Marquette University Athletics
Men's Basketball Gets Set for #4 Louisville
1/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
On Track For 1,000 Points
Should Travis Diener and Scott Merritt continue to hit their scoring averages of 16.8 and 12.2, respectively, for the remainder of the season, both could reach the 1,000 career-point mark. Through 16 games, Diener has 938 career points and Merritt has 909.
Marquette?s Double-Doubles
Travis Diener?s 15 points and 12 assists against DePaul on Saturday was his second double-double of the season, and fifth of his career. Scott Merritt leads the Golden Eagles with four doubledoubles this year. Merritt?s?s 18 career double-doubles rank him fourth among active players in C-USA.
70-Point Trend
Under Tom Crean Marquette is 60-13, including 48-9 since the beginning of the 2001-02 and 8-3 this season, when scoring 70 or more points. The Golden Eagles? three losses this year when scoring 70 points were to Arizona, Cincinnati and Charlotte.
Downtown Duo
Travis Diener (46-of-100/46.0 percent) and Steve Novak (44-of-106/41.5 percent) have accounted for 90 of the Golden Eagles? 117 three-point field goals this season. Novak and Diener currently rank first and fifth, respectively, in career three-point field goal percentage at Marquette.
Mason Making Impact
Freshman Dameon Mason established new career-highs for points (21), field-goals made (9) and field-goal attempts (13), in Saturday?s victory over DePaul. Mason became the first true-freshman to score 20 or more points in a game since December 5, 1998, when Cordell Henry scored 21 points in a 67-51 loss to Tulsa. Since moving into the starting line-up three games ago (January 16 vs. Southern Miss), Mason leads the team in scoring (18.0 ppg) and field-goal percentage (20-33/60.6 percent).
Mason & Sanders Efficient In C-USA
The Golden Eagles rank fifth in field-goal percentage (42.2 percent) in CUSA games, and two reasons why are Terry Sanders and Dameon Mason. Sanders (14-of-24) and Mason (27-of-49) are shooting 58.3 percent and 55.1 percent, respectively, from the field through six conference games.
No Turnovers
Travis Diener?s zero turnover effort on January 7 at Houston marked the 28th time in his career, and fifth this season, he didn?t record a turnover in a game. For the season, Diener has committed three or fewer turnovers in 13-of-17 games.
Marquette vs. Louisville
Marquette is 21-31 (.404) all-time against Louisville. The schools split last year?s two meetings, each winning on the other?s home court, but the Golden Eagles have won four of the last five. Tom Crean is 5-4 (.556) against Louisville, including a 2-2 (.500) mark at Freedom Hall.
Rare Occurrence
Marquette?s victory over DePaul on Saturday prevented what would have been the team?s first four-game losing streak in Tom Crean?s tenure. The Golden Eagles three-game losing streak was just the fourth under Crean and first since February 24 to March 3, 2001, Crean?s second season, when Marquette lost to Louisville, Houston and Charlotte to close out the regular season.
Stretch of Success
The Golden Eagles have won 65 of their last 83 (.783) games overall, and 30 of their last 38 (.789) in C-USA, dating back to the 2001-02 season.
Bradley Center Advantage
The Golden Eagles have won 39-of-41 and are 61-10 (.859) overall at the Bradley Center under Tom Crean. Marquette is 190-61 (.757) all-time at the downtown arena.
Marquette In C-USA
Marquette has won 17-of-19 at home and 13-of-19 on the road in Conference USA dating back to the 2001-02 season. Marquette?s 80-50 (.615) record in the eight-plus years of Conference USA?s existence is third-best overall in league history trailing only Cincinnati (104-26/.800) and Memphis (84-45/.651).
Below 60 Leads to Victory
When holding its opponents to 60 points or fewer, Marquette has won 15 consecutive, 33-of-34, and is 45-5 (.900) under Tom Crean. MU has held seven opponents to 60 or fewer this season, including its first two C-USA opponents (Houston - 52 & Saint Louis - 59).
The Golden Eagles? five losses came on:
Jan. 29, 2000 at Charlotte L, 60-54
Feb. 16, 2000 vs. DePaul L, 55-35
Feb. 26, 2000 vs. Memphis L, 53-49
Dec. 23, 2000 vs. Wisconsin L, 52-47
Feb. 26, 2002 at East Carolina L, 51-46
So Does 65
Since the beginning of the 2001-02 season, Marquette is 41-4 (.911) when holding its opponents to 65 or fewer points (01-02 02: 18-3; 02-03 03: 13-0; 03-04 04: 10-1).
The Golden Eagles four losses came on:
Dec. 29, 2001 at Wake Forest L, 64-59
Feb. 22, 2002 at Cincinnati L, 63-62
Feb. 26, 2002 at East Carolina L, 51-46
Dec. 20, 2003 at Wisconsin L, 63-59.
