Zaide Lowery should have had the chance to make up for his poor performances in the last two games for Marquette Golden Eagles against Xavier University but he was too ill to play.
Fans were confused by the benching of the sophomore guard in the rematch with Xavier who they beat in December 21 last year.
Coach Shaka Smart said post-game that the team could have used Lowery. Unfortunately for them, the he was taken down by an illness.
“We certainly could have used him,” Smart said. “He’s been under the weather. He had a bad bug.
“This tends to happen when school starts back up. We’re kind of here all by ourselves during the break and then thousands of kids come back. It’s kind of like clockwork that somebody falls ill.”
Lowery was actually in the venue but Smart decided not to field him saying the player was not prepared enough for the game.
“I didn’t think it was right to put him in that position, to go into the game when he hadn’t been here for practice, any of our film, game prep, any of our scouting.”
Zaide Lowery could have relieved Kam Jones
Lowery’s presence could have altered the flow of the game.
Starting guard Kam Jones played almost the entire game and finished with 11 points on 5 out of 13 shooting. His shooting slump also continued as he shot one out of six from the three point line.
Xavier University coach Sean Miller revealed post-game that they specifically designed their defense against the senior guard.
“I’m a huge fan of his,” he said. “There aren’t many players in college basketball that are better than Kam Jones.
“We did a good job. We tried to mix our coverage. We had a lot of different guys on him. But the thing about Marquette is when you switch – and they almost force you into that – you can’t have weak defenders make the switch.”
Next up for Marquette are Selton Hall on Tuesday.
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