Marquette University Athletics
Postgame Notes - MU vs. Cincinnati
1/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2009
Postgame Notes - MU vs. Cincinnati
(Jan. 4, 2009)
- Marquette improves to 2-0 in BIG EAST Conference play for the first time since joining the league. With the win the Golden Eagles also improve to 11-0 at the Bradley Center this season.
- After a Cincinnati basket by Larry Davis gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the game at 14-10, Marquette went on a 31-13 run to close out the half to put the Golden Eagles up 14 at the break.
- Marquette's 15 three-point baskets are a program record, tying the 15 recorded against Penn State (March 27, 1995) and Farleigh Dickinson (Dec. 6, 1994). Jerel McNeal set an MU record with his 7-of-7 performance from behind the three-point line. The previous best was 5-of-5, recorded by four other players.
- McNeal got Marquette rolling in the first half with 19 points. McNeal was 7-of-8 from the field in the first frame and connected on all seven treys that he attempted. His seven three-pointers also set a career high, topping the previous high of five set this year against Western Carolina.
- McNeal's 26 points tied a season high recorded in the victory over Wisconsin (Dec. 6).
- With Wesley Matthews' 17 points he has passed Terry Rand and moved into 21st place on the all-time MU scoring list. Matthews currently has 1,318 career points.
Postgame Quotes - MU vs. Cincinnati
MU Head Coach Buzz Williams:
"It's the first time that our seniors have started the league 2-0. It's really important to them. I thought we started kind of slow the first six or eight possessions. And I thought that when you start making shots at the clip that we were making them, it makes everything seem better. We had eight offensive rebounds in the first half and during the game they had rebounded 41 percent of their missed field goal attempts, which is the highest number I have ever seen for any team that I have ever studied. In the second half they got one offensive rebound in the first 13 minutes and 43 seconds. When I took the core guys out, they got six more. I thought that the difference in the game was not letting them getting second shot opportunities in the second half. I think that when you make shots like we did, that trends towards everything looking better and your negative things not being revealed quite as much."
On the play of Jerel McNeal...
"I am happy for Jerel. I didn't know that he was 7-of-7 (from three-point range). I think that he is an elite level player and like he did against Wisconsin, I didn't know that he scored 14 straight until I came in here. When he gets in a groove, he's already hard to guard but when he gets in a groove he becomes really hard to guard."
MU Guard Jerel McNeal:
"(The basket) was looking real big early on there. I made a couple in a row and after that it felt like all of them were going in. After I hit a couple my main focus was to get everyone else involved because the defense was overly aggressive on me.
"I think we did a great job every time they tried to make a run or get some momentum going that we hit a big shot.
"It feels really good. It's the first time that we started out 2-0 in our conference season. One of the main things about our team is that we treat every win or loss like coach always says. We have until midnight to enjoy it."
UC Head Coach Mick Cronin:
"They shot the lights out today, I don't know if anybody in the country was going to beat them. I've got a very young team, a very young basketball club. We have a tendency to stare at each other, hang our head and get shocked when things don't go well for us. We didn't respond. We lack a little leadership right now and our inexperience is glaring. The snowball started downhill and we weren't able to stop it. I give Marquette credit for the way they played.
"We were not going to win today the way they shot the ball, no matter what."
UC Guard Deonta Vaughn:
"(Marquette) came out and played great defense. They made sure that I didn't get started, which would have helped us out even more if I would have got started. I tried to keep the team in the game. I tried to not force things and limit my turnovers; I probably had like one or two turnovers tonight."
