No. 11 Marquette Squeezes Past Washington in Final Seconds

Marquette (8-0) faced its biggest test on Tuesday night as the Golden Eagles took on the Washington Huskies in Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic. 

It was a close game, closer than expected, and stayed close throughout the entire game. Washington (4-3) came to play and gave Marquette a run for their money. 

After a back-and-forth second half, Marquette took a timeout with 1:24 left to go in the game and the score tied at 75. 

After Washington's Aziz N'Diaye blocked a Marquette shot, the Huskies went down the court, turned the ball over and then fouled Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom. He made one of two free throws to put the Golden Eagles up by one, 76-75. 

The Huskies took the ball down the court and didn't wait to put a shot up with 0:19 left, which was a made jumper by Terrence Ross. Washington was up by one, 77-76. 

Marquette took the ball down the court and swung it to Jae Crowder in the corner, who put up a three-pointer. Good! 79-77, Marquette. Seven seconds left.

Washington inbounded, scrambled around and put up a desperate three-pointer that deflected awkwardly off the backboard. Game over. 79-77, Marquette. 

Top Performers:

Washington: 

Terrence Ross: 19 PTS 9 REB 

C.J. Wilcox: 15 PTS 4 BLK

Marquette: 

Darius Johnson-Odom: 23 PTS 4 AST

Jae Crowder: 18 PTS 6 REB

What It Means for Both Teams

Washington: The Huskies showed up on Tuesday night, and they looked great. They dominated the boards 41-28, 13 of which were pulled in by forward Aziz N'Diaye. Their defense was strong and resilient, and their offense was as good as ever, with four Huskies scoring in double figures. 

Washington now falls to 4-3 on the year and plays their toughest opponent of the year, No. 5 Duke, this Saturday, December 10. Even if the Huskies fall to 4-4 after a loss to Duke, they will still be a strong contender for the Pac-12 title. 

Marquette: Marquette struggled a little on Tuesday night. After beating No. 7 Wisconsin, the Golden Eagles were set to roll past Washington, but it wasn't so. In fact, it seemed as though Washington controlled the tempo for a good portion of the game. 

However, Marquette remained competitive for the entire duration of the game. It wasn't as though Marquette played poorly (in fact, they played well), it was just a great basketball game with two relentless opponents. 

The most positive display of Tuesday night's game was Marquette's clutch performance and the ability to stay composed in a high-pressure situation with the game on the line.