BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE @ SOUTH FLORIDA

February 6, 2009


A Friday night special for the Big East tonight as Marquette heads south to take on the South Florida Bulls in a conference match-up. The Golden Eagles, under first-year head coach Buzz Williams are 9-0 in the Big East and riding a 12-game winning streak. Their last loss occurred in the Big East-SEC Challenge when they lost to Tennessee, 80-68.

The Bulls have lost three in a row and are now 2-7 in the Big East. The lone USF wins in the conference have come against DePaul. In their last game, South Florida was trounced, 65-48, by St. John's on the road and now face the hottest team in the Big East.


Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Men's Basketball Preview: Marquette vs. South Florida (Appleton Post-Crescent)
USF Bulls vs. No. 8 Marquette (St. Petersburg Times)
USF Hopes Break Helps as Big East Play Resumes (Tampa Tribune)
Game 23: South Florida (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)


While tougher games lie ahead for Marquette, the Golden Eagles continue to gain momentum and confidence as they run through the first half of the Big East schedule. Led by the senior trio of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Mathews and Dominic James and the productive junior forward Lazar Hayward, Marquette has a foursome as good as anyone, possibly, in the country. College basketball is geared towards a guard's game, and MU has a tremendous mix of experience and talent in their backcourt, a coach's dream.

The obvious weakness for Marquette is depth and size. Those shortcomings will be tested greatly in games ahead, but against South Florida that is unlikely to haunt MU. The Bulls are also top-heavy in the backcourt, led by sophomore Dominique Jones, one of the league's top scorers. The Bulls lack depth and size in the frontcourt as well and they will be unable to take advantage of Marquette's expected weakness, too.

The latest college basketball odds have Marquette as a 9 1/2-point road favorite. A couple seasons ago, MU barely escaped South Florida with a win as McNeal made a steal and lay-up just ahead of the buzzer for a win, so MU knows they need to be ready to play. With their senior guards, I expect them to be ready.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Marquette 81
South Florida 69