1975 Marquette Basketball: From The Final Four To New Foundations

Marquette was coming off a breakthrough Final Four appearance in 1974, but Al McGuire’s program had some rebuilding to do. Maurice Lucas, their great power forward, had left early for the NBA. The only senior starter, center Jerry Homan, didn’t average in double figures. The Warriors didn’t match their ’74 performance. But with the emergence of some young players, Marquette was still a contender, and they set the stage for even bigger things the next two years.

YOUNG TALENT STEPS UP

Bo Ellis was a sophomore forward who stepped up in Lucas’ absence and averaged 16 points/11 rebounds per game. Lloyd Walton and Earl Tatum, the juniors in the backcourt, combined to average 29 ppg and Walton was the team’s key playmaker. A freshman guard, Butch Lee, also started to make an impact. In an era with fewer competitive programs in college basketball than there are now, the respect McGuire’s program had still got them a #5 ranking in the preseason polls.

EARLY SETBACKS

After a couple of tune-up wins to open the year, Marquette hit a snag when they lost to Pitt 65-58. The Panthers were a decent team that ended up winning 18 games, but in this more stringent era of postseason play, they weren’t an NCAA Tournament team. That meant what kind of team the Warriors had was still up in the air when they hosted Louisville on December 21.

The results from this early test weren’t promising. Louisville, bound for the Final Four, used an aggressive trapping defense. They kept MU without a basket from the floor for twelve minutes in the first half. Marquette’s own defense kept them in the game, and they somehow only trailed by four at the half. But the Cardinals were deeper, and in spite of a 23-point afternoon by Walton, Marquette took an 80-69 loss.

That was the only real December test for McGuire’s team. They won their holiday tournament, beating bad Georgia and Virginia teams, and were ranked #13 when the calendar flipped to a new year.

SURVING DEPAUL

DePaul, Marquette’s Catholic archrival from Chicago, came north to Milwaukee on the first Friday night in January. The Blue Demons came in 7-3, although they had also lost to the good teams on their schedule.

The Warriors appeared comfortably in control, leading by eight late in the second half. Then, even in an era with no shot clock or three-point line, DePaul surged and took a 60-59 lead with 0:18 left. On MU’s final possession, Walton missed a jumper, but Homan was there for the tip-in and a 61-60 win.

Marquette cruised through three easy games against San Diego State, Portland, and Manhattan. They beat a good South Carolina team 69-60. That set up a high-profile showdown with the Warriors’ other big Midwest Catholic rival—Notre Dame, another national contender coached by Digger Phelps.

COMEBACK WIN OVER NOTRE DAME

The Warriors and Irish played a terrific game. With 11:30 left, Notre Dame was up seven and looked poised for a big road win. But Marquette tightened defensively. Ellis and Tatum took control, and the Warriors surged down the stretch for a 71-68 victory.

Marquette suffered a letdown, albeit against a good team. Cincinnati was bound for the NCAA Tournament, and the Bearcats handed the Warriors a 68-58 loss. A 73-55 blowout of Xavier got Marquette back on their feet when they took the buses south to Chicago for the rematch with DePaul. The Blue Demons gave MU a good battle, but McGuire’s team got out of the Windy City with a 72-69 win.

The Warriors went to Madison to play their geographic rival, Wisconsin, and won 69-63. They blew out Xavier, and then hosted Dick Vitale’s Detroit program, rolling to an 81-62 win. After cruising past bad teams from Butler and Fordham on the road, it was time for another test—a road rematch with South Carolina.

CLOSING STRONG

McGuire was no relation to South Carolina coach Frank McGuire, but the two legendary figures had a good relationship. In this era when independents were still common, that relationship was used to create a home-and-home series. With only 32 teams qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, this was a big game. Marquette completed the season sweep, 68-65. The Gamecocks finished the season at 19-9 but did not make the NCAA field. The two losses to MU were probably the reason why.

As for the Warriors, they were now back to #6 in the country and they made a strong closing statement. They won their home finale over a bad Oklahoma City team. And on Selection Sunday, Marquette went on the road to play 8th-ranked Creighton and won 64-60.

The Warriors were bracketed in the Mideast Regional (the organizational forerunner to today’s South Region) and paired up against Kentucky in the Round of 32. The fact that the NCAA Tournament was not formally seeded was illustrated in this matchup—Marquette came in ranked #5 in the country and Kentucky was #6. Someone was going home right off the rip.

Another sign of the different world that was NCAA basketball in the mid-1970s is that the Warriors actually had a game on the schedule after the bracket was announced. They officially closed their season by knocking off a decent Tulane team, winning 73-65 and closing out a 21-3 record.

BATTLING BIG BLUE

The game with Kentucky was a classic battle of Warrior quickness and Wildcat size. Marquette caused problems for the ‘Cats in the early going, although they were not sharp offensively. Kentucky led 25-23 at the half.

But the officials were “letting them play,” something that favored Kentucky’s physicality. The Wildcats also went to a 1-3-1 zone and prevented MU from using their speed advantage. The game was blown open after halftime, and Marquette’s season ended with a hard 76-54 loss.

THE PROMISE AHEAD

It was a deflating end to the season, but the players who emerged were about to produce McGuire’s two best teams. In 1976, they were ranked #2 in the nation before losing in the NCAA Tournament to undefeated Indiana. And in 1977, McGuire’s swan song, they won it all.