 Overview:
Following a one-sided loss at West Virginia,
Marquette preceded to begin a stretch of their best
basketball of the season. Even at losses at
Pittsburgh and Villanova, Marquette played well and
it was evident that they were an NCAA
tournament-quality team. They finished with wins in
four of their last five, heading into the Big East
tournament. All things considered it was a very
solid first season for the Golden Eagles in their
new conference.
Potential Difference Maker: Know where No. 20 is
at all times. Steve Novak is a real matchup problem
because of the way he shoots the basketball. In
addition, freshmen Dominic James can be a major
factor. He wasn’t very effective against Georgetown,
but the six-time Big East rookie of the week is
capable of making things happen.
On
Offense:
On
Offense: As one Big East Coach says, “God bless
whoever scouts their game. They run a million and
one sets and they execute them. The offense is
dependant upon their perimeter players and Steve
Novak is similar to Pittsnogle of West Virginia in
that he will be a match-up problem for any team.
On Defense: They play man-to-man defense with
hard pressure on the ball. They always have been a
good help side defensive team.
Strength: They will execute all of their
offensive sets and their guards can really score in
transition. They are a terrific 3-point shooting
team at 40% per game. Their players know their
roles.
Weakness: They are a young team and are
relying on freshman to carry them in the tournament.
They are not a great rebounding team and lack a real
inside presence.
Keys to Success: It will be interesting to
see how their freshmen perform, but if they play
fearlessly, this is a very good team. They will need
to defend and rebound to create transition
opportunities for their guards Dominic James and
Jerel McNeal.
How To Beat Them: You have to limit their
guards from getting easy baskets in transition and
guard the 3 – point line. |
