Marquette University Athletics
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2/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2010
Milwaukee -
The Marquette University men's basketball team wraps up its two-game homestand when the squad hosts No. 19/21 Pittsburgh at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday night. ESPN2 will feature MU's ninth national television broadcast of the campaign, with Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) calling the action. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite gold Marquette gear on "Gold Out Night" at the Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles will be looking to extend their current five-game winning streak when they face the Panthers, while also remaining in the hunt for a postseason bid. Following Thursday's matchup, MU will embark on a three-game road swing.
Winning Streak The Result Of Team Effort
Marquette's current five-game winning streak, which is now the longest active run among BIG?EAST Conference schools, has been made possible through across-the-board contributions from several members of the roster.
Senior Lazar Hayward is chipping in 19.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per night over the course of the last five games and has knocked down 48.1 percent (13-of-27) of his 3-point attempts. Classmate Maurice Acker's assist-to-turnover ratio is an impressive 8-to-1 (24 assists, three turnovers) since the Rutgers victory.
While turning the ball over just 8.4 times per night, MU has also found success from the charity stripe and behind the 3-point line. The team has outscored it's last five opponents by a total of 86 points (17.2 points per game) in those two categories combined.
Hayward Picking Up Production Down The Stretch
Senior Lazar Hayward, named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team, has picked up his all-conference caliber efforts in recent weeks as his final collegiate campaign begins its stretch run.
The Buffalo, N.Y. native is averaging 19.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in the last five games, which includes a trio of double-doubles. He now owns seven double-doubles on the season and 22 for his career, the second-highest total (63, Luke Harangody) among active BIG EAST players.
Of his 52 total rebounds since Jan. 26, 19 of the boards have come at the offensive end. He has also picked up his long-distance shooting (48.1 percent) and paces the squad with 12 steals.
As a result of his production on the court, Hayward has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll each of the last two weeks.
Butler Making Bid For Most Improved Honor
Junior forward Jimmy Butler has established himself as one of the top performers in the BIG EAST Conference this season, thanks to an across-the-board improvement from 2008-09.
The Tomball, Texas, native is chipping in 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and knocking down 56.2 percent of his field goal attempts overall and 54.5 percent from behind the 3-point line. He ranks among the league leaders in four categories (points per game, rebounds per game, field goal percentage and free throw percentage). Butler has started each of the squad's 24 outings and is seeing a team-high 33.0 minutes per contest.
Last season, his first at MU, Butler saw action in all 35 games off the bench and contributed 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He shot 51.4 percent from the floor, but finished the campaign without a 3-point field goal.
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