Some more stuff on the Golden Eagles who will be visiting our Zoo.
ESPN provides a little more info on the Golden Eagles.
Marquette is 3-1 against Top 25 teams this season, and used back-to-back victories over ranked squads last week to climb back into the poll. The Golden Eagles dropped out of the Top 25 after losing their first two conference games, but have since won three straight, including a 74-65 victory over Louisville on Monday.
Marquette allowed an average of 72.0 points on 46.1 percent shooting in its two conference losses, but is giving up 65.7 points on 37.3 percent shooting during its win streak. “The most important thing is we’re starting to get better, we’re starting to learn how to play.” coach Tom Crean said. “Our team is building confidence.”
Dominic James, averaging a team-high 16.5 points, scored 18 to lead four Golden Eagles in double figures on Monday. James had 32 points and 11 rebounds in two games against Pitt last season as a freshman.
Marquette, which joined the conference last season, has never won four straight Big East games.
Marquette has no problem with knocking off Top 25 teams and ranked or not, they’re a scary team. Jay Bilas says Marquette has almost looked like a new team in the past few weeks (Insider subs.).
Marquette has really refined its playing style the past two weeks. In its past few games, Tom Crean’s team has taken 10 fewer 3-point shots per game, has shot 10 more free throws per game and has made more 3-point shots. The Golden Eagles have moved the ball better, attacked in transition better and attacked off the dribble more efficiently. Ousmane Barro has been more active; Dan Fitzgerald has been more of a threat; and the Marquette guards have benefited from both improvements.
The defense has been up all year as well. Jerel McNeal could be a defensive surprise of sorts and could make a bunch of small but solid defensive plays that in the end will add up.
Meanwhile, Marquette remains one of the best and most active defensive teams. The Eagles average 51 deflections per game, and Jerel McNeal averages 12.5 of them. As a comparison, Dwyane Wade averaged 12.2 deflections.
