In response to Steve Yanda's column about Marquette's loss to North Dakota State, I am a fanatic! I will put that on the table right away. Besides being a Marquette fanatic, I happen to be a student of college basketball. Being a student of college basketball has taught me a few things and one of those things is that every game counts. I think that if you were to ask any Marquette player what they thought of Dec. 2's loss, I doubt that they would say, "It's not that big of a deal."

It does not matter how early it is in the season, players and teams must compete and play every game as though it counts. If a team like Marquette (heaven forbid) were to play every game as though it was not that big of a deal, Marquette basketball would be in a world of hurt. Marquette has played to the level of its opponents this year and that is ok because a win is still a win. With every passing game Marquette is getting better and becoming more successful at what they must do to make a post season push.

I watched the Duke game and the way that Marquette played that night proved to everyone in the country that they have the ability to play with the best and beat the best. Just because it is early in the season does NOT mean that it was a fluke victory. Sure, winning games in February and March is extremely important, but every college basketball team has to think that every game is important. Wins and losses early in the season build team morale and nothing is more important for our Golden Eagles than the notion of "team."

So when Marquette plays in the NCAA tournament in March and loses a game to get into the Sweet Sixteen, I guess we as fanatics should look at each other and say, "That game wasn't that big of a deal." Every game counts. Play every play and every game as if it were your last. College basketball teams can take nothing for granted and must play like every game counts because one day they could be that "Cinderella team" that shocks the sports world because they play every game like it is their last. So let us get the facts straight with this following statement. To the good teams, EVERY GAME COUNTS.

Prigge is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences