The Deja Vu and Dirty: Seton Hall 79, Marquette 62

If you weren't able to catch tonight's tangle between the surging Pirates of Seton Hall and YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles live, I can save you the effort of watching on tape delay:

Remember when these teams played at the Bradley Center to open the Big East season?

It was that. Pretty much that. All over again.

After keeping things close for 30 minutes, YOUR Golden Eagles once again got boatraced in the game's last quarter and dropped a 79-62 decision at the Prudential Center.

After throwing up a bagel in the scoring column in Saturday's win, Luke Fischer responded in a big way tonight. The big man was the best thing Marquette had going in the first half, tallying 11 points on a variety of bunnies, li'l hookers, and even a 15-foot jumper (no, really). Jajuan Johnson started strong, too, racking up MU's first 5 points on a 3-pointer and a jumper, and Traci Carter came off the bench to chip in 5 of his own, but the Golden Eagles once again had no answer for Angel Delgado, who continued to do whatever he wanted to in the paint on his way to an 8-point, 6-rebound half.

After Fischer's lay-in drew Marquette within one at 21-20 with 8 minutes and change to go til halftime, the Golden Eagles went on one of their dreaded offensive droughts, and the resulting 8-0 run staked the Hall to its biggest lead of the half at 29-20. But much like the matchup in Milwaukee, MU clawed its way back into the contest, stringing together an 11-5 stretch to cut Seton Hall's advantage at intermission to three, 34-31.

And speaking of "much like the matchup in Milwaukee": the second half!  Henry Ellenson -- the recipient of puzzling "overrated" chants from the SHU students in attendance, who apparently haven't noticed that former Top 10 recruit Isaiah Whitehead came back for his sophomore year -- drew Marquette level immediately with a 3, and JJJ chipped in a pretty jumper and a couple free throws to keep Marquette in striking distance.

Things still looked manageable after back-to-back layups from Johnson got MU within three at 50-47 ... and then The Run came. First Whitehead (who was a terrific pain in the ass with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists) hit a 3, then Derrick Gordon connected, then Khadeen Carrington hit from distance, and then Whitehead added another, and suddenly it was 66-53 with 7 minutes to play. That was as close as Marquette would get the rest of the way, and MU went quietly into the night, taking the business from the Hall with another double-digit bludgeoning.

Fischer paced MU with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks, and Ellenson battled foul trouble to finish with another double-double (10 points, 10 boards). Johnson continued his recent hot stretch with 15 points (5-8 shooting), and Duane Wilson notched 8. Everybody else had a forgettable night, most especially Sandy Cohen III, who's hit the sophomore wall (if that's a thing) hard after an impressive start to the year. Cohen missed all three of his attempts from the field, including an airballed layup (eep), and had two fouls in just 11 minutes off the bench.

With the loss, Marquette falls to 15-8 overall and 4-6 in the BIG EAST, while the Pirates improve to 16-6 and 6-4. The prospects aren't exactly enticing for the weekend either, as the Golden Eagles get a trip to the 'Nati to battle 5th-ranked Xavier.

Until then.