Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Basketball Ventures To UAB
2/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Date - Feb. 14, 2001
Site - Birmingham, Ala. - Bartow Arena (8,500)
Tipoff - 7:05 p.m. CST
Radio - Marquette Basketball Radio Network (Steve "The Homer" True, Play-by-Play)
Television - Midwest Sports Channel (Chris Roth, Play-by-Play, George Thompson, Analyst)
Probable Marquette Starters (subject to change)
G #4 - Cordell Henry (Jr., 5-10, 160, Chicago, Ill.) 12.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.9 apg -- Double-figure scorer in eight of last nine games (16.8 ppg)
G #22 - Brian Wardle (Sr., 6-5, 205, Clarendon Hills, Ill.) 18.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg -- Owns nine game double-figure scoring streak
F #43 - Oluoma Nnamaka (Jr., 6-7, 218, Uppsala, Sweden) 9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg -- Averaging 16.0 points in his last three contests
F #2 - Odartey Blankson (Fr., 6-7, 205, Country Club Hills, Ill.) 5.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg -- 69 defensive rebounds are highest on the squad
C #35 - John Mueller (Sr., 6-10, 240, Cedarburg, Wis.) 1.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg -- Has started 52 of the team's last 53 games
Probable UAB Starters
F #11- David Walker (Sr., 6-5, 205, 10.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
F #30 - Eric Batchelor (Jr., 6-7, 210, 12.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
F #54 - Will Campbell (Jr., 6-8, 245, 8.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg)
G # 4 - LeAndrew Bass (Sr., 6-3, 205, 15.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
G #24 - P.J. Arnold (Jr., 6-5, 205, 13.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Series Notes -- Marquette holds a 10-4 edge in the all-time series against UAB that saw the first game played during the 1991-92 season ... In games played at Birmingham, the Golden Eagles have won four of six meetings ... In MU's last visit to Birmingham, the Blazers recorded a 73-66 overtime victory ... Last season, Marquette posted a 68-58 victory in Milwaukee.
Game Info
After earning a win at home against Saint Louis, the Marquette basketball team plays the first of two road games this Wednesday (Feb. 14) when it plays at UAB. Bartow Arena (8,500) will serve as the site of the 15th meeting between the schools and tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. Midwest Sports Channel will televise the game with Chris Roth handling the play-by-play and George Thompson the analysis. Following the UAB contest, Marquette will play at Cincinnati on Sunday (Feb. 18) in a game that will be televised by ESPN2 starting at 8:00 p.m. (CST).
The Records
The Golden Eagles head into their game against UAB with an overall record of 12-9 including a 7-3 C-USA mark, good for first place in the American Division. Marquette, 3-1 in C-USA road games this season, is coming off a 75-69 win at home over Saint Louis on Sunday. In that game, Marquette received double-figure scoring from three players in recording its first sweep of the regular-season series against the Billikens since 1997. The Golden Eagles led, 33-29, at halftime thanks in part to 11 points from junior guard Cordell Henry along with a tight defense that limited the Billikens to just 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field. In the second half, MU built an eight-point advantage with 12:42 left only to see SLU battle back to tie the game at 52-52 with 9:00 remaining. From there, Marquette used a timely 12-2 run to assume a 10-point lead (64-54) with 4:40 left. Keying the run was junior forward Oluoma Nnamaka with five points while senior Brian Wardle chipped in four. Henry finished the contest with a game-high 22 points, hitting seven-of-14 from the floor while knocking down all seven of his free throw opportunities. Nnamaka chipped in 15 points while Wardle rounded out the team's double-figure scorers with 12 points. Freshman Scott Merritt gave the squad some quality minutes off the bench, scoring eight points and tying Wardle for team-high honors in rebounds with five. UAB hosts Marquette with an overall record of 13-10 while showing a 5-5 slate in C-USA play, good for fourth place in the National Division. The Blazers hosted Centenary on Monday evening and won by a 97-62 margin. In games at home this year, UAB stands 9-3.
70 Once Again A Magic Number For Marquette
Marquette's 75 points in the Saint Louis game raised the team's record to 6-1 this season when it has scored 70 or more points. The Golden Eagles have won their last four contests when scoring 70 or more points and they have reached or surpassed that point total in six league games in 2001. Last season, Marquette scored 70-plus points in just one regular-season league game (79 at Southern Miss on 2/2/00).
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 21-9 (20-7 at the Bradley Center, 1-2 at the Milwaukee Arena). He is 1-0 against UAB. 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 27-23/2nd season
Tom Crean's Career Record 27-23/2nd season
Marquette And The Boards
Marquette has outrebounded 11 opponents (10-1 in those contests) this season including six contests where it has finished with an advantage of 10 or more rebounds. The Golden Eagles have been outboarded in nine games this season (2-7). In MU's most recent game, it finished with a 33-26 deficit in the rebound department vs. Saint Louis. The Golden Eagles hold a 33.8-31.6 per-game edge in rebounding and stand in the No. 6 (through games played Feb. 11) spot in C-USA in rebound margin (+2.2). Since Tom Crean has been Marquette's head coach, the Golden Eagles have outrebounded 15 opponents by 10 or more caroms and show a 13-2 record in those contests.
UAB Head Coach Murry Bartow
Murry Bartow (UAB, `85) is in his fifth year as head coach of UAB and heads into Wednesday's game with a school and career ledger of 86-62. He has guided the program to a pair of 20-win seasons including the 1998-99 campaign when that team finished with a 20-12 mark while advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to being appointed to his current post, Bartow served as an assistant at UAB for seven years (1989-96).
Golden Eagles Continue Fine Foul Shooting
Marquette continued its streak of fine foul shooting in the Saint Louis game, hitting a season-high 86.7% of its attempts (26-of-30). The Golden Eagles have connected on 70 percent or better of its foul shots in the last seven games, the longest streak during Coach Crean's tenure, and have moved into the No. 1 position in the conference (.705). The Golden Eagles also stand first in that category in conference tilts with a 75.9% effort. Over the last seven games, the Golden Eagles have connected on 78.5 percent (154-of-196) from the line.
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 (Wisconsin and North Carolina). The Golden Eagles will play at least eight teams that recorded 20 or more wins during 1999-2000. Two MU opponents are in this week's USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll (#1 North Carolina and #20 Wisconsin) while two others received votes. Through Feb. 11, Marquette, ranked 62nd in the RPI, has played five teams that rank among the top 50 squads in the country according to the RPI, four of which are in the top 30.
Other Notes From the Saint Louis Game
Senior Brian Barone came off the bench and dished out a season-high five assists in 22 minutes ... Cordell Henry's 22 points represented his fourth effort of 20 or more points this season ... Marquette's 47.9% mark from the floor represented the team's best effort since a 54.3% effort against Tulane (Jan. 27) ... Freshman Odartey Blankson sank all four of his field goal attempts en route to eight points ... Freshman Terry Sanders tied his season high with four points ... Brian Wardle finished with one assist, boosting his career total to 199.
Inside the Numbers
Marquette has trailed at halftime in nine of the last 13 games ... After being outscored in the second half in five of its first seven games, Marquette has outscored the opposition during the second half in 11 of the last 14 games ... Last season after 21 games, Marquette was averaging 16.1 turnovers per game compared to this year's mark of 13.3. ... In Marquette's 12 wins, it holds a 35.8-28.3 per-game edge in rebounding (+7.5) ... In the squad's nine losses, the Golden Eagles are being outrebounded by a a 36.0-31.1 margin ... Through 21 games, Marquette's opponents are averaging 12..1 turnovers per game ... Marquette's seven turnovers in the DePaul game (Jan. 6) represented a season low and tied the fewest number by a Crean-coached MU team... MU has turned the ball over more than its foes in 13 games and stands 6-7 in those contests, 5-2 when registering fewer miscues ... Marquette has outshot 13 of its 21 opponents from the floor and is 10-3 in those games ... MU posts a 12.1 -11.6 per-game advantage in offensive rebounds, and claims 16 games of 10 or more offensive rebounds this year ... Marquette is averaging 27.7 points during the first half of play (27.2 for the opposition) and 36.7 during the second half (36.2 for opponents) ... MU has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in a half on four occasions ... In its 12 victories, MU enjoys a 68.2-58.8 scoring advantage and has shot 44.8 percent (272 of-607) from the floor while limiting the opposition to 39.8 percent (253-of-635) ... In the nine setbacks, MU has been outscored by a 59.3-69.7 margin ... MU is 7-3 when leading at halftime ... Marquette is averaging 13.3 assists in its 11 wins, 8.3 in losses.
Brian Wardle Notes
Enters the UAB contest with two or more treys in eight of his last nine games ... Named C-USA Player of the Week (Jan. 7) after totaling 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting vs. DePaul ... In four conference road games, is averaging 19.8 points and shooting 57.7% from three-point range ... No. 4 in C-USA in scoring in league (18.2 ppg) games through Feb. 11 ... Averaging 18.5 points and shooting 45.2 percent from the floor in MU's 12 wins ... Has nine games of 20 or more points this year and 25 during his career ... No. 4 in 3pt. FG% (.482) in C-USA contests through Feb. 11
