Marquette University Athletics
Marquette Basketball Squad Battles Louisville In ESPN Telecast
2/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2001
Game Date -- Feb. 8, 2001
Site - Louisville, Kent. - Freedom Hall (20,142)
Tipoff - 8:05 p.m. CST
Radio - Marquette Basketball Radio Network (Steve "The Homer" True, Play-by-Play, George Thompson, Analyst)
Television - ESPN (Bob Carpenter, Play-by-Play, Larry Conley, Analyst)
Probable Marquette Starters (subject to change)
G #4 - Cordell Henry (Jr., 5-10, 160, Chicago, Ill.) 12.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg -- Double-figure scorer in six of last seven games (15.7 ppg)
G #22 - Brian Wardle (Sr., 6-5, 205, Clarendon Hills, Ill.) 18.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg -- Shooting 54.7% from floor in last four games (29-of-53)
F #43 - Oluoma Nnamaka (Jr., 6-7, 218, Uppsala, Sweden) 9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg -- 14 points vs. Memphis was his 9th double-figure game of year
F #2 - Odartey Blankson (Fr., 6-7, 205, Country Club Hills, Ill.) 5.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg -- 65 defensive rebounds are highest on the squad
C #35 - John Mueller (Sr., 6-10, 240, Cedarburg, Wis.) 1.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg -- Has started 50 of the team's last 51 games
Probable Louisville Starters
F #55- Joseph N'sima (Jr., 6-8, 215, 2.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
F #45 - Muhammed Lasege(Fr., 6-11, 230, 3.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
G #00 - Rashad Brooks (Sr., 6-1, 205, 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
G # 5 - Marques Maybin (Sr., 6-3, 185, 19.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
G #22 - Reece Gaines (So., 6-6, 195, 14.2 ppg, 3.10 rpg)
Series Notes -- Louisville holds a 28-17 edge in the all-time series against Marquette that saw the first game playedduring the 1951-52 season ... Marquette has won six of the last 10 meetings, however the Cardinals have captured three of the last four contests ... Last year, the Golden Eagles posted a 66-64 overtime win at the Bradley Center before UL came away with a 76-64 win at Freedom Hall ... Louisville has won the last two games played at Freedom Hall.
Game Info
Hoping to pick up its fourth league road win, the Marquette basketball team plays at Louisville on Thursday (Feb. 8). Freedom Hall (18,865), the site of the 2001 C-USA Men's Tournament, will serve as the setting of the 46th meeting between Marquette and UL and tipoff is slated for 8:05 p.m. (CST). The game will be televised by ESPN with Bob Carpenter and Larry Conley handling the play-by-play and analysis, respectively. Following the Louisville outing, Marquette returns home to battle the Billikens of Saint Louis on Sunday (Feb. 11) starting at noon.
The Records
The Golden Eagles head into their game against Louisville with an overall record of 11-8 including a 6-2 C-USA mark, good for first place in the American Division. Marquette, has won three of its last four game and is coming off a hard-fought 71-65 win at Memphis last Friday (Feb. 2).
In that game, Marquette trailed by seven points, 24-17, with 3:33 left in the first half but rallied with a big 14-2 run over the remainder of the half to go into the locker room at halftime with a 31-26 advantage, just the the second time in the last 11 games that it led at intermission. Keying the spurt was junior guard Cordell Henry with six points while junior Oluoma Nnamaka chipped in four points.
In the second half, MU used a 10-2 sprint over a four-minute stretch to build an 11-point advantage (59-48) with 6:11 remaining. However, UM stormed back and eventually tied the game at 65-65 with just 1:20 left on the clock. Marquette then regrouped and made some crucial plays down the stretch to come away with the win. Over the final 1:20 the Golden Eagles converted all six of their free throw attempts while holding Memphis scoreless.
Leading Marquette in scoring was Henry was 21 points on six-of-11 shooting from the floor while draining all eight of his free throw opportunities. Senior Brian Wardle contributed 19 points and a team-best 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the campaign, while Nnamaka came through with 14 points and five caroms.
The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Tigers, who entered the game No. 1 in the league in rebound margin, by a 42-33 count.
Louisville hosts Marquette with an overall record of 8-14 including a 4-5 effort in C-USA outings. The Cardinals have dropped their last two games and are coming off a 72-51 loss at home to Saint Louis on Saturday.
Marquette-Louisville Matchup Features Top Scorers
Thursday's game at Louisville will see two of the league's premier scoring threats in action. UL's Marques Maybin holds down the No. 2 spot in scoring for overall games (19.2 ppg) and the No. 4 position in league games (19.1 ppg) while MU's Wardle is No. 4 in scoring (18.8 ppg) in overall contests and No. 2 in league affairs (20.9 ppg).
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 20-9 (19-7 at the Bradley Center, 1-2 at the Milwaukee Arena). He is 1-1 against Louisville.
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 26-22/2nd season Tom Crean's Career Record 26-22/2nd 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 seven games this season (1-6). In MU's most recent game, it finished with a 42-33 bulge in the rebound department vs. Memphis, the team's high mark for boards in a league game this year. The Golden Eagles hold a 34.2-31.2 per-game edge in rebounding and stand tied for the No. 5 (through games played Feb. 4) spot in C-USA in rebound margin (+3.0). 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.
Louisville Head Coach Denny Crum
Denny Crum (UCLA, `58) is in his 30th year as head coach of Louisville and heads into Thursday's game with a school and career ledger of 671-290. He has guided the Cardinals to 20 or more win seasons on 21 occasions and captured national titles in 1980 and 1986. In addition, Crum has led UL to Final Fours on six occasions.
Golden Eagles Continue Fine Foul Shooting
Marquette continued its streak of fine foul shooting in the Memphis contest, knocking down 80 percent of its attempts (24-of-30). The Golden Eagles have connected on 70 percent or better of its foul shots in the last five games, tying the longest streak during Coach Crean's tenure, and have moved into the No. 3 position in the conference (.690). In league games, the Golden Eagles stand first in that category with a 73.0% effort. Over the last five games, the Golden Eagles have connected on 77.4 percent (110-of-142) 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 #18 Wisconsin) while two others received votes. Through Feb. 4, Marquette, ranked 54th in the RPI, has played or will play six teams that rank among the top 50 squads in the country according to the RPI, four of which are in the top 35.
Other Notes From the Memphis Game
The win over Memphis raised Marquette's league road record to 3-0, the first time a Golden Eagle has captured its first three road C-USA games ... The last time Marquette won three straight road C-USA games was in 1998 ... Marquette's 42 rebounds represented the most boards by the Golden Eagles in a C-USA game this season and raised the team's mark to 5-1 this when when finishing with 40 or more rebounds ... The Golden Eagles went 10-of-10 from the charity stripe over the last 2:32 of the Memphis contest ... Freshman Scott Merritt's eight points represented his best scoring effort of the C-USA campaign.
Wardle Figures in MU Career Categories
In addition to his career point production, Brian Wardle also figures among the Marquette top 10 career performers in a number of categories. Entering the Louisville game, he is No. 6 in career three-pointers (176), No. 7 in three-point attempts (477) and tied for No. 6. in free throw percentage (80.3%).
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 19 games, recording a total of 431 attempts from the charity stripe (22.6/per game) MU has attempted 23 or more from the foul line in 11 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 23-9 in contests when finishing with 15 or more free throw attempts (10-7 this year). After 19 games last year, MU had attempted 333 free throws.
MU Tidbits
Through games played Feb. 4, MU holds down the No. 2 spot in C-USA in scoring defense (62.5 ppg) ... After 19 games last season, the Golden Eagles had converted 215 free throws compared to 298 this year ... Marquette's 31 defensive rebounds tied the team's season high in that department ... In the last four games, Marquette is being outrebounded by a narrow 30.5-30.3 margin ... MU has held the opposition to 10 or fewer field goals in a total of 15 of 38 halves ... MU has allowed just five halves of 50 percent or better from the floor (UMASS, 50% in the 2nd half, Cincinnati, 50, 1st half, S. Florida, 50%, 1st half, Saint Louis, 50.%, 2nd half & So. Miss, 50.0%, 2nd half) ... MU has registered eight games of six or more steals ... Marquette is 5-0 this year when recording 15 or more assists, 12-3 during Crean's tenure.
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. 12 Mon. Mar. 5 Mon. Feb. 19 Mon. Mar. 12 Mon. Feb. 26
Inside the Numbers
Marquette has trailed at halftime in nine of the last 11 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 10 of the last 12 games ... In the last five contests, the Golden Eagles enjoy a 41.6-35.4 scoring advantage in the second half ... In Marquette's 11 wins, it holds a 36.7-27.8 per-game edge in rebounding (+8.9) ... In the squad's eight losses, the Golden Eagles are being outrebounded by a a 35.9-30.8 margin ... Through 19 games, Marquette is averaging 13.4 turnovers compared to the opposition's mark of 12.1 ... 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 12 games and stands 6-6 in those contests, 4-2 when registering fewer miscues ... Marquette has outshot 12 of its 19 opponents from the floor and is 9-3 in those games ... MU posts a 12.1 -11.3 per-game advantage in offensive rebounds, and claims 15 games of 10 or more offensive rebounds this year ... Marquette is averaging 26.7 points during the first half of play (27.0 for the opposition) and 37.0 during the second half (35.5 for opponents) ... MU has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in a half on four occasions ... In its 11 victories, MU enjoys a 67.5-57.8 scoring advantage and has shot 44.5 percent (249 of-559) from the floor while limiting the opposition to 39.5 percent (227-of-574) ... In the eight setbacks, MU has been outscored by a 58.6-69.0 margin ... MU is 6-2 when leading at halftime ... Marquette is averaging 13.7 assists in its 11 wins, 8.5 in losses.
Brian Wardle Notes
Named C-USA Player of the Week (Jan. 7) after totaling 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting vs. DePaul ... No. 3 in C-USA in scoring in overall (18.8 ppg) and No. 2 in league (20.9 ppg) games through Feb. 4 ... Averaging 19.1 points and shooting 47.2 percent from the floor in MU's 11 wins ... Has nine games of 20 or more points this year and 25 during his career ... Fifth in the league in free throw percentage (.821), and is No. 3 in three-point field goal percentage (.440) through Feb. 4 while holding down the No. 5 position in three-point field goals made (2.32 tpg). ... No. 2 in 3pt. FG% (.545) in C-USA contests. through Feb. 4
MARQUETTE PLAYER NOTES
# 2 Odartey Blankson
* Has started 18 of 19 MU contests -- 24.2 minutes per game
* Six rebounds vs. Memphis (2/2)
* Career-best 16 points (6-of-10) from floor and totaled six steals, highest by a MU player this year, vs. Tulane (1/27)
* No. 2 on team in rebounding (5.0 rpg) -- tied for team's lead in boards with five vs. Saint Louis (1/24)
* Seven pts., team-high tying seven boards vs. S. Florida (1/17)
* Nine points, three boards vs. North Carolina (1/13)
* Team's top rebounder in five games
* 11 points, team-best nine boards vs. Minnesota (12/7)
# 4 Cordell Henry
* Team's high scorer with 21 pts. vs. Memphis (2/2) and tied career high with seven rebounds -- 3rd game of 20 or more points this year
* 93.8% from foul line (15-of-16) in the last three games
* Leads team in FT% in league games (.882)
* Career-high 11 assists vs. Tulane (1/27), second-highest total by a C-USA player this season
* Career-high 28 points (9-14 from floor) against Charlotte (1/20)
* Has scored in double figures in 11 games
* 10 points and tied career high with seven rebs. vs. USF (1/17)
* Seven assists vs. DePaul (Jan. 6) -- 13 pts.
* 21 points vs. Western Carolina -- hit 7-of-10 from the floor in that game (3-of-3 in treys)
* Sixteen straight games with at least one steal -- has team-high 26 thefts to his credit
* Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic All-Tourney Team, averaging 13.0 points and 3.5 assists in two games
* No. 1 on team in assists (3.95 apg), 7th among C-USA players through Feb. 4
* Notched 17 pts. vs. Centenary, 14 in the second half
# 5 Scott Merritt
* Eight points vs. Memphis (2/2) was high for C-USA game
* Seven-point games vs. St. Louis (11/24) & Tulane (1/27)
* 11 points, second-high on the team, and five boards vs. Dayton
* Has four double-figure scoring games
* First double-double of career with 11 points and season-best 13 rebounds vs. Western Carolina (12/20)
* No. 4 on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg)
* 35 offensive rebounds are No. 2 on the team
* Team-best 17 blocked shots -- has blocked shots in 13 games
* Picked up season-high 12 points vs. UALR (12/9)
# 12 Brian Barone
* 20 minutes vs. Southern Miss (1/30) off the bench
* Sank six-of-seven from the floor (3-of-4 treys) en route to a career-high 17 points vs. Tulane (1/27) -- tied season high with four assists
* 10 points and led team with career-best seven rebounds vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 10)
* Averaging 17.7 minutes through the first 19 games, 22.0 mpg in last nine -- 18 minutes vs. St. Louis (1/24) - 6 points
* 24 minutes at DePaul (1/6) and came up with four assists
* Has scored in nine of last 12 games
* Has nine games of two or more assists
* Played 20 minutes vs. UMASS and scored seven points
# 55 Greg Clausen
* Has seen action in 17 games
* Three rebounds in nine minutes vs. Charlotte (1/20)
* Season-high four rebounds vs. DePaul (Jan. 6)
* Nine minutes against Xavier, and grabbed three boards
# 22 Brian Wardle
* 19 points vs. Memphis (2/2) was his 17th double-figure game of the year
* Shooting 58.3% (14-of-24) from 3-pt. range in last four games
* Season-high 32 points vs. S. Miss (1/30) -- 22 points in 2nd hallf
* Team-high 23 points vs. Tulane (1/27) & team-high 20 points vs. Saint Louis (1/24)
* Averagng 23.5 points in last four games
* Registered a team-high 28 points vs. S. Florida (1/17)
* Team's leading scorer in seven of last 10 games.
* 27 points vs. DePaul (1/6), hitting 11-of-16 from the floor (5-of-6 treys)
* 19-point 2nd halves vs. Dayton, DePaul & S. Florida
* Game-high 25 points vs. Dayton (12/30)
* Team-high 21-points vs. Xavier
* Nine contests of 20 or more points including 26 vs. UMASS and 23 vs. CS Northridge
* Team's top scorer in 12 of 19 contests
* MVP of Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic with 37 points and10 rebounds vs. Centenary and CS Northridge
* Has 14 games of two or more treys -- 21 treys in last 7 games
* Shooting 85.7% from foul line (30-of-35) in last five games
# 34 Jon Harris
* Finished with a team-high eight rebounds vs. S. Miss (1/30), the fourth time he has led or tied for team lead
* Tied for team's lead in boards with five St. Louis (1/24)
* Vs. South Florida (1/17) he had eight points, six rebounds and season-high three assists
* Eight points, five boards, all on offensive end (24 min.) vs. Cincinnati (Jan. 10)
* Team-high six rebounds vs. Dayton (12/30)
* Has six games of six or more rebounds
* Shooting 59.1 percent from the floor (39-of-66)
* Tied with Merritt for team's lead in rebounding vs. UMASS with nine
* Six offensive rebs vs. Minnesota, finishing with eight.
# 35 John Mueller
* Has started all 19 MU games
* Scored in 13 appearances including season-best six points vs. UC (1/10) in 19 minutes
* Five rebounds vs. UMASS (11/20)
* Season-high six rebounds in season opener vs. S. Alabama
# 43 Oluoma Nnamaka
* 14 pts. vs. Memphis (2/2) his ninth double-figure scoring performance of the year
* No. 2 on team and N. 8 in C-USA in FT% (.792)
*Came up with 14 points vs. Saint Louis (1/24)
* Season-high 15 points, career-best 14 rebounds vs. Charlotte, his second double-double of the year (5th of career)
* 14 pts. (5-7 from floor) vs. South Florida (1/17).
* Team-best 11 pts. vs. Wisconsin and tied for team honors with six boards
* No. 1 on the team in rebounding with a 5.6 per-game mark
* 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds vs. Xavier
* First double-double of the year was 11 pts. and 11 rebs. vs. UALR (12/9)
* 45 offensive rebounds are No. 1 on the team
# 33 David Diggs
* Has played in 11 of MU's 19 games
#40 Terry Sanders
* Has played in eight games, averaging 7.0 minutes
* Hit a three-pointer vs. Southern Miss (1/30)
* Four points and two rebounds vs. Tulane (1/27)
* Season-long 11 minutes vs. N. Carolina and grabbed four boards
* Scored four points in season opener vs. S. Alabama (Nov. 14)
