The Marquette Golden Eagles hosted the UCONN Huskies on Saturday night during National Marquette Day. The Golden Eagles entering the game were ranked ninth in the nation and the Huskies were ranked 25th.
Shaka Smart and Marquette did not perform well in the first half and they tried to rally back in the second half against UCONN, but they fell short and lost by a final score of 77-69. With the loss, Marquette dropped to 18-4 overall on the year and 9-2 in league play. The St. John’s Red Storm moved into first place in the Big East Conference for the moment. As for the UCONN Huskies, they improved to 16-6 overall and 8-3 in the conference.
Marquette Golden Eagles Head Coach Shaka Smart Mic’d Up During Loss Against the UCONN Huskies
When the game was televised on FOX on Saturday night, both Dan Hurley and Shaka Smart were mic’d up. To no surprise, Dan Hurley was going crazy during the timeouts and of course, a lot of fans had reactions to that. As for Smart, his approach is much different than Hurley’s.
Shaka Smart was more calm and relaxed in the timeout circles. He said to his team during one of the breaks on Saturday night:
“You’re allowed to make a mistake.”
It was important for Smart to have his players loose and calm rather than be tight, but he noticed that his players were tight during the game against the UCONN Huskies. Three players for the Golden Eagles scored in double figures on Saturday night.
David Joplin scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Kam Jones led the way for the Marquette Golden Eagles with 22 points and Chase Ross also added 19 points for Marquette.
Fans React
how bout make a damn free throw??
— trevan (@trevanvia) February 2, 2025
That’s my coach
Couldn’t imagine pulling team that has a coach like Hurley that cries for 40 minutes.
Act like man…
— AJG (@Mugoose) February 2, 2025
Exactly why he’s my favorite. He’s been this way from the VCU days. Coach doesn’t panic when his team is up against it. He’s got ultimate poise when it matters most in heated situations! @CoachShakaSmart
— Ted Wypasek (@TedWypasek) February 2, 2025
Bring him to UNC!
— Mike Lafleur (@LafleurMike757) February 2, 2025
No wonder they lost by 15
— Patrick O’Brien (@biggiep71) February 2, 2025
Coaching is an imperfect science for each college basketball program. There is no one correct way for a basketball program to be successful. What works for Shaka Smart may not work for Dan Hurley. Yes, Smart didn’t win the game and hasn’t won back-to-back titles like Hurley has. However, the Marquette Golden Eagles are one of the Top 15 teams in the nation and that is nothing to be ashamed about.
