These Two Moving on Up

It turns out that Marquette and Memphis have more in common than coaches (Tom Crean and John Calipari) and young stars (Dwyane Wade and Dajuan Wagner) whose last names begin with the same letter.

The schools also are unranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, but appear on the fast track to breaking through this week.

Marquette’s 74-60 upset of No. 4 Cincinnati, which ended the Bearcats’ nation-leading 20-game winning streak, and Memphis’ 98-72 victory over Texas Christian might turn out to be turning points for each.

Marquette improved to 19-3 overall and 8-1 in Conference USA’s American Division. Memphis is 19-4 and 9-0 in the National Division. The teams are not scheduled to play each other, but could meet in the postseason conference tournament.

Cincinnati’s loss leaves Utah with the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 after the Utes’ 67-62 victory over Colorado State.

In knocking off Cincinnati, Marquette used the Bearcats’ formula for success--a tenacious defense and a guard-heavy offense to wear down the opponent.

The game was played in front of a record crowd of 18,698 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the largest to watch a college basketball game in Wisconsin. After the Golden Eagles dribbled out the clock, the student section emptied onto the floor and carried off several players.

“That’s where we keep preaching day in and day out, which [Cincinnati] is so good at, possession by possession basketball,” Crean said. “I think that’s why they won 20 in a row, because [Coach Bob Huggins’] teams, they don’t mess around with the game. They come out there and they play hard every possession.”

The Bearcats seemed to get more flustered as they saw their winning streak slipping away.

“We didn’t play with intensity on defense nor did we attack on the offensive end,” guard Steve Logan said. “I thought we were always supposed to play defense. Out there today, we didn’t play Bearcat basketball.”

The Golden Eagles sure did.

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Law-abiding: Clifford Reed was a winner in his coaching debut as Bethune Cookman defeated Maryland Eastern Shore, 76-70, at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Reed took over Friday for Horace Broadnax, who resigned to pursue a law career.

Broadnax was a member of Georgetown’s 1984 national championship team after a decorated high school career in Plant City, Fla.

Back then, Broadnax never could have imagined fitting in at Georgetown, let alone someday earning a law degree, which he did from Florida State in 1991.

“You’ve got to remember, I was a guy from the country, somebody who would walk around barefoot,” he once told the Tampa Tribune. “I’m in a class sitting next to a kid whose dad was attorney general in Illinois. On the other side is a kid whose dad was senior vice president of IBM.

“This was the cream of the crop academically. If they got a C, they were ready to jump off a building. They’re saying, ‘I’m going to be a lawyer, I’m going to be a federal court judge.’ I’m thinking, ‘Man, you’re thinking that far ahead? What’s wrong? I’m worried about getting through the next day.’”

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Midnight Cowboys: Ivan McFarlin of No. 9 Oklahoma State had some choice words regarding the social habits of some of his teammates after a 70-61 loss to Kansas State.

“People have been going out to parties, staying up late or hanging out with a girl all hours of the night,” said McFarlin, who scored 14 points before fouling out. “That affects your play. That’s going to have to change.”

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Thousand times yes: Three players reached 1,000 points for their careers Saturday, two in victory and one in defeat.

Bryan Bailey had 20 points in Bucknell’s 74-68 loss to Lafayette as he reached the milestone.

Austin Ganly’s game-high 21 points led New Hampshire over Binghamton, 79-69, and Ganly into the 1,000-point club. Correy Watkins also reached the 1,000 mark with a 22-point performance in Radford’s 70-52 victory over Charleston Southern.

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Three dog night: Speaking of Radford, the Highlanders saw the end of a streak that had lasted more than 10 years.

Radford’s run of consecutive games with a three-point basket was snapped at 348 after the Highlanders missed all 10 of their attempts.

The last time the team failed to make a three-pointer was the 1990-91 season opener against St. John’s (Minn.)

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Performance of the day: Dimeco Childress scored 35 points and had six assists for East Tennessee in its 100-65 victory over Georgia Southern. Childress made 14 of 22 from the field, including five of seven on three-point attempts.

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Performance of the weak: Harvard pulled the ultimate no-no by blowing an 18-point second-half lead on its home court in a 66-57 loss to archrival Yale.

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Jim Barrero