From Marquette Athletics:
Marquette to Host Pittsburgh
Marquette to Host Pittsburgh
The No. 25/24 Marquette University men’s basketball team (13-4, 2-2 BIG EAST) continues its three-game homestand Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT when the squad hosts Pittsburgh (11-6. 0-4 BIG EAST) at the Bradley Center. ESPNU will feature Marquette’s 10th national television broadcast of the campaign, with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Mike Kelley (analyst) calling the action. MU wraps up its homestand on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day when Louisville visits for a 2:30 p.m. CT tip on ESPN.
Marquette To Celebrate 95th Anniversary Saturday
The Marquette men’s basketball team, which is participating in its 95th season of competition in 2011-12, will honor the program’s storied history when the team faces Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon.
Over 100 former players, coaches and staff are expected to attend the weekend’s festivities, which include a reception on Friday evening and pregame Saturday at the Bradley Center. Everyone in attendance will be honored during a halftime ceremony, which will celebrate the previous 94 seasons of play.
The group of players expected back includes: Mark Anglavar, Tom Copa, Bo Ellis, Mike Kinsella, Don Kojis, Butch Lee, Marc Marotta, Dean Marquardt, Mike Moran, Terry Rand, Terrell Schlundt, Earl Tatum and Bob Wolf.
The 2011-12 campaign marks the 35th anniversary of the 1977 NCAA Championship squad and several members of the roster will be in town to celebrate the title.
Strong Second Half Carries MU To Win Over St. John’s
With leading scorers Darius Johnson-Odom (eight minutes) and Jae Crowder (12 minutes) battling foul trouble in the first half against St. John’s, the Golden Eagles found themselves trailing 32-31 at the intermission.
Marquette responded with an improved effort at both ends of the court in the second half and pulled away for an 83-64 victory. Johnson-Odom netted 18 of his 20 points after the break and MU shot 67.7 percent from the field as a team, including a 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) effort to begin the stanza. The squad’s defensive efforts also held the Red Storm to just 38.5 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes and forced 11 turnovers.
After scoring 31 points in the first half, Marquette’s potent offensive attack collected 52 points in the second frame and four players finished with double figures.
Gardner Picking Up Production Following Loss Of Otule
Sophomore forward Davante Gardner has seen his role with the team increase on the court ever since the injury to center Chris Otule on Dec. 6.
The Suffolk, Va., native has started seven of the nine contests since Otule was lost for the season and has averaged 11.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in those outings. He made his first career start against Green Bay on Dec. 10 and collected his first-ever double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds versus Villanova on Jan. 1 in the league opener.
Gardner’s best performance to date came Wednesday night against St. John’s when he posted career bests with 22 points and 15 rebounds in 34 minutes of action. He shot 8-of-13 from the field and six of his boards came at the offensive end. The last MU player to have at least 15 caroms in a game was Lazar Hayward against DePaul (17, Jan. 24, 2009).
For the season, Gardner is contributing 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 77.0 percent from the free throw line in 19.5 minutes per contest.
BIG EAST Standings Don’t Provide Many Answers
It’s been an interesting few weeks in BIG EAST play and that trend is more than likely to continue as the league championship draws closer and closer.
With every team having played at least four games, only Syracuse has yet to fall in conference action (through games of Jan. 11). Three programs (Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Notre Dame) have only one loss, but the remaining 12 teams already have at least two setbacks.
Offense At Its Best With Cadougan Distributing
Guard Junior Cadougan finished with a team-best seven assists in the victory over St. John’s, marking the 10th time this season he has led the squad in that category.
For the season, Marquette is 10-0 when Cadougan finishes with six-or-more assists. The Toronto, Ontario, native ranks fifth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.22) and fifth in assists per game (5.13).
With Cadougan in his first season as the starting point guard, MU is averaging 77.6 points per game, the second-best mark among BIG EAST programs.