Sneaker-gate
A famous pop singer once declared, "It don't matter if you're black or white." The Marquette men's basketball coaching staff must have agreed before it laced up its shoes prior to the game at Georgetown Saturday.
Suits and Sneakers, an annual event on the second weekend in February in which college basketball coaches are encouraged wear tennis shoes on the sidelines to raise awareness about cancer prevention, occurred last weekend.
Along the same lines, when the women's basketball team hosted Villanova on Jan. 13, it urged fans to wear pink to raise awareness for breast cancer. Even the team managers – both males – dressed out in a pink sport coat or dress shirt.
Although the Suits and Sneakers guidelines don't specifically state the sneakers need be white, the vast majority of coaches seem to break out their shiniest pair of white tennis shoes so that even fans in nosebleed seats take notice.
Or, in this case, an ESPN audience.
While the Georgetown coaching staff's support of cancer awareness was apparent in its white shoes, Marquette's was subtler. Tom Crean and his staff wore black sneakers, according to Mike Broeker, associate athletic director in marketing and communications.
But were the black sneakers conspicuous enough? (i.e., are you a Michael Jackson fan, or should Crean have gone the extra mile?)
We report. You decide.
As for the game itself, Georgetown's Jeff Green scored a game-high 24 points and sparked a second-half run as the Hoyas pulled away to win 76-58. On the bright side, junior Ousmane Barro recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
In non-footwear-related news…
The women' basketball team sits in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after a 67-52 win at Georgetown Saturday. Senior Christina Quaye scored a game-high 27 points, and sophomore Krystal Ellis added 14.
Marquette closed the first half on a 15-0 run and held a double-digit lead for the entire second half…
In their final chance to do so, four more members of the track and field team over the weekend qualified for the Big East Indoor Championships.
At the Dick Pond Invitational, held Saturday on the campus of Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., senior Kristina Malin (400-meter run), senior Kristin Stoniecki (pole vault), senior Tommy Schmitz (800m) and freshman Joe Kohut (shot put) secured spots in the conference meet to be held this weekend in Akron, Ohio.