a surprise NCAA qualifier, Miami of Ohio, who made the tournament for only the second time. The Cinderella story for the Tartans ended quickly as Marquette cruised, 83-51. Miami didn’t have the height or brawn to compete with Marquette’s athleticism on the backboards. Hayward and Matthew dominated inside, each scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
The regional final was against a strong Kentucky team, seeded No. 3 in the Midwest Region. The Wildcats had the size and athleticism to neutralize the Marquette big men, but unfortunately for them, they caught Matthew on a hot day. They had no answers as Matthew took the Kentucky big men outside and poured in 37 points to lead Marquette to an easy 83-67 victory. The Golden Eagles were headed to the NCAA Final Four for the third consecutive year.
The NCAA tournament was in St. Louis and the Golden Eagles were matched against Houston who had given the UCLA Bruins their only defeat of the year. The Cougars were led by Elvin Hayes who scored 44 points in their mid-season victory over Lou Alcindor and UCLA to break the Bruins 73 game winning streak. He was unstoppable as he poured in 47 points, but it wasn’t enough as he got little help from his teammates. Wesley Mathews, Diener, and McNeal all had over 20 points for Marquette. They won easily despite an off day by Matthew Wilson who was held to 16 points but did not mind at all. Marquette was in the NCAA finals for the fourth consecutive year.
The Golden Eagles opponent was the once-beaten UCLA Bruins coached by John Wooden. Despite Marquette being three-time defending NCAA champions, Las Vegas made UCLA a five point favorite. Led by Lou Alcindor, who might have been the greatest basketball player in college history, the Bruins sported four other players that averaged in double figures; Lucius Allen, Mike Warren, Jr., Linn Shackelford and senior Mike Lynn. It would be a formidable test for Marquette and pundits agreed that Matthew Wilson needed to have a great game.
Unlike other highly touted games, this game lived up to expectations. Hayward, at 6’6”, was no match for the bigger, more talented and experienced UCLA center. Alcindor outscored Hayward 35-6 before Hayward fouled out with two minutes left. The rest of the Golden Eagles took up the slack. Four players scored over 15 points, led by Matthew Wilson with a team high 28 points. The game was tied at 87 points with 30 seconds on the clock. UCLA inbounded the ball from underneath its own basket and attempted an alley-oop pass to Lou Alcindor who at 7’2” leaped high to grab the pass. To his surprise a hand went up with him and deflected the ball to a Marquette teammate. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Matthew Wilson, but a substitute by the name of Walter Mangham, one of the greatest leapers in Marquette history. Hard core Marquette fans were not surprised when Mangham out jumped Alcindor on the key play of the game. They had seen him do it many times before.
Doc Rivers brought the ball down court without calling time out and fed to McNeal at the free throw line. His jump shot was on line, but caught the back iron and bounced harmlessly away, causing groans from the Marquette faithful. Players were preparing themselves for overtime until they Matthew leaped from the free throw line, grabbed the ball as its apex, and laid it gently over the rim as time expired.
John Wooden would say later that David Thompson of NC State was the only other player who could have made that play. “I swear his hand was over the top of the backboard,” Wooden muttered to himself, shaking his head in amazement. The Marquette Golden Eagles were NCAA champions for the fourth consecutive year.
When asked later how it felt to be a four-time NCAA champion, Matthew thanked his teammates and coach, Buzz Williams, before adding; “I’m proud to have played for Marquette University.”
The future is bright for Marquette basketball. Buzz Williams has proven to be a good coach, inspirational motivator and a great recruiter. Now, if he can only recruit a big man.
Chapter 10 - Babylon Job Award
