Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Basketball Hosts Western Carolina
12/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Data
Site - Milwaukee, Wis. -- Bradley Center (18,582) -- Dec. 20, 2000
Tipoff - 7:05 p.m. CST
Radio - Marquette Basketball Radio Network (Steve "The Homer" True, Play-by-Play, George Thompson, Analyst)
Television - None
Probable Marquette Starters (subject to change)
G #10 - Cordell Henry (Jr., 5-10, 160, Chicago, Ill.) 9.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.9 apg -- 12 pts. vs. Xavier was third double-figure scoring game of year
G #22 - Brian Wardle (Sr., 6-5, 205, Clarendon Hills, Ill.) 17.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg -- Team's top scorer in five of seven contests
F #43 - Oluoma Nnamaka (Jr., 6-7, 218, Uppsala, Sweden) 9.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg -- Averaging 11.0 pts. 9.5 rebounds in last two games
F #2 - Odartey Blankson (Fr., 6-7, 205, Country Club Hills, Ill.) 5.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg --Averaging 7.0 rebounds in his last four contests
C #35 - John Mueller (Sr., 6-10, 240, Cedarburg, Wis.) 2.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg -- Has started 38 of the team's last 39 games
Probable Western Carolina Starters
F # 3 - Cory Largent (Jr., 6-7, 204, 14.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
F #24 - Willie Freeman (Jr., 6-6, 239, 11.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
C #32 - Todd Seibert (Sr., 6-9, 220, 3.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
G #12 - Casey Rogers (Jr., 6-0, 185, 12.2 ppg, 4.4 apg)
G #21 - Corey Wells (Sr., 6-3, 165, 10.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Series Notes -- Marquette and Western Carolina have met one time with MU recording a 63-53 win on Feb. 11, 1975, in Milwaukee.
Game Info
After playing its first road game last weekend, the Marquette basketball team returns home this Wednesday (Dec. 20) to take on Western Carolina. The Bradley Center (18,582) will serve as the site of the second-ever meeting between the Golden Eagles and Catamounts and tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. (CST). Following the game vs. Western Carolina, Marquette hosts Wisconsin on Saturday (Dec. 23). The game against the Badgers will be televised by Midwest Sports Channel, but will be blacked out in southeast Wisconsin.
The Records
The Golden Eagles head into the Western Carolina contest with a 4-3 record following a 75-59 loss at Xavier on Saturday (Dec. 16). In that game, Marquette fell behind by a 24-12 margin 12 minutes into the game before a Golden Eagle 11-2 run cut the gap to three points with 3:41 left in the half. The Musketeers used a 5-0 spurt towards the end of the half to go into the locker room with a 35-27 edge at halftime. After a three-pointer by Cordell Henry opened the second half and pulled MU to within five points (30-25), XU responded with a 10-2 sprint that pushed its lead to 45-32 with 16:04 left. From there, the closest MU was able to get was 10 points in dropping its third game in seven decisions.
Senior Brian Wardle led the scoring attack with 21 points while junior guard Cordell Henry chipped in 12 points. Junior Oluoma Nnamaka rounded out the double-figure scorers for Marquette with 11 points while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. For the game, Marquette shot 41.8 percent from the floor compared to Xavier's effort of 46.6 percent and was outrebounded by the Musketeers by a 36-32 margin, just the second time this year that the opposition enjoyed an edge in that category.
Western Carolina will meet the Golden Eagles with an overall record of 2-8. The Catamounts have dropped their last two games including their last outing, a 66-63 setback to Mercer University on Dec. 12. WCU's wins have come against St. Mary's College (MD), 75-68, and Stetson, 74-64.
Marquette Tough on the Trey
After seeing its first two opponents shoot 39.2 percent (11-of-28) from three-point range, Marquette has held its last five foes to a combined 22.3 percent (21-of-94). In its last three games, MU held Minnesota, which was leading the Big Ten in trey percentage (.437), to 20.8 percent before holding Arkansas-Little Rock, which was leading the nation (48.5%) in trey percentage, to 17.6 percent (3-of-17). Against Xavier, MU limited the Musketeers to 23.8 percent (5-of-21) compared to its 28.7% mark entering the game Through games played Dec. 18, Marquette was No. 1 in C-USA in three-point field goal percentage defense (.242).
Marquette Head Coach Tom Crean
Tom Crean is in his second season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles' program. In his initial year, Crean (Central Michigan, `89) guided Marquette to an overall record of 15-14 that included a berth to the NIT, the school's 13th appearance in that tournament. In C-USA play, Crean led MU to an 8-8 record, good for fourth place in the American Division. In games played in Milwaukee, Crean stands 16-6 (15-4 at the Bradley Center, 1-2 at the Milwaukee Arena). Prior to being named the school's head coach on March 30, 1999, he served as an assistant for 10 seasons. His coaching resum? includes stops at Michigan State (1989-90), Western Kentucky (1990-94), Pittsburgh (1994-95) and most recently again at Michigan State (1995-99).
Tom Crean's Marquette Record 19-17/2nd season
Tom Crean's Career Record 19-17/2nd season
Marquette Hitting The Boards
Xavier's 36-32 edge in rebounding against Marquette represented the second time this season that the Golden Eagles had been outboarded in a game (S. Alabama had a 37-35 advantage). Entering the Western Carolina contest, MU has outrebounded five foes and has three games where it has finished with 10 or more caroms. Through games played, Dec. 18, Marquette claims a 37.3-31.3 per-game edge in rebounding and the team's +6.0 rebounding margin ranks it No. 2 among C-USA squads. Since Tom Crean has been Marquette's head coach, the Golden Eagles have outrebounded 12 opponents by 10 or more caroms and show a 10-2 record in those contests.
Western Carolina Head Coach Steve Shurina
Steve Shurina (St. John's, `88) is in his first season as a college head coach. Prior to his appointment at WCU, Shurina served as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt for one season (1999-2000). Before that, he was an assistant at Davidson College, the last three as Associate Head Coach.
Marquette Frosh Make an Impact
MU freshmen Odartey Blankson and Scott Merritt have played significant roles through seven games for the Golden Eagles. The duo is averaging 13.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with both players averaging over 20 minutes per contest. Merritt is shooting 47.4 percent from the floor, good for second place on the squad, while Blankson's 5.3 per-game mark in rebounding ranks him second on the squad.
Marquette Faces Formidable Schedule in 2000-01
Marquette faces one of the most challenging schedules in the history of the program in 2000-01, playing a minimum of 12 opponents that participated in postseason play last year including two Final Four Teams (Wisconisn, Dec. 23, and North Carolina, Jan. 13). The Golden Eagles will play at least eight teams that recorded 20 or more wins during 1999-2000. Three MU opponents are in this week's USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll (#15 Wisconsin, #16 North Carolina, and #20 Charlotte) while eight others received votes.
Marquette Bench Answers The Call
After seven games, the Marquette bench owns a 120-87 scoring edge (17.1 ppg vs. 12.4 ppg) against the opposition reserves. The Golden Eagle bench has outscored their counterparts in five games, with Minnesota 16-19) and Xavier (11-16) the only teams to have its subs score more than the MU subs.
Marquette and the Foul Line
A goal of this year's MU team is to get to the foul line more and the Golden Eagles have accomplished that after seven games, recording a total of 177 attempts from the charity stripe (25.2/per game) compared to 147 for the opposition (21.0/per game). MU has attempted 23 more from the foul line in five games including 39 vs. UMASS, the most attempts by a Crean-coached MU squad, and 36 vs. Centenary. During Crean's tenure, the Golden Eagles stand 17-5 in contests when finishing with 15 or more free throw attempts. After seven games last year, MU had attempted 129 free throws
MU Tidbits
Marquette has held the opposition to 10 or fewer field goals in seven of 14 halves ... The Golden Eagles have outscored their opposition in the first half in five of seven contests and own a 28.4 -24.2 scoring edge after the opening 20 minutes of play ... MU has allowed just one half of of 50 percent or better from the floor (UMASS, 50% in the 2nd half) ... Marquette has 25 blocked shots through seven contests -- last year the Golden Eagles didn't register 25 blocks until the 13th game ... MU is 3-1 when leading with 5:00 remaining in the game 1-2 when trailing.
Tune In to the Golden Eagles Steve "The Homer" True and George Thompson are in their 10th season on the Marquette Basketball Radio Network. Milwaukee's WISN AM 1130 is the flagship station of the Marquette Basketball Radio Network. The network includes the following affiliates: WFAW AM 940 (Fort Atkinson) WRJQ AM 1570 (Appleton) WCLO AM 1230 (Janesville) WOMT AM 1240 (Manitowac) WBKV AM 1470 (West Bend)
Tom Crean Radio Show Dates
The Tom Crean Radio Show can be heard locally on WISN (1130 AM). The show is hosted by the voice of Marquette Basketball, Steve "The Homer" True, and can be heard from 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. The following is a list of dates that the show can be heard.
Mon. Feb. 12Mon. Jan. 8 Mon. Feb. 19Mon. Jan. 15 Mon. Feb. 26Mon. Jan. 22 Mon. Mar. 5Mon. Jan. 29 Mon. Mar. 12Mon. Feb. 5Inside the Numbers
In Marquette's four wins, it holds a 38.5-27.3 per-game edge in rebounding (+11.2) ... In the squad's three losses, the Golden Eagles are being outrebounded by a a 35.6-36.6 margin ... Through seven games, Marquette is averaging 15.6 turnovers compared to the opposition's mark of 12.6 ... Over the last three contests, MU has turned the ball over an average of 17.0 times vs. 10.7 for the opposition ... Marquette has outshot four of its seven opponents from the floor ... Xavier's 17 offensive rebounds were the most by a Golden Eagle opponent this year ... In the last three games, MU is shooting 64.2 percent from the foul line compared to 72.5 percent for the opposition ... The Golden Eagles have held three of their opponents to less than 20 percent from three-point range ... MU has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in a half on three occasions ... In its four victories, MU enjoys a 62.8-55.8 scoring advantage and has shot 40.8 percent from the floor while limiting the opposition to 36.1 percent ... In the three setbacks, MU has been outscored by a 57.3-67.7 margin.
