Notre Dame trounced by Marquette

Marquette's Dwight Buycks keeps the ball away from Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough. (Jim Prisching/Tribune)

By Brian Hamilton

MILWAUKEE - With a little more than five minutes left to play Monday night and the landslide temporarily paused by a timeout, eyes of several Notre Dame players wandered toward the Bradley Center stands.

The eventual result, a 79-57 obliteration by Marquette, was assured. So maybe this was a brief search for an identity gone missing, or at least the nearest exit. Because the Irish, freshly ranked No. 9 nationally earlier in the day, teetered off-kilter in every dimension - a top 10 list, if you will, that undermined everything from the start.

Notre Dame once again struggled offensively outside Purcell Pavilion, shooting a ragged 39.6 percent. But where the Irish survived similar struggles earlier this season thanks to reliable defense, Marquette got surface-of-the-sun hot and smothered the visitors from the start.

The Golden Eagles shot 53.1 percent overall and a preposterous 12 of 17 from 3-point range -- after firing at a 35 percent clip from long-distance coming in. The Irish trailed by just five at halftime, but Marquette hit 10 of its first 13 shots in the second half to eliminate any comeback possibilities.

Freshman Eric Atkins scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Irish, while Dwight Buycks led the Golden Eagles with 21 points.

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/01/irish-game-day-on-the-road-at-marquette.html

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