Marquette University Athletics
Men' Basketball Looking to Rebound Against St. John'
1/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Golden Eagles will face a stingy defensive minded Red Storm squad
Click here for game notes in PDF format.
MILWAUKEE ? When Marquette (15-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) hosts St. John?s (10-8, 3-4 BIG EAST) at the Bradley Center on Wednesday, February 1 at 7 p.m., it will mark the unofficial beginning of the stretch run. The Golden Eagles have eight regular season contests left, four at home and four on the road.
The Golden Eagles and the Red Storm meet for the first time since the 2003-04 season, in which the two teams opened the season at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. Marquette and St. John?s have met 11 total times and were regular opponents in the 1960s.
The Golden Eagles and the Red Storm also have another connection ? Al McGuire- as the legendary coach played at St. John?s from 1948-1951.
The Golden Eagles will have their hands? full with the Red Strom Wednesday night on the glass as St. John's boasts a +9 rebounding margin and has outreabounded all but two opponents this season. Currently the St. John?s ranks fourth in the conference in rebounding led by Lemont Hamilton who stands ninth in the BIG EAST in total rebounding (7.4 rpg) and offensive rebounding (2.78 rpg).
Marquette will also have to deal with St. John?s perimeter defense. Even though the Golden Eagles possess the top-ranked three-point field goal percentage (40.5) in the BIG EAST with senior Steve Novak in the second spot in three-point field goals made (3.48pg) and percentage (46.2), conversely the Red Storm own the second best perimeter defense in the league (30.6).
?No doubt about it they are going to be a handful,? said head coach Tom Crean. ?They are physical, aggressive and have beat some good teams. They can rebound and can defend the perimeter. Lemont Hamilton is certainly a good rebounder and has the numbers to back him up. It is going to be a battle out there.?
St. John?s is a low scoring, defensive minded team. The Red Storm is averaging 61.2 points per game, but are allowing a paltry 57.3 points per game. This season, St. John?s has held eight of its 18 opponents to 50 or fewer points; two of those were in BIG EAST play.
?We have to treat every game in this league as a road game and that means low turnovers, excellent rebounding, getting to the free throw line and we have to take care of each possession. The players are so good in this league that it is really going to come down to fundamentals.?
Two St. John?s players are averaging over 12 points per game. Daryll Hill leads the squad at 12.6 points per game. Lamont Hamilton is close behind and 12.3.
?We are coming off a loss, but we need to comeback and protect our home court,? said freshman Dominic James who is expected to play in Wednesday?s game. ?The are a physical team who rebounds really well. We have to play tough. Our main focus is our screen and putting bodies on guys.?
St. John?s has had a streaky start to its BIG EAST season. The Red Storm have played a tough set of teams in the beginning. St. John?s lost its first two BIG EAST games, dropping to Seton Hall and Georgetown. Then the Red Storm turned things around in a set that included USF, Louisville and Pittsburgh. St. John?s lost its last two in defeats to Connecticut and West Virginia.
The last four games the Red Storm have played have been against nationally ranked teams. In defeating Pitt, St. John?s handed the Panthers their only loss of the season. The Red Storm were also very close in games with no. 1 Connecticut and West Virginia.
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