Men's Basketball Hosts Delaware State
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2006
MILWAUKEE (AP) -
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Hoping to bounce back from its first loss of the season and avoid looking ahead to its high-profile game this weekend, No. 17 Marquette hosts Delaware State at the Bradley Center on Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles (8-1) were impressive in winning their first five games by an average of 20.6 points and cracked the Top 10 on the strength of a victory in the CBE Finals over then-No. 9 Duke, but Tom Crean's team fell 64-60 to North Dakota State on Saturday in the championship game of its Blue and Gold Classic - the second straight season Marquette failed to win its in-season tournament.
"We danced a little too close to the line of defeat and tonight we couldn't get over it," Crean said. "They beat us fair and square in every facet. We've dodged bullets, but don't want to give anything back."
Jerel McNeal had 16 points and seven steals for the Golden Eagles, who tumbled nine spots in the poll. Marquette shot just 35.8 percent from the field, committed 17 turnovers and led just once at 3-2.
"I think more than anything, we need to take this as a wakeup call," said McNeal, who also committed five turnovers. "We were playing from behind too much and not putting too halves together, and it caught up to us."
Dominic James, who averages a team-high 17.4 points, was held to eight on 3-of-11 shooting from the field. Despite forcing 25 turnovers, Marquette was unable to get key stops as North Dakota State shot 48.1 percent.
"Twenty-five turnovers do not mean anything if you don't get the stops you want," Marquette guard Wesley Matthews said. "They made their shots and hit them what they needed to. That can crush a team."
After this game, Marquette hosts No. 11 and intrastate rival Wisconsin on Saturday.
Delaware State (2-6) is coming off a 62-40 loss Saturday at Purdue. Roy Bright led the Hornets with 18 points, while Darrin Shine and Jahsha Bluntt each added eight.
The Hornets, who are playing their third ranked opponent, shot just 27.1 percent from the field and were held scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the first half as the Boilermakers built a 10-point halftime lead.
"When you put so much energy into defense, when you get on offense you don't have the legs to shoot the basketball," coach Greg Jackson said.
The Hornets six losses have come by an average of 16.8 points, and three have been by 20 or more. Delaware State has lost 12 consecutive games to Top 25 teams since the start of the 1996-97 season, all by double digits.
Matthews scored 12 points to lead Marquette to a 60-48 win between the teams last season.
