Big East Sports Blog

Too much speed, a superior bench and Dominic James spelled an easy victory for No. 11 Marquette over Providence 96-67  in the Big East opener for both teams on Thursday night.  The Golden Eagles won their seventh straight, snapping Providence’s four-game losing streak in the process.  Marquette improves to 11-1, while Providence goes to 9-4.

Marquette was superior in every aspect of the game.  They won the rebounding edge 37-23.  Their bench came up huge, outscoring Providence’s bench 36-17.  The usual names for Marquette shined through in the form of Dominic James, Lazar Hayward, and Wesley Matthews, while the typical names for Providence,  Geoff McDermott and  Weyinmi Efejuku, struggled all evening.

James, Hayward, and Matthews avenged their 74-59 opening loss in conference play a year ago to Providence.  The trio combined for 54 points, with James leading the way scoring 21 points.  As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 88 percent from the free throw line, and 53 percent from the field.

For Providence, it was a difficult night from the field and the line.  Efejuku and McDermott combined for only 16 points, with Jeff Xavier and Brian McKenzie carrying the bulk of the offensive load.  McKenzie scored a team high 21 points and Xavier added 11.  The Friars missed 10 free throws (17-27), shooting only 63 percent from the line.

A telling stat on this night for why the Friars were on the wrong side of the tracks: Providence managed just 14 defensive rebounds, whereas Marquette snared 14 offensive rebounds.  The Golden Eagles stormed the glass all evening, beating up Providence with their superior physical play, and the Friars never came close to matching the intensity and toughness of Marquette. 

Marquette held a 41-32 halftime edge, but the Golden Eagles busted things wide open, using a 22-5 run to go up 63-37, essentially put this one in the books with 14 minutes to play.  Providence was unable to get any closer than 20 points for the duration of the second half.

Marquette will travel to Morgantown this Sunday at 2 p.m. when they meet West Virginia, while Providence will look to rebound from the loss when they visit DePaul on Saturday night at 8 p.m.

For the last four games, Marquette has been feasting on inferior competition, putting the rest of the Big East on notice; they’re geared up and ready to go.  Bring on conference play. 

The Golden Eagles let no doubt about this one, holding the Tigers to a measly 19 first half points and No. 13 Marquette went on to trounce Savannah State 77-37 on Saturday afternoon.  In the process, Marquette remains unbeaten at home (7-0 in the Bradley Center) and the Golden Eagles have now won six straight.

Despite their lone loss to Duke in late November, Marquette appears to be the hottest team in the Big East.  They’re playing very well at both ends of the floor and their defense has made it extremely hard to come by points early this year.  In nine of their eleven games this season, they’ve held their opponents to under 70 points.

Marquette held Savannah State to only 14 fields goals made in the game and the Tigers didn’t have a player score in double figures.  For the Golden Eagles, Dominic James and Lazar Hayward each had 12 points for Marquette, who shot 46 percent from the field in the game.  They shot 50 percent from three point land and imposed their will easily on the Tigers.  Savannah State defensively resembled Swiss cheese: holes everywhere.  They left Marquette players wide open and seemed to have left their defensive effort at the hotel. 

One thing has become painfully clear for Marquette’s opponents lately: if you don’t score early and if you’re defense doesn’t match the intensity Marquette is going to bring to the gym on that night, the Golden Eagles are going to run you right out of the building.  They’ve been gearing up for what’s to come now: Big East Conference play.  They’ll get their first sample of conference play on Jan. 3rd when they’ll put their 7-0 home record on the line against Providence.

Jerel McNeal and Dominic James each poured in 18 points, as #13 Marquette cruised to an 89-42 victory.  The Golden Eagles used a dominant 22-0 run in the second half, and held the Eagles scores for more than seven minutes.   Marquette notched their fifth straight win, running their record to 9-1.

Coppin State entered Friday night’s game struggling on offense, failing to score 40 points in their two previous games, and the defense Marquette played tonight didn’t help the problems Coppin State has encountered on offense, scoring 42 points on only 15 field goals and shooting 28 percent from the field.  The loss puts Coppin State at 3-9 on the year, after starting the season 3-2.

Coppin State had problems taking care of the basketball and getting their best offensive weapon going.  The Eagles turned the ball over 20 times, and were out-rebounded 36-22. 

Tywain McGee entered the game averaging 17.1 points per game, but the trio of James, McNeal, and Wesley Matthews shackled  McGee, holding him  zero field goal attempts in 22 points.  McGee finished with only two points, by way of the free throw line.

Very little went wrong tonight for Marquette.  The Golden Eagles had four players in double figures.  Their in-your-face pressure style defense took Coppin State out of their game, as they held the Eagles to only 18 second half points.  Brian Chesnut led Coppin State with 13 points.  The Eagles  have lost seven in a row and remained winless on the road. 

Marquette will be off until Saturday, Dec. 29th when they host Savannah State at 2 p.m.

Marquette picked up their eighth win on the year with an 80-56 win over IPFW.  The Golden Eagles had four players in double figures, lead by junior guard Dominic James who led all scorers with 17 points.  The defense of the Golden Eagles limited IPFW to 33% from the field, and 3-16 from three-point range.

With the win, the Golden Eagles remain undefeated at home, running their home record to 5-0.  Marquette took an 11-point lead into halftime, 29-18.  Out of the break, the Mastodons from IPFW went on a quick 8-2 run to trim the lead to five, but the Golden Eagles answered with 14-2 run of their own and never looked back.

Wesley Matthews added 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and Lazar Haywood chipped in with 14 points and pulled down 8 rebounds for Marquette. 

For the Mastodons, Jaraun Burrows led the way scoring 13 points, and Demetrius Johnson added 12 points and grabbed 7 boards.  The loss drops IPFW to 4-6 on season.

Marquette will host the Eagles from Coppin State this Friday, Dec. 21st at 8:30 p.m.