1982 Marquette Basketball: Fighting Back Against A Changing Game
The Marquette basketball program came into the 1982 season needing a comeback year. In 1981, a ten-year streak of NCAA Tournament bids had ended. The program, then one of the Catholic independents of the Midwest, was struggling in a new world where the Big East was rising and cutting off old recruiting pipelines. In 1982, the proud Warrior program was able to make it back into what was then just a 48-team NCAA field.
RAYMONDS RETOOLS
Head coach Hank Raymonds was in his fifth year, but the veteran tactician had a long history as top assistant for the legendary Al McGuire, who had won a national title here in his swan song season of 1977. Raymonds built his 1982 team around a solid backcourt. Michael Wilson was the senior leader, averaging 16 points/4 rebounds/4 assists per game. And a rising star at sophomore, Glenn “Doc” Rivers, averaged a 14/3/6 line.
Raymonds had to piece together a frontcourt. Dean Marquardt could be inconsistent at center but still gave seven rebounds per night. Marc Marotta and a promising freshman, Dwayne Johnson, rounded out the lineup.
After the down year of 1981, there were no expectations for this team nationally. Marquette was unranked in the preseason polls.
ALASKA, DECEMBER TESTS, EARLY QUESTIONS
The Warriors went to Alaska to tip off the season. The Great Alaska Shootout was at this time a signature event over Thanksgiving Weekend. Marquette opened with two wins, including beating a 24-win Iona team. But in the final, MU lost to NCAA Tournament-bound Louisiana 81-64.
Those three games set the tone for December. Marquette did some good things. They knocked off Old Dominion, who would make the NCAA field. The Warriors beat the non-descript opponents on their schedule, including winning their four-team holiday tournament held between Christmas and New Year’s.
On the flip side, they lost to a pair of Top 10 teams at home. The Warriors dropped a tough 68-65 decision to Lute Olson’s Iowa, and MU took a 76-54 beating from eventual Big Ten champ Minnesota. They also lost to Wake Forest, who wound up making the NCAA Tournament.
When the calendar flipped to January, Marquette was 7-4. They were losing to good teams and beating the teams they were supposed to. This season could still go any which way.
STEADY THROUGH JANUARY
A difficult schedule didn’t get easier with a January 6 visit to Kansas State. The Wildcats had reached the Elite Eight a year ago and were bound for the Sweet 16 this season. Marquette hung tough but still came up short in a 70-65 loss. Towards the end of the month, on January 27, the Warriors went to Memphis. With one of the nation’s top centers in Keith Lee, the Tigers got a 2-seed in this year’s NCAA bracket. Again, MU held their own…but came up short, losing 77-70.
But in between those two tough losses, Marquette made some headway. They rolled through the bad teams on the schedule, which included Maine, Xavier, and Creighton, who was coached by the legendary Willis Reed. The Warriors beat a decent Loyola-Illinois squad on the road in Chicago.
And they played a couple of rematches from Alaska. Iona came to town and Marquette again beat the Gaels. The Warriors also got some revenge on Louisiana, getting a decisive 80-67 win in Milwaukee. The win wasn’t flashy, but it was solid and it underscored improvement.
January closed out with a trip to Notre Dame. The Irish, a fellow Catholic independent and one of Marquette’s most heated rivals in this era, were fighting the same currents that were flowing through college basketball and were in the midst of a painful rebuilding year. The Warriors left South Bend with a 70-62 win and a 13-6 record.
THE RESUME TAKES SHAPE
A 67-66 escape over mediocre Charlotte was a less-than-promising way to open February. But on the flip side, a one-point loss to DePaul by the same score was a statement—the Blue Demons were, at least for now, holding off the tide that was engulfing independents and were headed for a 1-seed in this year’s NCAA field. Playing them this tough sent a signal to the NCAA Selection Committee that Marquette could hang with the nation’s best.
The Warriors went on to survive mediocre St. Bonaventure 40-35, a score that is a relic of the days when there was no shot clock and no three-point line and undermanned teams sometimes resorted to extreme slowdowns. More impressive were victories over Virginia Tech and Dayton, both of whom made the quarterfinals of the NIT (meaning they would likely have been NCAA Tournament teams in the more expanded field of today).
Marquette went on the road to play Final Four-bound Louisville on the final Sunday of February and dropped an 80-68 decision. But they otherwise took care of business, rolling through five bad teams getting wins. A 94-64 rout of woeful in-state rival Wisconsin concluded the regular season at 22-8.
The Warriors hadn’t stood out and never got into the national rankings, but they also played consistent basketball, never lost a game they shouldn’t have, and got some decent victories. The Selection Committee recognized that and rewarded MU with a 7-seed in the 1982 NCAA Tournament. They were in the Midwest Regional and would go to Tulsa.
THE BIG MEN STEP UP
Evansville was the opponent on Thursday night. The Purple Aces were led by guard Brad Leaf, who averaged 18 points per game. And Leaf got his numbers in this game, scoring 23 points. But the Marquette defense made it costly, as Leaf shot just 9-for-25 from the floor. That was part and parcel of holding Evansville to 38 percent shooting.
Rivers had a similar night, his 16 points coming on 6-for-17 from the floor. Play was a little sloppy both ways, and the teams combined for 34 turnovers. The difference came from the vital and even surprising contributions Marquette got from their frontcourt.
Marquardt knocked down 21 points, scoring both inside and out. In a career that had its ups and downs, this was a highlight moment. And there was Brian Niyenhuis. A senior big man who started just five games in his entire career, this was one of them. Niyenhuis kicked in 14 points/8 rebounds. Dwayne Johnson chipped in 10 more points.
A team that had been defined all year by guard play, did it through their centers and forwards. The Warriors got out to a nine-point lead at halftime, shot 47 percent and closed out a 67-62 win.
FALLING SHORT AGAINST MIZZOU
Missouri was the 2-seed, the champion of the old Big Eight Conference. Center Steve Stipanovich would be the second overall pick in the NBA draft a year later. The Warriors and Tigers met in the Round of 32.
It was a good game, competitive throughout. The Marquette defense forced 24 turnovers. Doc knocked down 18 points and shot well. That kept the Warriors in it. The problem was that if MU didn’t force a turnover, the defensive outcome wasn’t very good—Mizzou shot 62 percent from the floor compared to 42 percent for Marquette. The season ended in a 73-69 loss.
TEMPORARY STABILITY IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE
This was a nice comeback year for the Warrior program. It would be even nicer to say that it restored the program trajectory. But that wouldn’t be reality. The independents from the Midwest were entering a difficult transition phase in this new era of college basketball and Marquette suffered as much as anyone. It wasn’t until 1993 that they again reached the Round of 32.
But what this 1982 season did do was provide some temporary stability. Raymonds made it back to the NCAA Tournament in 1983 before retiring. The veteran coach couldn’t stop the winds that were swirling through the sport. But he gave Marquette some stability in the storm while he could. The steady 1982 season underscored that.