Marquette University Athletics
MU Continues Play At BIG EAST Championship Against West Virginia
3/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 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 (19-13, 9-9 BIG?EAST) continues play at the 2011 BIG?EAST?Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT when the team faces West Virginia in Madison Square Garden on ESPN. The Mountaineers own the sixth seed in the 16-team event, while the Golden Eagles are in possession of the 11th seed. Wednesday night's winner will advance to face No. 3 seed Louisville on Thursday night at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
MU To Face WVU For First Time In Tourney
The Golden Eagles have played a total of 12 games in the league tournament since joining the conference in 2005-06, but Wednesday night's matchup with West Virginia will be the first against the Mountaineers in the postseason event.
Tuesday night's win over Providence also marked the first postseason contest against the Friars.
Marquette is 7-5 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 19-20 all-time in conference tournaments.
Crowder Led MU To Win Over WVU In Opener
Junior forward Jae Crowder had perhaps his best game as a Golden Eagle in the team's 79-74 victory over West Virginia on New Year's day in the league opener.
The 10 a.m. local start didn't slow the junior college transfer, who finished with 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field. He also found time to chip in eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block in just 29 minutes on the court.
Marquette shot 64 percent from the field in the second half in the first matchup and opened the second stanza by making 12-of-15 attempts from the floor.
MU leads the all-time series with WVU 5-4.
MU Continues Early BIG?EAST?Tourney Success
With Tuesday's win over Providence, the Golden Eagles are now 3-0 in first-round games at the BIG?EAST?Championship. Marquette has won its opening game of the tourney five times in six tournament appearances.
Marquette is 2-0 in second round games in the tournament.
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.
Golden Eagles Hoping To Extend Pair Of Streaks
Marquette's efforts to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament have been well documented and the team's selection would extend the program's current streak to six-straight campaigns.
One more victory would also allow the Golden Eagles to reach the 20-win mark for the sixth-consecutive season (every year since joining the BIG EAST). MU is currently 19-13 on the season and posted a 9-9 mark in league action.
Butler Taking Advantage Of Charity In Recent Games
Senior forward Jimmy Butler has made a living at the free throw line during his career at Marquette and the last three games provide a perfect example.
In outings against Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Providence, the Tomball, Texas, native averaged 23.0 points per game, including a career-best 30-point effort versus the Bearcats on Senior Night. Of his 69 total points in the three outings, 34 came via the charity stripe. Butler shot 34-of-40 (85.0 percent) from the line in the three games and no other player on the MU roster had more than eight total attempts.
In less than three years with the program, Butler already ranks fourth at Marquette in both free throws made (441) and attempted (568). Through games of March 8, he ranks 34th in the nation in free throws made per game (5.3) and 52nd in attempts per night (6.6).
Marquette's Schedule Strength Difficult To Match
- While Marquette continues its search for quality wins down the stretch of the regular season, the team's quality setbacks are worth evaluating. Consider these facts.
- 9-of-13 losses this season have come against programs ranked in the top-25 polls at the time of the game. 11 of those squads remain ranked in the March 6 polls.
- Eight of the losses have come to a top-25 team on the road or at a neutral site.
- 10 of the team's 13 losses have come against teams currently ranked among the top-25 programs in the latest RPI rankings released by the NCAA on March 5. A total of 12 games overall have come against top-25 RPI teams.
- Marquette had dropped a total of seven two-possession games and three one-possession contests.
- Through games of March 5, Marquette's schedule is ranked 34th-toughest in the nation according to CollegeRPI.com.
- Marquette has played a total of 13 games (29 total) against squads ranked in the top-25 polls, including eight versus teams in the top-15.
