#marquette basketball

[postmarq]

Marquette University: Big East Tournament Champs!

[delusional-day-dreamer]

New Year's Kiss - p.b

‣ paige bueckers x reader

‣ wc: 3567

‣‣ synopsis: you were known as one of the calmest, most well-tempered players on the ucon wbb roster. so what happens if you lose your cool for the first time in a game? takes place at the uconn vs notre dame game on dec 31, 2022: based off this post/req from my nonnie 🫶, and lowk inspired by paige's bloody nose at the uconn vs seton hall game!

‣‣‣ a/n: hey guys.... i'm so sorry for being so inactive but the writer's block hit me HARD. I have a few more drafts in progress I hope to release this week, thank y'all SO MUCH for the support and patience! Also, for the opponent in this game i refer to her solely as the, "marquette girl", as i don't know their players that well and don't want to use an irl girl!

Up until the second half of the game, everything had been going decent for you. Sure, this game was one of the most aggressive of the season, but you were right in the peak of your season, so it made sense that emotions were running high with the pressure to do well.

But that didn't excuse the fact that the Marquette girl that had been assigned to defend you had been playing dirty the entire night. After the fucking hellish week you had just gotten through, this girl was about to be the straw that broke the camel's. your, back.

After Paige's acl tear in August and the work and energy you had been endlessly pouring into your game from the past two and a half years till now, you had basically solidified your place as one of the main starters on the team, which meant you were receiving a lot more consistent playing time. The thought of being a more prominent player on the team didn't panic you the way it might others, as you you were known for always being a very level-headed, reliable player under pressure, as you had been dubbed by the media as the "Silent Assassin". But tonight was proving to test your limits to the max.

Any time you were on the court for the first two quarters, the Marquette girl had been glued to you, illegally all up in your space, pushing and shoving at you, taunting you over and over again, and even tripping you once when you lunged for the ball. All of which she had done without receiving a single foul, which not only pissed you off, but also your teammates on the court, the players on your bench, and your coach.

And of course, the one time you had defended yourself against her in the second quarter was the only time the ref called a foul on both of you. She had nearly pressed herself up against you the second your hands came in contact with the ball, leaving you with no choice but to pass to your teammate Aaliyah to sink a layup, when she hooked her arm through yours and pulled just as the ball left your hands.

Her unnecessary aggression caused something to snap inside of you, as the second you felt her yank on your arm, you turned around to push her off of you, hard. She stumbled backwards a little bit, not tripping or hitting the ground in any way, but the damage had been done in the, very biased, eyes of the refs.

The two of you rapidly reacted, approaching each other as you were yelling out meaningless threats and a long string of curses. Thankfully, your teammates holding the two of you back firmly, preventing any further physical altercations.

The two of you both received technical fouls for the unnecessary physical contact and unsportsmanlike behaviour. However, the foul you received only irked you more. Why were the only fouls called on her when it involved you pushing back? Could they not see the way she was treating you the entire game?

And of course, Geno wasn't thrilled about one of his starters getting a tech in the first half of the game. While benched, he had chewed you out for losing your temper at her, especially for cursing, which was something refs never let slide. But his reprimands didn't hold the usual level of anger or frustration, as he internally agreed that the Marquette girl had it coming for her, but, he had to remain professional.

Of course basketball was a physical sport, and with aggression came some conflicts with other players, but her behaviour tonight was unprovoked and incredibly aggravating to you. Which only worsened in the third quarter.

After your tech, you had been trying your best to ignore the incredibly annoying actions of the Marquette girl, but you simply couldn't anymore after she had purposely elbowed you in the nose to make her shot.

You immediately stumbled backwards, folding over at the waist as your hands came up in an attempt to alleviate the intense throbbing your nose felt. You could feel the blood begin to dribble down to your lip as you walked over to the bench with Lou escorting you, awaiting the ref's call.

The refs decided to not call a foul on the other girl, claiming that she hadn't reached backwards on purpose, it was simply the angle of her basket and granted UConn two free throws. The call enraged you, and something inside you snapped. You very quickly forgot about the tissue you were firmly holding at your nostrils as you approached him, insisting with him that the call was blind and blatantly biased.

You hadn't noticed the blood resumed to flow down your face while arguing until it hit your mouth, but you paid no mind to the taste of iron that filled your mouth as you persisted angrily speaking to the ref.

"Paige, go get her before she gets another tech," Geno whispered into Paige's ears over by the bench.

She nodded at him, making her way over to you to pull you away from the ref who was now threatening to eject you from the game.

"Okay enough, you need to get checked out by the team medic," Paige wrapped her arm around your waist to pull you away from your heated conversation, despite your struggle against her. She wasn't that much taller than you, but the extra two ish inches she had on you were proving useful right now.

She dragged you over to the bench, ignoring your many protests. She pried the used, bloody tissue out of your fingers to toss to the medic waste bag, grabbing new ones from her hand to help your bloody nose. It was apparent to everyone on your team, even the fans watching, that your stubbornness wouldn't allow you to accept the call that easily and allow the medic to clean you up. So, Paige would just have to do it herself.

Since your first day on the Uconn campus, you and Paige had become extremely close. With the two of you being assigned roommates your freshman year, the COVID year, it would've been impossible to not become best friends, considering the fact that you spent all of your time together.

If not at practice or hanging out with the team, the two of you were trapped inside your dorm, forced to find company within each other for the entire year. And with Paige's injury her sophomore year, you were one of the only people she was able to open up to, other than Azzi, and you had become her comfort during her rehab time, both then and now. Despite no longer being roommates, you two still always hung out at each other's respective dorm, even having frequent sleepovers.

Your incredibly close relationship wasn't left unnoticed by the media either, especially social media platforms like tiktok. When Paige and Azzi denied the relationship allegations at the same time you made it clear that you liked girls, the internet quickly refocused their attention onto you and Paige, and neither of you had the heart to deny any rumors circulating. Considering that after Azzi, you were the least active on your social media when it came to anything other than basketball, it wasn't too hard to ignore the internet's speculation.

All of which to say, Paige had made it incredibly easy for you to catch feelings for her. Until her, you had never known what it was like to be completely head over heels for someone. The way your heart skipped any time the two of you made eye contact, the way your cheeks flushed when she brushed against you, and the chemistry the two of you shared on and off the court was undeniable.

Unbeknownst to you, she felt the exact same way, and for the last two years, everyone but you two could see the feelings you harbored for each other.

If only you could feel the way her heart was beating as she held your face in one hand, using the other to apply pressure to your nose and wipe away at the blood on your face, neck, and jersey as she listened to you rant about the refs and how they were cheating you guys out of fouls the entire game. Although, she wasn't able to focus on the words coming out of your mouth, only the plumpness of your lips as they moved, something you noticed as your verbal attack slowed down so you could take a breath in between your sentences.

"She's literally fucking stuck up my ass and the refs ignore her which is actual bullshit, the amount of times this girl has literally made unnecessary contact or-, Paige are you even listening to me?"

Her lingering gaze on your mouth quickly snapped up to your eyes, a sheepish smile settling onto her now flushed cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah sorry."

She wiped the remaining blood from around your nose before calling over the medic to check your nose. A small bruise had formed near the bridge, but thankfully it wasn't broken. While she was checking your nose, Paige did her best to avoid meeting your curious stares.

Of course the two of you had small moments where you could envision that Paige felt the same for you. But never one that was so blatantly obvious as her staring at your lips, especially so publicly.

Nonetheless, you barely had time to analyze the interaction before the medic was clearing you to return to the game, Paige patting your butt (this) as you jogged by her to sub back into the game, which, until the handshake line, went without any further incidents, despite your team beating them by 13 points (HVL VS TEXAS Y'ALL).

When passing by you, you heard her mutter under her breath, "fucking bitch," in response to your half-hearted, "good game". It was safe to say you didn't take that well, responding to her with, "you wanna come say that to my fucking face? Pussy ass bitch." For both of your sakes, Dorka and one of her teammates were able to keep pushing the two of you down the line and out to the lockers before the post-game conference with Lou, Nika, and Dorka, which Geno insisted you attend to apologize for your behaviour.

***Small Time Skip***

"So Y/N, the multiple incidents that occured tonight with you and (BLANK) from Georgetown, do you have anything to say about them? I mean, you're known for being a very calm and collected player, but tonight we saw a very different side of you," a reporter questioned you. The questions for you from tonight's post-game conference mostly avoided the fight, treading the waters carefully as it was unlike anything you had ever been involved in.

"I'm not gonna try and cover for myself or anything, it was unprofessional and unacceptable for me to lose my temper on the court like that. Like you said, I've always tried to place an emphasis on just basketball when playing and avoid any other personal feelings or problems, but I guess tonight I didn't do as good of a job on that as I could of. This is something that I will keep in mind for all of our upcoming games as that's not the kind of image or reputation I want to set for myself or the team I represent. I would never want this kind of behaviour to be defining moments from our games because my teammates really put their all into every single one of their games, especially tonight's, and I don't want to create any personal animosity with the girls on the Marquette team, as I have a lot of respect for them."

Your diplomatic and cordial answer had appeased majority of the reporters, along with Geno and the team publicist in the back corner of the room. Except for one nosy reporter who seemed unhappy with your tactful response and was practically feining for drama.

“This one is for y/n, but with the events of today, you mentioned that you try to keep all personal feelings off the court. Is that an implication of some external underlying tension or problems between you and number (BLANK), as the two of you got quite physical today?”

What the fuck? Now they really were trying to start something between the two of you that never existed in the first place.

“No not at all. I have no connection with number (BLANK) off the court and don’t even personally know her. As I mentioned before, I have nothing but respect for the girls at Marquette and there are no hard feelings on my end. You know, basketball is a physical contact game and that just means that there a few rough moments here and there, it’s just part of the game.”

If they ask any more stupid questions about you and the Marquette girl you were actually gonna lose your mind. Especially if they somehow tie in the fact that you like girls with the fight.

Which, thankfully, they ended up dropping the fight for the rest of the interview, and you and the others were finally allowed to go out and celebrate New Year's Eve the way they had originally planned to.

The whole team, and Kayla of course, was prepared to celebrate at your favorite local bar, Ted's. All of the girls who were taken were bringing their partners along and those of you who were single were all ready to hunt someone down for a drunken kiss at midnight. Except you.

You were far too down bad for Paige to even fathom kissing someone else at the moment, especially not while going out with her and the rest of the team, who all knew about your ginormous crush on Paige.

Nonetheless, you still did your best to get ready quickly, wearing your baggiest pair of low-rise cargo pants and a very cropped white halter tank top in an attempt to cheer yourself up from the fact you wouldn't have a New Year's kiss this year, again.

But by the time you were throwing back shots at the bar like they were water, you couldn't find it in you to care about how single you were. It was common knowledge that you weren't the best at holding your liquor, as the team often made fun of your ability to get drunk off of two to three shots, which is exactly the position you found yourself in.

Until, of course, "guardian angel Paige" decided she needed to intervene in your drinkfest, walking up to your barstool and effectively cutting you off by having the bartender replace your drink with a regular shirley temple just before midnight so that she, or any of your other friends, wouldn't have to deal with you throwing up at four in the morning.

"You gotta go easy on the shots y/n/n, you're gonna hate yourself in the morning if you keep drowning your liver in alcohol."

"Funny, coming from Storrs's resident party girl, Miss Madison," you teased. There were only about twenty minutes left until bar's tv would depict the ball dropping in New York, and the disparity of your situation had begun to sink in.

Not only would you be suffering through another New Year's with no midnight kiss, but you had no relationships since last year or even a single talking stage, no potential relationship prospects for the future, and worst of all, no Paige.

"Yeah well, at least I can hold my drinks. You, on the other hand, are the most lightweight out of all of us. Besides, what happened to your little New Years tradition, the whole eating the grapes thing to find the love of your life or whatever?"

You went off on a little drunken tangent at this, complaining that it was completely ineffective, but also, the fact that it made you look stupid in front of the entire team when absolutely nothing came out of it.

"I mean it's so dumb. I don't get why my love life is so barren, like actually non-existent, it's not like I'm super unattractive or anything like that. Right? But like, I don't even have a midnight kiss this year, again," you grumbled to Paige, unaware of the way she was staring at your lips for the second time today, mesmerized by their movements.

"You are most definitely not unattractive. You're like one of the most attractive people I know. Besides, it's not like I'm kissing anyone this year," Paige reassured you, and somehow, your drunk brain simply did not process the way she had flusteredly complimented you.

"Yeah but you're Paige Bueckers," you emphasized, "you could kiss anyone in this bar if you wanted. Men and women, single and taken, would literally form a line two blocks down if you even mentioned wanting to kiss someone," you gazed up at Paige from your leaned position against the bartop, watching as the gears turned behind her eyes.

"Anyone in the bar? Like, anyone at all?" She asked you curiously, a small smirk graced her features as she peered down at you.

"Yeah probably, but there's only like two minutes left or something, so you should pick someone soon."

"Oh I already have someone picked out, I just don't know if they would kiss me back."

"Oh?" You felt your stomach drop at her statement, and you couldn't stop the jealousy from coursing through your veins if your life had depended on it. But Paige's unwavering gaze never left your face, and you could feel your cheeks flush at the way she was intently looking at you.

"Quite the staring problem tonight P?"

"Well it's pretty hard to not stare at the prettiest girl in the room," she flirted, scooting closer to you, effectively closing some of the distance between you two.

"I-, what?" You stuttered, taken back by Paige's actions.

"How many hints does I have to drop before you finally start picking up on them? I want to kiss you y/n, I want you."

The ten-second countdown had begun as Paige confessed to you, and you were left gawking at Paige's face, your heart threatening to give out from how fast it was beating.

"FIVE, FOUR,"

You yanked on Paige's belt loop, pulling her flush against your body as your eyes focused in on her lips.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!""

Your right hand reached up to grab Paige's jaw at the end of the countdown, pulling her lips firmly down onto yours. The bar's loud chants barely registered to you as you lost yourself in the intoxication of Paige's lips. Your tongue glided across her lip as your mouths moved in unison, causing her to groan into you. You took it as an invitation to slip your tongue into her mouth, the kiss deepening with unrestrained passion.

Your built-up need for each other was apparent as you made out, sending shivers down your spine at the pressure of her mouth against yours. It felt as if she was the oxygen you needed to breathe, and now that you had her, there was no way you could let her go now.

***The next morning: New Year's Day***

Your eyes fluttered open with a pounding headache, yet, the utterly familiar weight of a certain pairs of hands around your waist provided a sense of comfort you knew only she could provide.

Paige's soft snores rung out throughout the room, and as you gently reached forward to her nightstand to grab your phone off charging, you realize it was still extremely early in the morning, not even eight a.m.

And yet, your phone was blowing up with notifications from all social media platforms, even your text messages had over a hundred notifications.

Confused, you click on the apps to check what all the fuss was about, quickly realizing what had happened.

The entire interaction between you and Paige at the game was recorded by the cameramen and had instantaneously made it's way all over the internet, only fueling the dating rumors about the two of you.

The comments and posts were going feral at the way Paige was the only one who could calm you down, the way she wrapped her arms around your waist to pull you back, her holding your face ever so delicately, her smacking your butt as you ran back onto the court, and of course, her transparent staring at your lips the entire time you were an inch apart from her.

"What are you looking at baby," Paige sleepily mumbled into your neck, tightening her grip around your waist to pull you further into her, slinging her right leg over your waist.

You put your phone down and turned in her hold, wrapping your arms around her body as you peered down at Paige's sleepy face, admiring how beautiful she always looked.

"Your fans are going crazy about how obviously down bad you are for me P," you teased, running your foot up and down her calf as Paige pressed her face into your chest to absorb your body heat.

"Let them, just go back to sleep with me for a little bit longer."

And of course, how could you ever say no when your girlfriend was asking you so sweetly?

a/n: thank you for reading all the way through, and i'm so sorry if the ending is kinda rushed, i just wanted to finally get another fic out 🤗

[elliesglock]

you are so loved allie ziebell

[floridaboiler]

source - https://x.com/BoilerBall

[saddestfans]

WHERE IS YOUR BUFFALO GOD NOW???

[dubsism]

Trash-Talking the 2024 NCAA Tournament "Sweet Sixteen"

Now that we are past the first and heading head-long into the second weekend of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, some of you may be happy with your bracket, and some are lamenting the fact their brackets are so much smoldering wreckage. That would be me…Kentucky and Baylor on Monday Night? What the fuck was I thinking? I’m blaming low blood sugar. Excuses aside, and no matter which side of the…

[bulletines-news]

Marquette Golden Eagles Surge to Victory Against Villanova Wildcats

[bongaboi]

Marquette: 2022-23 Big East Men's Basketball Champions

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Kolek and No. 6 Marquette raced out to a hefty lead and never looked back, beating No. 15 Xavier 65-51 on Saturday night to win the Big East Tournament for the first time.

Kolek, the Big East Player of the Year, had 20 points and eight rebounds as the top-seeded Golden Eagles (28-6) dominated a Big East final that brought a Midwestern flavor to Madison Square Garden.

Coach Shaka Smart’s surprising team will head into the NCAA Tournament with a nine-game winning streak after Marquette’s first appearance in the Big East championship game resulted in one of its best performances of a scintillating season.

Kolek’s steal and layup made it 51-27 with 14:12 left. Less than a minute later, after two offensive rebounds by the Golden Eagles, David Joplin made a corner 3 to double up second-seeded Xavier (25-9).

Joplin finished with 12 points. Kolek was selected the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Adam Kunkel scored 12 points to lead the Musketeers, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.

This was the first Big East title game since the conference dropped football in 2013 to not feature any of its longstanding Northeast members.

Still, the Milwaukee school (Marquette, which joined in 2005) and the Cincinnati school (Xavier, which joined in 2013) filled The Garden for the first 1 vs. 2 seed Big East Tournament final in 19 years.

It looked more like a 1-16 NCAA Tournament game for a while.

Marquette jumped out to a 21-4 lead, and never relented.

During a particularly splendid 2 1/2 minutes, Stevie Mitchell swished a corner 3, Kolek came off a screen to make another 3, Kam Jones got free for a reverse layup after a nifty hesitation move on the baseline and Kolek converted a layup off a give-and-go with Oso Ighodaro.

At that point, Marquette was up 33-10 with 7:02 left in the first half and the Golden Eagles had not yet committed a turnover.

The Musketeers responded with a 14-5 run to end the period, but with their fans chanting “We are, Mar-quette!” the Golden Eagles went into the break up 39-24.

Marquette’s only previous league tournament title was as a member of Conference USA in 1997.

Twenty-six years later, the Golden Eagles were able to clear the bench in the final minute of the Big East championship game and their fans were finally able to make Madison Square Garden feel like home.

BIG PICTURE

Xavier: The Musketeers played what coach Sean Miller called one of their best two-way games of the season in the semifinals Friday night against Creighton. Less than 24 hours later, they did almost nothing well. Xavier shot 34% from the field, forced only four turnovers and was held 12 points under its previous season low. The Musketeers fell to 0-2 in Big East championship games.

Marquette: Smart, who took VCU to a Final Four but never could find that consistent winning formula at Texas, guided a team picked to finish ninth in the Big East in the preseason coaches’ poll to maybe its best season since Dwyane Wade led Marquette to a Final Four in 2003.

UP NEXT

Xavier: Miller will have the Musketeers back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

Marquette: The Golden Eagles will be making their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and figure to earn perhaps a No. 2 seed.

[prettygirl-gabi]

Chapter 10: Under Pressure

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: none

Paring: Paige Bueckers x !photographer fem reader

Fandom: Women's basketball

Summary: don't piss Paige off...she becomes a beast

Welcome to the chapter 10 of Through The Lens. I hope you all enjoy and there is more to come...stay tuned my loveies!! 🏀💕📸

Y/N’s POV

The whirlwind of paige and I being in a private to public eye relationship, my final project, and rumors building up. It was hard but we'd managed to keep it together, now at out next away game the pressure was buliding up.

The stsdium where the Marquette vs Uconn game was held was loud—so loud I could feel the vibrations in my chest as the Marquette fans cheered on their team. I stood courtside, camera poised and ready, capturing KK as she lined up for a three-point shot. She released the ball, and I clicked the shutter at the perfect moment, already picturing how the shot would look when edited.

“Why’s she even here? She doesn’t belong with them!”

I stiffened as the words cut through the crowd noise.

“She’s just a leech! Following Paige like a lost puppy!”

"Yeah, she's such a clingy bitch!"

My hands tightened around my camera, my heart sinking as the cruel words continued. I glanced over my shoulder, spotting a group of fans pointing at me, their laughter grating against my ears.

It wasn’t the first time I’d heard something like this, but today, it hit differently.

“Y/N!” KK’s voice jolted me from my thoughts, and I turned to see her smiling at me, oblivious to the taunts. “Did you get the shot?”

“Yeah,” I said quickly, forcing a smile. “It’s perfect.”

But my voice wavered, and I knew she caught it.

Paige did too.

From across the court, I saw her eyes narrow as she glanced in my direction, her jaw clenching when she followed my gaze to the group of fans. She couldn’t do anything, though—not during the game.

When a timeout was called just before halftime, I couldn’t take it anymore. My chest felt tight, my breaths coming shorter with each second. With the overwhelming and over stimulating noises, I quickly slipped through the tunnels, camera clutched to my chest as I found my way to the locker room.

Paige’s POV

The second-quarter buzzer blared, signaling halftime. I jogged off the court with the team, my mind half on the game and half on Y/N.

“Where’s Y/N?” KK asked as we entered the locker room, her brows furrowing when she didn’t see her.

“I’ll find her,” I said quickly, brushing past the team and heading further into the back.

I found her in the corner, sitting on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest. Her camera lay beside her, forgotten. Her hands trembled as she tried to catch her breath, and the sight of her like this broke something inside me.

“Y/N, baby,” I said softly, crouching down in front of her.

She looked up, tears brimming in her eyes. “Paige… I-I couldn’t—”

“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay,” I interrupted, taking her hands in mine. “You’re okay. Just breathe with me, okay?”

I inhaled deeply, holding it for a moment before exhaling slowly. She mimicked my breathing, her trembling gradually subsiding.

“They called me a leech,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Said I didn’t belong here, even called me a clingy bitch.”

My blood boiled, but I pushed the anger aside for now. Y/N needed me to be present. “Listen to me,” I said firmly, cupping her face. “You belong here. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Those people don’t know you, and they sure as hell don’t know how incredible you are. You're my photographer extraordinaire, definitely not a bitch.”

She sniffled, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Thanks, P.”

“Always,” I said, pulling her into a tight hug. “Now, let’s get through this game, okay? I’ll handle the rest.”

Y/N’s POV

I stayed in the locker room gathering myself, Paige went back out with the team. My chest still felt heavy, but her words lingered in my mind, grounding me.

I could hear the game from the hallway, the crowd roaring as the second half began. Paige was on fire. She moved across the court with a ferocity I hadn’t seen before, sinking shots with ease and making impossible passes.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the score was neck and neck.

Paige’s POV

I had one chance to end this. With .8 seconds left on the clock and the score tied at 87, Azzi passed me the ball just outside the arc. The crowd roared as I squared up and released the shot.

Swish.

The buzzer sounded, and the scoreboard lit up: 90-87. We won.

The team rushed the court, and I found myself in the middle of a celebratory huddle. But my eyes searched the sidelines for one person.

The reporter smiled as she held the mic out to me. “Paige, you dominated the second half. What sparked that performance?”

I still thinking of an answer opened my mouth, but Azzi leaned forward to the mic, her arm slinging around my shoulders. “Let’s just say Paige had determination, and adrenaline in her.”

The team erupted in laughter, knowing the truth was cause of y/n and I couldn’t help but smile slightly, even as I felt my cheeks heat up.

Once back in the locker room the team was buzzing with energy as we filed into the locker room. Y/N was sitting on one of the benches, her camera back in her hands. She looked up as I approached, a shy smile on her lips.

“Nice shot, superstar” she said softly.

“Thanks, ma” I replied, sitting beside her. “You okay?”

She nodded, leaning her head against my shoulder. “Yeah. Thanks to you.”

I wrapped an arm around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Always.”

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

-Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

-prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

Tag list: @sayurireidotcom , @astroeliza , @paxaz535 , @0phantom0 ,.... (more to be added)

[postmarq]

On the Cudahy Hall office fridge: Sweet Sixteen MU

[mydaddywiki]

Rick Majerus

Physique: Heavyset Build Height: 6'1"

Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012; aged 64) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and Saint Louis University (2007–2012). Majerus's most successful season came at Utah in the 1997–98 season, when the Utes finished as runners-up in the 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Majerus was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.

Majerus was a fan favorite and cult figure around college basketball, known for his portly, rotund figure and his quirky, jovial personality. The portly coach was unabashed in his love of food, always quick with a restaurant recommendation for whatever town his teams were playing in. He enjoyed bratwurst, a sausage popular in his native Wisconsin which is fitting as I would have loved to feed him my love sausage.

Born in Sheboygan, Wis., Majerus graduated from Marquette University High School in 1967, attending Marquette University. After graduating from Marquette in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in history, Majerus was hired by McGuire as a full-time assistant in 1971. After three years as head coach at Marquette, he became an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 1986–87 season. After a stint at Ball State University for two seasons, Majerus accepted the position at Utah in 1989, leading the "Runnin Utes" to a 1996 sweet 16. Majerus worked as a game and studio analyst for ESPN from 2004 to 2007 before accepting the head coaching position at Saint Louis University.

Majerus, married once for two years in the mid-1980s, childless and dated the same woman the last 25 years of his life, famously lived in a Marriott hotel near the University of Utah campus; everyone knew where to find him. Majerus has been in a state of health risk for many years before dying of heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital on December 1, 2012. From what I can tell, he was a jovial, crude, basketball-obsessed coach who had nice tits, packing something big and didn’t mind being nude around people. Sounds like my type of guy.

Head Coaching Record Overall: 517–215 Tournaments: 19–12 (NCAA Division I) 8–4 (NIT) 3–1 (CBI)

Accomplishments and Honors Championships NCAA Regional—Final Four (1998) MAC regular season (1989) MAC tournament (1989) 6 WAC regular season (1991, 1993, 1995–1997, 1999) 3 WAC tournament (1995, 1997, 1999) 2 MWC regular season (2000, 2003)

Awards 5× WAC Coach of the Year (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999) MAC Coach of the Year (1989)

College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2019

[elliesglock]

still high off that bueckers to fudd three don't mind my posts yall

[thankyouforthememoriesworld]

Games PB5 and AF35 played together in but also their injuries to really put in perspective how little they have truly played.

I bolded the games I thought were their best together and realized they never have played their best together truly. Like the one time Azzi was healthy and going off, Paige was recovering from knee injuries. Between the two of them, they probably had one healthy leg in those 17 games.

For rewatch purposes: https://www.youtube.com/@mjl2434

2021-2022

Paige coming back from right ankle surgery after being NPOY as a freshman.

Azzi came in with a foot injury from the World Cup after winning her third gold medal and it never really healed the entire season. She said later it was all about pain management but she was never really free. It really affected her movement and shooting.

11/14/2021 Arkansas: PB scored 34 at 78.9% and AF scored 7 at 42.9%

11/20/2021 Minnesota: PB scored 8 at 42.9% and AF scored 5 at 33.3%

11/21/2021 South Florida: PB scored 21 at 50% and AF scored 18 at 60% (the presser after is iconic haha)

11/22/2021 South Carolina: PB scored 19 at 42.1%. AF only played 10 minutes and didn't score.

12/1/21 - Azzi suffered a foot injury forced her out of the lineup for 11 games.

12/7/21 - Paige injured her left knee - tibial plateau fracture against Notre Dame and it kept her out of 19 games.

During that time while PB was on the bench (and all her fun reactions), Azzi played three games that I absolutely love rewatching and rank in her top 10: 2/6/22 Tennessee (her first start); 2/9/22 Villanova (note that UConn ended up losing this but I honestly rank this one of her best performances ever); 2/13/22 Marquette.

2/25/2022 St. John's (NY): PB scored 8 at 80% and AF scored 19 at 77.8% (there was so much joy because PB was back and this has a great presser afterwards)

2/27/2022 Providence: PB scored 2 FT but still made a big impact in limited time and AF scored 14 at 62.5%

3/5/2022 Georgetown: PB scored 16 at 66.7% and AF scored 11 at 30.8%

3/6/2022 Marquette: PB scored 2 at 25% and AF scored 4 at 11.1%

3/7/2022 Villanova: PB scored 2 at 25% but didn't play much in this game and AF scored 9 at 80%

3/19/2022 Mercer: PB scored 12 at 71.4% and AF scored 9 at 75%. Statistically great game for both but also early round of March Madness where they play like 20 minutes. So I suppose you can watch it for feels.

3/21/2022 UCF: PB scored 9 at 44.4% and AF scored 16 at 30.8%

3/26/2022 Indiana: PB scored 15 at 41.2% and AF scored 13 at 27.3%

3/28/2022 NC State: PB scored 27 at 66.7% and AF scored 19 at 43.8% --- AF helped get it to OT before PB finally took off. Probably their best game together but I don't know if their best overlapped completely during that game.

4/1/2022 Stanford: PB scored 14 at 53.8% and AF scored 8 at 25%. This game was not fun from what I can remember. I don't think I enjoyed it at all.

4/3/2022 South Carolina: PB scored 14 at 46.2% and AF scored 3 and 33.3% ---- Azzi had the stomach flu and only played 16 minutes. Between this and Dorka getting injured against NC State, I don't think this team really recovered.

2022-2023

Paige tore her left knee ACL on August 1, 2022.

After having a NPOY level November 2022, Azzi injured her knee on December 4, 2022 against Notre Dame  and was out of 9 games. She made her return in January 2023, only to reinjure the same knee on Jan. 15 and miss an additional 13 games. She never really recovered that level she had during November 2022.

I highly recommend watching the games in that month of November 2022 if you want to see Azzi Fudd play lights out basketball. And truthfully, I don't even think that was half her full potential. She was warming up to it in the first month of basketball.

2023-2024

11/8/2023 Dayton: PB scored 8 at 33.3% and AF scored 13 at 33.3%

11/12/2023 NC State: PB scored 27 at 61.1% and AF scored 9 at 30.8%

Azzi tore her ACL and meniscal tear in her right knee - second ACL tear for her. I actually think Azzi never really recovered her knee from the previous season and in the same way Paige came back too soon, Azzi did as well.

So now as we approach 2024-25, may the basketball gods bless us with potentially the best backcourt duo in the nation, because truthfully, we have never actually seen it at the college level. One thing I know is Azzi is a second half assassin (like statistically speaking). Looking forward to that the most. - 🔎

It was really interesting and a great read, but depressing af 💔.

We deserve to see them play for a full season, and more importantly, THEY deserve to play together for a complete season.

[azzifudd]

one of my favorite things is looking at Azzi Fudd's shot map for the third quarter of Iowa because she didn't miss a shot in that quarter and her midrange game is actually more my favorite than just her shooting threes.

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401483567/uconn-iowa

also lowkey love looking at baylor third quarter when her and Aubrey took over. cannot wait for them to be back together on the court.

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401528008/baylor-uconn

And I wish we had texas shot maps for that second half and like that marquette game when she went off, etc.

The second half adjustment Azzi makes is always lethal. An actual silent assassin.

I also want like a full shot map of her career one day kind of like what we see for Steph, but like first half vs second half.

i love watching that iowa game. the way she just took control and just kept shooting. three pointers and layups are obviously the most efficient shots, but having that mid range really opens up everything else. we see how some players can struggle to create space because they can't score on all three levels like that. and 0 turnovers that game too

aubrey is so underrated, man. she just does everything you want on the court