Marquette University Athletics
Golden Eagles Face Louisville In BIG EAST Championship
3/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2011
TV: ESPN | 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 (20-13, 9-9 BIG?EAST) continues play at the 2011 BIG?EAST?Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters Thursday evening at 8 p.m. CT?when the squad faces No. 3 seed Louisville in Madison Square Garden on ESPN/ESPN3D. The winner of the game will advance to face the Notre Dame/Cincinnati winner on Friday night in the tourney semifinals.
MU To Face UofL For First Time In Tourney
The Golden Eagles have played a total of 13 games in the league tournament since joining the conference in 2005-06, but Thursday night's matchup with Louisville will be the first against the Cardinals in the postseason event.
MU has already faced Providence and West Virginia this week, also for the first time in the league tourney. The Golden Eagles and Cardinals, both former members of Conference USA, met just once in the conference tournament during their respective tenures in the league and that came in the opening game of the 2002 event.
Marquette is 8-5 all-time in the BIG EAST tourney and advanced to the semifinals in 2010 before being defeated by Georgetown. The Golden Eagles also participated in the semifinals in 2008 and fell to eventual champion Pittsburgh. MU is 20-20 all-time in conference tournaments.
MU Continues Early BIG?EAST?Tourney Success
With Wednesday's win over West Virginia, the Golden Eagles are now 3-0 in second-round games at the BIG?EAST?Championship. Marquette has won its opening game of the tourney five times in six tournament appearances.
The Golden Eagles have now advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament in each of their six years in the league.
Cadougan Plays Like A Senior Against WVU
Sophomore guard Junior Cadougan, who missed a majority of his freshman campaign with an achilles injury, played like a seasoned veteran in Wednesday night's win over West Virginia.
The Toronto, Ontario, native finished with a career-high 15 points in 26 minutes of action off the bench. He also chipped in five assists and three rebounds at the point guard position and turned the ball over on just one occasion. He posted personal-best marks in field goals made (4), attempted (7) and free throws attempted (9).
In the previous 17 games against BIG EAST?competition this season, Cadougan had netted a total of just 64 total points.
Marquette Claims 20 Wins For Sixth-Straight Year
Wednesday's 67-61 victory over West Virginia marked the team's 20th win of the campaign, marking the sixth-straight season the Golden Eagles have claimed at least 20 games.
Since 2005-06, the year Marquette joined the BIG?EAST?Conference, MU has participated in the NCAA?Tournament every year thanks in large part to claiming 20-or-more wins in each of those years. The Golden Eagles are hoping that trend continues in 2010-11.
Marquette now owns a total of 32 20-win seasons all-time.
Offense, Defense Both Make Trip To New York
Marquette's opening two victories in the league tourney have been the direct result of impressive play at both ends of the court.
In possession of the league's top scoring offense at 76.7 points per game, Marquette shook off some late season struggles in the 87-66 victory over Providence and continued that success against West Virginia. The team is shooting 47.0 percent from the floor in the two outings and 46.2 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Defensively, MU has been just as successful since taking the court at Madison Square Garden. The Friars and Mountaineers shot a collective 37.0 percent from the floor and were outrebounded by almost 10 boards per game.
Over half (23-of-44) of the made baskets by Marquette's two opponents this week have been 3-pointers. PC?and WVU shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from long distance as a duo against Marquette's defensive unit, but connected on just 31.3 percent (21-of-67) on its opportunities from inside the line.
Butler Paces Golden Eagles In Win Over Friars
Senior forward Jimmy Butler opened the scoring against Providence with a 3-pointer and never looked back as he led Marquette to an 87-66 win over the Friars.
The Tomball, Texas, native almost collected the program's first triple-double since 2003, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 31 minutes of action. He shot 5-of-8 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line to collect his sixth career double-double and second in 2010-11. He also had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Centenary on Dec. 18.
Former MU standout Dwyane Wade posted a triple-double in the 2003 NCAA?Tournament against Kentucky, finishing with 29 points, 11 boards and 11 assists.
Is Key To Victory Field Goal Percentage?
Head coach Buzz Williams has stressed defense since he took over the reigns of the program and that focus, along with offensive efficiency, has played a key role in the team's success during his tenure.
Dating back to the start of 2008-09, the Golden Eagles are 49-4 when finishing the game with a field goal percentage even-or-better than their opponents. That includes an 18-3 mark thus far in 2010-11 and a 14-1 record in 2009-10. The only losses came March 6, 2010 versus Notre Dame, Dec. 11, 2010 against Wisconsin, Dec. 29 at Vanderbilt and Feb. 2 at Villanova.
Since 2008-09, MU has finished 50 percent-or-better from the field on 35 occasions and owns a 32-3 record (at Villanova in 2008-09, vs. Washington in 2009-10, at Vanderbilt in 2010-11) in those outings.
