What do you say at the end of an era?

Men's basketball coach Buzz Williams was too close to the situation. He didn't know what to say to his team after its season-ending 83-79 loss to Missouri Sunday.

"I don't know that there's a whole lot of things that you can talk about after a game such as this," Williams said Sunday. "We just prayed."

Prayed for the futures of Marquette's four seniors, most notably the guard trio of Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal. A group that will not be known by postseason success, but still left an unmistakable mark on this university.

Sunday's loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament signaled the end of the "Big Three" era at Marquette. Like so many teams, the Golden Eagles fell short of their ultimate goal — a national championship. But the contributions of this particular senior class were bountiful.

Just look at the numbers:

– McNeal played in a school record 130 games. James is second, appearing in 129. Matthews is third on the all-time list with 127.

– All three players rank among Marquette's top 10 in all-time scoring. McNeal broke George Thompson's 40-year school record, tallying 1,985 career points. James probably would have broken Thompson's mark too, if it hadn't been for that broken foot, and sits third with 1,749 points. Matthews is eighth with 1,673.

– This year's senior class tallied 94 career wins, meaning each individual player is tied for the sixth-most wins in Marquette history.

The names Matthews, McNeal and James are also littered throughout the Marquette record books in categories like free throws made, field goals made and steals.

But it's not all about the individual numbers.

"For the university as a whole, this becomes an opportunity to get Marquette's name out there," said chair of the Sociology Department Richard Jones, who teaches a course called Sport and Society. "We know when teams are successful, they get more publicity."

These seniors helped Marquette reach the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons, the first time the Golden Eagles have accomplished that feat since they were the Warriors (in 1980). During that time, Marquette has been consistently ranked among the top 25 most successful college programs in the nation, and has rattled off win totals of 20, 24 and 25 (twice).

That national recognition has, to some extent, helped Williams secure a talented recruiting class (ranked second in the Big East by scout.com) for next season.

"That's why we came here," James said. "We definitely want to put the Marquette name on our back, and bring it to the forefront."

And if athletics at the college level are meant to unify diverse student bodies, give Marquette's seniors credit for galvanizing a fickle fan base and playing in the nine most highly-attended Marquette crowds at the Bradley Center (peaking with 19,144 patrons against Syracuse March 7).

"This is a part of coming to Marquette. You expect the basketball is going to be pretty good," said Jones, who has had season tickets for almost 20 years. "If we go back to being mediocre…I would expect to see attendance decline."

Today's college basketball landscape makes us take notice when a team boasts a starting lineup featuring four seniors — three of whom might harbor NBA potential. That might not happen again for quite some time.

These Golden Eagles gave you two NCAA Tournament wins, a 94-79 victory over then-No. 2 Connecticut in Marquette's first-ever Big East game in 2006, James' Lazarus-like recovery from a broken foot last weekend and a host of other memories over the last four years.

So what should you, Marquette fans, say at the end of this era?

Thanks.