BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE LOOKS FOR 8-0 BE START

January 31, 2009


Georgetown will limp into the Bradley Center on Saturday afternoon for a meeting with Marquette. The Hoyas have lost four in a row overall and have fallen to 3-5 in the Big East. Their latest setback was a 65-57 loss at Cincinnati on Wednesday night in a game where their leading scorer DaJuan Summers suffered an injured ankle in the first half and did not return.

Marquette, led by senior guards Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews, are 7-0 and tied with Louisville for the conference lead. The ‘three amigos’ get adequate support scoring and rebounding from junior forward Lazar Hayward and in their last game, a 71-64 victory at Marquette, they were the only four players to score for the Golden Eagles.

Here are some pregame stories and previews:

Sharper Shot Helping McNeal Slice Through Defenses (Journal Sentinel)
Marquette Faces Off Against Georgetown (Cracked Sidewalks)
Georgetown Needs to Answer the Bell (Washington Times)

The Hoyas wrap up a stretch of three consecutive road games and things do not look to be getting any easier. After losing to Seton Hall and Cincinnati on the road, they now must face undefeated, in Big East play, Marquette and possibly without leading scorer DaJuan Summers.

“We’re struggling right now,” Hoya coach John Thompson III told the media during this week’s Big East coach’s conference call. “And our backs are against the wall. We just have to figure out how to claw our way out of the situation that we’re in.”

That might be easier said than done today. Marquette looks to be a team that can apply defensive pressure with aggressive backcourt play, something Georgetown has not been able to handle this season. Neither team is very deep nor are they extremely productive inside, so the Hoyas are not able to take advantage of Marquette’s weaknesses.

Georgetown will likely play a lot of zone defense and force the Golden Eagles to score on the perimeter. In the halfcourt game, that could pose some problems, however, look for the Marquette defense to force the tempo in their favor and create their scoring opportunities.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Marquette 70
Georgetown 62