MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES 20-6 @ VILLANOVA WILDCATS 17-9
February 25, 7:00 PM | Villanova Pavilion
February 25, 7:00 PM | Villanova Pavilion
The only Big East matchup on Monday Night is going to be a good one. Marquette is on a roll right now winning 4 straight and playing their best basketball of the season. During the streak they are out scoring their opponets by 20 points per game. Now granted besides Pittsburgh it was a favorable schedule but reguardless this team is clicking right now. They are 10-5 in conference and only 1 game out for the 4th spot, which is the cut off for receiving a bye in the first round of the Big East Tourney.
The Biggest reason for their success is the play for Lazar Hayward. This team came into the season very guard heavy but really needing one more scorer from the forward poistion. Well, they called and he answered by leading the team in scoring. He is very tough to defend because he can shoot for the perimiter and also take it to the hoop. Their other big man is Ousmane Barro and he has stepped up as of late. He does the dirty work underneath and his defense is improving.
The Golden Eagles as a team have turned it up a notch on the defensive end since letting Louisville and Notre Dame score at will on them. They are only giving up 57.5 ppg during their current streak while putting up 78 themselves. Their perimiter defense is really strong and its lead by Jerel McNeal who is a nationally known defender. He has very quick hands and causes alot of deflections. Dominic James is their leader and PG. He also is a hard worker on defense along w/ their 3rd guard Welsey Matthews. Tom Crean is finally getting his guys to understand the importance of team defense. All three of their starting guards also provide scoring threats on the other end. McNeal is fearless attacking the basket and has a nice midrange game. You all know about DJ he doesn't shoot it well from distance but his quickness allows him to slip by defenders giving him easy layups. He makes everybody better on the floor. Dan Fitzgerald is their 6th man and gives them more perimiter play.
The wildcats are also at their best right now. They have won 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5. Their lone loss was against Georgetown and the refs didn't even give them an chance in OT when they called a foul w/ 0.1 tics left in regulation.
Scottie Reynolds just continues to impress, this guy is relentless and wants the ball in crunch time. I've raved about this kid in previous write ups, but that is not going to stop me from doing it here as well. He doesn't understand the concept of range because he can shoot from all over the court. He can attack the basket and brings the intensity that reminds me of a young Allen Iverson. Corey Fisher rounds out the backcourt and does a nice job scoring the ball avg 10ppg. Corey Stokes is a very streaky shooter who can give some quality minutes in the backcourt as well. They rotate several players down low Dante Cunningham, Shane Clark, and Antonio Pena. Also Casiem Drummond but im not sure if he is playing due to a recent injury.
The Wildcats are 7-7 in conference w/ 4 games to play. After this they travel to Louisville and round out their season @ home against South Florida and on the road @ Providence. They probaly have to get to 10 wins in the conference that would put them at 20-10 (10-8) and win a game or two in the tournament to get an atlarge bid. That still might not be enough.
Marquette's motivation is a chance for a bye in the tournament. They have to continue this streak if they want any chance of earning that free pass.
It's a very tough task that Coach Wright is asking of his players. To beat marquette after beating UConn and WVU.
This is a tough matchup to call because both teams are firing on all cylinders right now. Im going with the Golden Eagles as they are the more talented team, and I just don't see nova having the ablitity on defense to stop their scoring. I think Nova hangs around for 35 minutes or so, but Marquette pulls it out when nova can't keep up.
Score Prediction: Marquette 77 - Villanova 70
Plays
Marquette -1
Over 142
