Marquette University Athletics
MU Continues Road Swing At USF Wednesday Night On ESPN2
2/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2011
MU-USF Game Notes (PDF) | TV: ESPN2 | Radio: 540 ESPN
Official Away Game Destination: CENTERCOURT Pub and Grille, 1118 North 4th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53203
The Marquette University men's basketball team (14-9, 5-5 BIG?EAST) returns to the court for the first time in a week Wednesday night when the squad travels to USF to continue the BIG EAST portion of the schedule. ESPN2 will feature MU's 11th national broadcast of the campaign at 6 p.m. CT, with Rob Stone (play-by-play) and Mike Kelley (analyst) calling the action. The Golden Eagles are in the midst of a season-long three-game homestand, which began Feb. 2 at No. 12/12 Villanova and concludes Feb. 13 at No. 11/11 Georgetown.
Bench Contributes In Setback At Villanova
Marquette's bench corps has had its share of struggles since BIG?EAST play, providing a large amount of pressure the starting unit to produce at a high level on a nightly basis.
Feb. 2 at Villanova, however, the MU reserves were able to pick up the starting five and almost led Marquette to an impressive road victory. Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan, Joseph Fulce and Davante Gardner combined to chip in 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and an assist in 54 total minutes. The group also accounted for only one turnover in the hostile road environment. The four players shot 5-of-9 from the field and missed just one free throw attempt.
In 10 BIG?EAST?outings this season, Marquette's bench is contributing 10.7 points per game while shooting 36.4 percent from the floor overall and 17.6 percent from long distance.
Golden Eagles Difficult To Defeat By Double Digits
Marquette's tendency to play in close games (16-of-34 decided by four-or-less points in 2009-10) in recent seasons has been well documented, but just as impressive is the team's ability to perform at a high level on a nightly basis.
Since the start of the 2009-10 campaign, Marquette has been defeated by 10-or-more points on just one occasion. MU was defeated by Georgetown 80-57 in the 2010 BIG EAST Conference Championship. Through games of Feb. 6, the Golden Eagles are one of just eight teams in the nation not to have fallen by double digits in 2010-11. MU has played two of the other programs (Pittsburgh and Wisconsin) on the list.
Since the start of the 2008-09 season, the first under Buzz Williams, Marquette has been defeated by 10-or-more points a total of six times. That's the ninth-lowest total among all NCAA Division I teams. Butler and Kansas top the list with just four 10-point setbacks.
What makes Marquette's ability to remain in every game even more impressive is the fact the team's schedule has included a total of 32 games against top-25 opponents.
