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Marquette’s Win At UNC Is Even More Impressive Than It Looked Wednesday Night

Wojo was missing two key players

NCAA Basketball: Marquette at UCLA
Dec 11, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski reacts in the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA defeated Marquette 69-60.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

From the Triangle, Marquette’s victory over UNC Wednesday was impressive, but how’s the view from Wisconsin?

Also impressive as it turns out. And even more so.

We keep up with guys like Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski, Pitt’s Jeff Capel, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Howard’s Kenny Blakeney and the NBA people who played for Duke, but not as closely as we might like simply because there are a lot of them and only so much time in the day.

So we knew Marquette had struggled some this year and weren't really expected to win in Chapel Hill.

What we didn’t know that makes a solid win more impressive is that when Wojo came back to the Triangle he didn’t bring a full roster. Freshman forwards Justin Lewis and Oso Ighodaro were both out with injuries. Ighodaro doesn't play that much but he is 6-9 but Lewis is a rotation player and both guys give Marquette more size, which is really useful against the Tar Heels.

As Wojo said after the game, “I thought our guys competed. And our guys were really connected on the defensive end. Certainly we gave up height and strength with our lineups on the floor. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up your heart and determination. I thought our guys showed a lot of heart and determination.”

Hard to argue with that.