Gameday: #10 Marquette vs Rutgers

First a few quick hitters......

• Don't expect a quick return, but according to sources, Davante Gardner has been improving and is now doing more than just working out with the trainers.

• Dominic James is winning championships for Partizan, Belgrade, see his post game interview here. Neek has also been doing a bit of writing lately, trying to pick up the people in his hometown of Richmond, IN with "If I can do it, you can do it".

• Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine wrote a great piece on Buzz Williams, a real tear jerker - great job Howie!

• Was hoping MU would find a way to move up a notch or two in the rankings next week if they can beat Rutgers and WVU, but never thought it would be possible because Seton Hall beat Georgetown, congrats to the Monitors!

• Wesley Matthews has been out of the Blazers' starting lineup for the last few games. Still getting his minutes and making the most of his time on the floor, but for whatever reason, Nate McMillan has been going with a PG, SF, SF, PF, C lineup.

Now on to the Scarlet Knights...... Gametime: 7:00 Bradley Center TV: TWC32

According to Ticket Master, there are less than 200 tickets left. Of course Stub Hub etc has a bunch, but it should be a great crowd. This is a very winnable game for MU, but by no means a pushover. Despite the 12-15 record, Rutgers gave Syracuse all they could handle over the weekend. Rutgers was within 2 with under three minutes to go, and hung in there until Scoop Jardine drained a three with a minute to go to seal it up.

Rutgers has been horrible on the road this year, but has beaten two ranked opponents this season and would love to play the role of the giant killer. (Yes, thinking of MU as the "giant" is something new)

So who to stop? Rutgers is without a true stud. Eli Carter leads them in scoring with 13.4 ppg, but from there they spread it around pretty well, but don't expect a scoring impact from anyone outside of their first six players.

The Golden Eagles should be able to win the battle for the boards. While Rutgers has two solid rebounders in Gilvydas Biruta and Dane Miller, they just don't have the size that MU has grown accustomed to playing in the Big East. The Scarlet Knights don't have anyone logging serious minutes that is over 6'8.

Keys to the game:

• Penetrate the lane, get to the rack: Birutas is foul prone and forcing him to the bench would give MU some mismatches and an advantage on the boards.

• Protect the ball: Rutgers plays solid D, forcing just under 15 turnovers per game. Keep the ball moving in transition, don't give them time to deny the passing lanes. Keep the turnovers under 10.

• Pressure D: While the Scarlet Knights force quite a few turnovers, they cough it up quite a bit too. Get after them on D. The 3/4 court pressure has been very effective, put the pressure on and force the mistakes. If MU applies the pressure, they should force 18 turnovers tonight.

Here is the tale of the tape....