Enjoy it while you still can.
With the Big East Conference in serious flux (we're looking at you Syracuse Pitt and West Virginia), this could be the last year this league is the flagship of college basketball. There hasn't been much of an argument regarding the best conference in the country since the Big East added basketball schools like Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati to go along with Big East founders Syracuse, UConn, Georgetown and Villanova.
So, with the college basketball season getting underway this evening, let's briefly preview each Big East team. We'll go in reverse order of predicted finish. You know, just to create some suspense.
16. DePaul: The Blue Demons are 2-52 in the Big East over the last three years, so it's no surprise why they find themselves anticipated at the bottom of the list again. But there could be hope for them to actually produce more than one conference win (hey, baby steps, people).
DePaul returns its top two scorers from last season in sophomore forward Cleveland Melvin (14.3 ppg) – the league's rookie of the year last season – and sophomore guard Brandon Young (12.6).
In Oliver Purnell's second season in Chicago, he has to show some signs of a turnaround or questions of job security could arise.
15. Providence: We might be lower on this team than other prognosticators. With the Keno Davis era over, Ed Cooley has some work to do. He has some holdovers who can contribute in junior guard Vincent Council and sophomore guard Gerard Coleman.
The Friars have exactly three upper classmen, so there could be some growing pains with a new coach and a young backcourt in an unforgiving league.
14. South Florida: The Bulls, like DePaul, are a program that has been seemingly overmatched since joining the Big East. Head coach Stan Heath is on the hot seat entering his fifth season at the helm and only one above-.500 season.
Heath will depend on senior big man Gus Gilchrist, who averaged 13.4 points and 6 rebounds last season. The offense will run through this talent, who needs to finally live up to his potential.
Supporting Gilchrist will be junior guard and high-flyer Jawanza Poland, who was second on the team in scoring last year. The Bulls also return sharp-shooter Shaun Noriega.
The key for the Bulls will be to find consistent scoring. USF averaged just 61.9 points per game and shot only 41 percent from the floor. The Bulls can guard, but can't suffer through those scoring droughts that have plagued them in recent years.
13. Seton Hall: The Bobby Gonzalez era is mercifully over for Pirates fans, and in Kevin Willard's first season SHU notched some signature wins at Syracuse and at home against Marquette. But the Pirates need to take that next step will have to do it without scoring extraordinaire Jeremy Hazell.
SHU loses its top two scorers from last season, but return streaky guard Jordan Theodore and mercurial big man Herb Pope, who finished near the top in the Big East in rebounding last year at 7.9 per game.
Seton Hall welcomes seven freshman into the fold, so there will be some growing pains, but don't be surprised if Willard turns this Pirate ship around in a couple of years.
12. Rutgers: In Mike Rice's second season, the Scarlet Knights have some nice pieces, but the program is still recovering from the Fred Hill era/disaster.
Sophomore forward Gilvydas Biruta looks to build on an eye-opening freshman campaign, finishing second on the team in scoring and rebounding. Biruta will be complemented inside by Dane Miller, a junior swingman who led the team in rebounds and was third in scoring.
It's worth noting the rest of these teams all made the NCAA Tournament last year.
11. West Virginia: The Mountaineers return three key starters in physical point guard Truck Bryant, rebounding machine and power forward Kevin Jones and skilled big man and forward Deniz Kilicii, but beyond that this team is extremely young with seven freshman on the roster.
Coach Bob Huggins will get the youngsters playing the tough trademark WVU defense in time, but before that happens this team will take its lumps in the Big East.
10. St. John's: Coach Steve Lavin proved he can still recruit by hauling in a top 5 recruiting class to replace last year's senior-laden team, which made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in quite a while for the Red Storm.
The Johnnies have no seniors and three juniors on the rosters to go along with a litter of freshmen. The raw talent is there and may help St. John's pull a few upsets in the Garden this year, but inconsistency will be the bugaboo of this young team.
9. Notre Dame: It looked like coach Mike Brey finally had a team that could go deep into the NCAA Tournament last year with a bunch of seniors and a deadly 3-point shooting team. Then the Irish ran into the nation's best defense in Florida State and the offense ground to a halt.
After gaining a No. 2 seed in the dance, Notre Dame failed to make the Sweet 16 and now Brey and company are back in rebuilding mode.
Sophomore guard Eric Atkins, who often played backup to guard Ben Hansbrough, will need to take a leadership role in the offense and create scoring chances for ND.
The Irish still have seniors Scott Martin and Tim Abromaitis, but both of them struggle to create offense on their own. The Irish won't outscored teams this year, so they'll have to again rely on the burn offense and strong team defense to scrap out wins.
8. Georgetown: In recent years, the Hoyas have been rated highly in the preseason and looked good in the non-conference, then would hit the skids around late February-early March and finish the season in disappointing fashion.
This year the Hoyas are not getting the national respect, but John Thompson III still has his Princeton-style offense intact and still has plenty of size (eight guys 6-8 or taller) to battle through the tough conference play.
The question mark will be guard play after G'Town has enjoyed efficient point guard play for so long. Look for junior forward Hollis Thompson to take the next step and seniors Jason Clark and Henry Sims to be the steadying leaders on the team.
7. Villanova: It seems odd to pick these Big East stalwarts this low, but I wonder just how much Jay Wright's team can bounce back from its epic collapse at the end of last season. The Wildcats started the season 16-1 and were a mainstay in the top 10 during the season. After that, Nova finished 5-11 including an embarrassing loss to South Florida in the Big East Tournament.
No doubt the Wildcats have backcourt talent in junior guards Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek, along with sophomore guard James Bell. But the Cats lack experience with five freshman and two sophomores with limited playing time on the team.
Mouphtaou Yarou will need to take the next step and be a consistent inside scorer for this team to play above its expectations.
6. Marquette: The Golden Eagles made a surprising run to the Sweet 16 last year after an inconsistent run through the Big East. MU loses two starters in Jimmy Butler and Dwight Buycks, but the emergence of junior point guard Junior Cadougan and addition of transfer Jamil Wilson should help mitigate the loss of those two players.
Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom are the unquestioned leaders of this squad and will create much of the offense for Marquette. If MU is going to be more consistent in Big East play, it will need steadier contributions from sophomore guard Vander Blue and junior big man Chris Otule.
5. Cincinnati: The Bearcats finally crack into the NCAA Tournament last year, only to run into conference counterpart Syracuse in the first round.
Cincy might be even better this year with addition by subtraction of Lance Stephenson. As always, Mick Cronin has athletes at his disposal and big man Yancey Gates will create problem for any opponent.
Junior guard Cashmere Wright can fill it up and sophomore guard Sean Kilpatrick looks to build off of an over-achieving freshman campaign.
For the first time in a long time there are high expectations for the Bearcats and you can count on Cincy at least giving maximum effort on defense under Cronin.
4. Louisville: The injury bug has hit the Cardinals early on with significant injuries freshman forward Wayne Blackshear and junior guard Mike Marra.
But Rick Pitino has a deep team as usual, which will play off of its pressure defense. Leading scorer and ball-handler Peyton Siva returns for his junior year and senior guard Kyle Kuric and junior forward Rakeem Buckles look to finally escape the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament this year.
The Cardinals are tough at home and will contend for the Big East title.
3. Pittsburgh: One thing you can count on with a Jamie Dixon team is toughness, and in the Big East, that goes a long way. Although the Panthers lose the services of Gilbert Brown, they return senior Ashton Gibbs, senior forward Nasir Robinson and junior guard Trevon Woodall.
Pitt can defend with the best of them and that mindset is what helped it win the Big East regular season title last year. On top of that, it's nearly impossible to defeat Pitt at home, so if the Panthers can manage a winning road record, they'll be right there for another Big East title at season's end.
2. UConn: The Huskies finished at .500 in conference play last year, but then ripped off 11 straight wins to capture the Big East and NCAA Tournament titles.
Obviously, UConn will miss its leader and game-finisher Kemba Walker, but return second-leading scorer Jeremy Lamb and welcome a talented freshman class, headlined by big man Andre Drummond.
The issue for the Huskies will be finishing close games as last year Walker was so good at it. Who will step up late in games this year for the Huskies?
However, UConn's rebounding and shot blocking will be there again and size goes a long way to a Big East title.
1. Syracuse: The Oranges roster is a who's who of prep talent, and Jim Boeheim gets the most out of his team's length with the employment of an aggressive 2-3 zone year after year.
If the upperclassmen, like junior guard Brandon Triche, senior guard Scoop Jardine and senior forward Kris Joseph, can live up to their billings, the Orange should have steady play throughout the season.
Add to that big man Fab Melo with one year under his belt, freshman forward Rakeem Christmas and long big man Baye Moussa Keita, and Syracuse goes deeper than any other Big East team.
This is the Oranges' year to win in their final year in the Big East.
Quick Predictions:
Big East Player of the Year: Kris Joseph
Coach of the Year: Mick Cronin
Newcomer of the Year: Andre Drummond
Big East Tournament winner: Louisville
NCAA Tournament teams: 8
Monday, November 7, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Big East Team Preview: Marquette
The Golden Eagles are buzzin'.
For the first time since head coach Buzz Williams's first season at the helm, Marquette is in the AP preseason top 25. Ranked 21st, the Golden Eagles are coming off their first Sweet 16 appearance since the 2003 Final Four run led by Dwyane Wade.
In the fourth season for Williams, this may be the most talented bunch since Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wes Matthews were seniors on campus. Here's a look at the Golden Eagles by position for the 2011-12 campaign:
Point guard: Junior Cadougan
The junior (yes, I will have to avoid saying "junior Junior Cadougan" this year) played in 36 games last year after missing most of his freshman season with an Achilles injury. Cadougan showed some promise down the stretch with solid games in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.
He'll need to step his game up another notch this season as he's taking over as the team's lead point guard, replacing Dwight Buycks. Cadougan guarded against turnovers better than Buycks, who was plagued by boneheaded turnovers in crucial moments (see: Wisconsin game), and once again Cadougan will need to distribute to the scorers and protect against turnovers.
Cadougan's weaknesses are shooting and on the defensive end. As far as shooting goes, he won't be asked to do much of that with plenty of scorers on the team, but on any Marquette team it's important to be able to defend your position. Too many times last season Cadougan was burned at the top of the key leading to scrambling rotations and open shots for the opponent. If Cadougan has improved his defense, expect more minutes for the Canadian.
His play-making is above average, but he'll need to be a consistent facilitator to make the MU offense go. Too often last season the offense was streaky due to shaky guard play and Cadougan needs to be the steadying influence to provide scoring.
Shooting guard: Darius Johnson-Odom
Speaking of providing scoring, there is a reason this senior from Raleigh, N.C., was named a preseason Big East All-Conference first-teamer. This dude can fill it up, and he can throw it down. Just check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hub-wK1GDfw
Or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtz9dCfiJ6s
DJO, as he is affectionately called by the MU fanbase, will need to be the straw that stirs the drink this season. Johnson-Odom returns as the team's top leading scorer at 15.8 points per game and will need to have that average closer to 20 points per game if the Golden Eagles are going to have success.
DJO suffered through a couple of shooting droughts last season, but the Golden Eagles can't have that this year. Johnson-Odom will need to show more control in the halfcourt offense – namely less turnovers – while still finding open teammates. He'll also take over the reins from Jimmy Butler as the team leader.
In short, this is a big year for DJO.
Small forward: Jamil Wilson
This sophomore transfer from Racine via the University of Oregon might be the most talented player on the team. Standing at 6-feet, 7-inches, Wilson has 3-point range and an ability to finish around the basket.
The knock on him since high school has been that he doesn't get the most out of his talent on a game-by-game basis. He tends to disappear for long stretches and can be frustratingly inconsistent.
But from what Buzz and the coaches have been saying, Wilson embraced his year off during the transfer and that dedication will be important to maintain throughout this season.
If Wilson plays up to his potential this season and becomes a scorer and solid decision-maker, he could vault MU from a top 25 team to a top 15 team.
Power forward: Jae Crowder
Buzz found another junior college gem last season when he brought this 6-6, 235-pound bowling ball into the fold. Crowder entered last season as a mildly-heralded newcomer, but became one of the team leaders, along with Butler, by the end of the season.
Crowder has 3-point range – he hit a huge triple in MU's win over Syracuse to advance to the Sweet 16 – but it's his inside skills and defense that were important to the Golden Eagles last season, and it won't be any different this year.
Crowder's ability to guard bigs while giving up four inches or more at times was key to compensate for MU's lack of size. He'll need to do that again this season, while at the same time staying out of foul trouble – a problem that plagued Crowder at times last year.
Crowder led the team in rebounding last season at 6.8 and is the top returner in steals. Crowder will need to boost his points per game total from 11.8 last year, and will likely get the extra shots to do so.
Center: Chris Otule
The problem that plagued the junior from Richmond, Texas in the past was staying healthy. Well, last season Otule seemed to find the solution, playing in all 37 games and starting in 35.
The new problem for the 6-11 big man was foul trouble. He led the team with 100 personal fouls last year in just 651 minutes played. That's an average of 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes – a ratio that has to go way down if he's going to build on his averages of 17.6 minutes, 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season.
Otule has grown leaps and bounds on the offensive end from his raw days as a freshman, but he won't be called on to put up 15 points per game this year. The spot were Otule can contribute most is on the defensive end with his shot blocking ability (1.5 average last year) and presence in the paint to cut off drives.
Otule needs to be the anchor at the back of the defense to erase on-the-ball mistakes, but to do that he'll need to avoid cheap fouls to stay on the floor.
Bench
In the rotation:
Vander Blue: The sophomore guard came in highly-regarded as MU's highest-ranked recruit since Doc Rivers. But, the Madison native looked largely overwhelmed in Big East play with out of control drives and no confidence in his jumpshot. He finished with just 5.1 ppg, but finished fifth on the team in total minutes largely because of his on-the-ball defense and hustle to loose balls. Blue still has time to live up to the hype, but he'll need to find a jumpshot and cut down on turnovers.
Davante Gardner: The sophomore center is built like a tank, which was both good and bad for him last year. His size allowed him to carve out space on the offensive end, enabling him to show off his deft post moves and soft touch. Unfortunately, his size also allowed him to pick up cheap fouls on the defensive end and hurt his ability to beat his man to the block, leading to easy buckets for the opponent. If Gardner wants to see more minutes this year, he'll have to cut down on fouls and work harder on defense.
Jamail Jones: The Adonis-like sophomore certainly looks the part, but there's more to basketball than passing the eye test. Jones struggled within the team defense and looked too timid offensively in his spot minutes last year (played in 18 games). But Jones showed an ability to shoot the 3 throughout his high school career. If he can commit to his defense, he'll get more minutes this year.
Newcomers
Juan Anderson: The 6-6 forward with length is the first MU recruit from the Golden State in recent history. He comes to MU with a unique skill set, size to play forward with the ball skills and passing to play guard. He's nursing a foot injury, but could find some minutes if he commits to defense.
Todd Mayo: Yes, he's the brother of O.J., but no, he does not bring the same baggage his brother brought to USC. The 6-3, 190-pounder is known best for scoring and stretching the defense. The freshman could find time backing up the No. 1 or No. 2, but it's unlikely he'll have a big impact this year with DJO and Blue in front of him at his best position.
Jake Thomas: The junior transfer from South Dakota played his high school ball at Racine St. Catherine's. What Thomas lacks in his 6-3, 185-pound frame, he makes up for in his shooting ability. He set a South Dakota record with 10 made 3-pointers in a game for South Dakota last season. He could be called in for short minutes this season when MU needs to stretch the defense.
Derrick Wilson: The 6-1, 215-pound point guard from Alaska might be the most college-ready of the newcomers. The freshman's physical frame and on-the-ball defense could get him in the rotation this season, providing a spell for Cadougan. Wilson is a pass-first guard who has the strength to hang tough in the Big East.
Notable Non-Conference Games
Nov. 18-21, Paradise Jam: The Golden Eagles will participate in a non-conference tournament with the Paradise Jam at the U.S. Virgin Islands. If they beat Winthrop in the first round on Nov. 18, the'll take on either Drake or Ole Miss in the second round No. 19. The final round games are Nov. 21. Drexel, Norfolk State, TCU and Virginia are also in the tournament.
Dec. 3, at Wisconsin: This is likely to be a matchup between a pair of ranked opponents and is always a heated rivalry. Marquette has lost the last two games to Bucky, but the teams are 2-2 in their last four meetings. A win in the Kohl Center will be tough, but not impossible. Since 2007, Wisconsin has lost only two non-conference games at home. One was to Texas in 2008, the other was to Marquette in 2007.
Dec. 6, vs. Washington: The Golden Eagles will be playing under the bright lights in Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic. This is a rematch of an 2010 NCAA Tournament opening round game in which the Huskies won by one point on their final possession. MU will have its work cut out for them against a talented team that is one of the contender for a Pacific 12 Conference title.
Dec. 29, vs. Vanderbilt: MU will host a top 10 team in the Bradley Center as part of a home-and-home series in which the Golden Eagles fell to the Commodores in the final possession last year (seeing a trend here?). Vanderbilt features at least three future NBA draft picks and Marquette will have to play well to pull the upset.
Quick Predictions
Regular Season Record: 21-10
Big East Finish: 11-7, sixth
Post-season: Big East, semifinals; NCAA, Sweet 16
Leading scorer: Johnson-Odom
Leading rebounder: Jae Crowder
Leading assist man: Junior Cadougan
So, that's a comprehensive look at the Golden Eagles player-by-player, as well as some key non-conference games and quick predictions.
Stay tuned for a preview the rest of the Big East with team capsules and in the near future we'll post the Big Ten team capsules. College basketball is right around the corner, and it's about time.
For the first time since head coach Buzz Williams's first season at the helm, Marquette is in the AP preseason top 25. Ranked 21st, the Golden Eagles are coming off their first Sweet 16 appearance since the 2003 Final Four run led by Dwyane Wade.
In the fourth season for Williams, this may be the most talented bunch since Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wes Matthews were seniors on campus. Here's a look at the Golden Eagles by position for the 2011-12 campaign:
Point guard: Junior Cadougan
The junior (yes, I will have to avoid saying "junior Junior Cadougan" this year) played in 36 games last year after missing most of his freshman season with an Achilles injury. Cadougan showed some promise down the stretch with solid games in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments.
He'll need to step his game up another notch this season as he's taking over as the team's lead point guard, replacing Dwight Buycks. Cadougan guarded against turnovers better than Buycks, who was plagued by boneheaded turnovers in crucial moments (see: Wisconsin game), and once again Cadougan will need to distribute to the scorers and protect against turnovers.
Cadougan's weaknesses are shooting and on the defensive end. As far as shooting goes, he won't be asked to do much of that with plenty of scorers on the team, but on any Marquette team it's important to be able to defend your position. Too many times last season Cadougan was burned at the top of the key leading to scrambling rotations and open shots for the opponent. If Cadougan has improved his defense, expect more minutes for the Canadian.
His play-making is above average, but he'll need to be a consistent facilitator to make the MU offense go. Too often last season the offense was streaky due to shaky guard play and Cadougan needs to be the steadying influence to provide scoring.
Shooting guard: Darius Johnson-Odom
Speaking of providing scoring, there is a reason this senior from Raleigh, N.C., was named a preseason Big East All-Conference first-teamer. This dude can fill it up, and he can throw it down. Just check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hub-wK1GDfw
Or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtz9dCfiJ6s
DJO, as he is affectionately called by the MU fanbase, will need to be the straw that stirs the drink this season. Johnson-Odom returns as the team's top leading scorer at 15.8 points per game and will need to have that average closer to 20 points per game if the Golden Eagles are going to have success.
DJO suffered through a couple of shooting droughts last season, but the Golden Eagles can't have that this year. Johnson-Odom will need to show more control in the halfcourt offense – namely less turnovers – while still finding open teammates. He'll also take over the reins from Jimmy Butler as the team leader.
In short, this is a big year for DJO.
Small forward: Jamil Wilson
This sophomore transfer from Racine via the University of Oregon might be the most talented player on the team. Standing at 6-feet, 7-inches, Wilson has 3-point range and an ability to finish around the basket.
The knock on him since high school has been that he doesn't get the most out of his talent on a game-by-game basis. He tends to disappear for long stretches and can be frustratingly inconsistent.
But from what Buzz and the coaches have been saying, Wilson embraced his year off during the transfer and that dedication will be important to maintain throughout this season.
If Wilson plays up to his potential this season and becomes a scorer and solid decision-maker, he could vault MU from a top 25 team to a top 15 team.
Power forward: Jae Crowder
Buzz found another junior college gem last season when he brought this 6-6, 235-pound bowling ball into the fold. Crowder entered last season as a mildly-heralded newcomer, but became one of the team leaders, along with Butler, by the end of the season.
Crowder has 3-point range – he hit a huge triple in MU's win over Syracuse to advance to the Sweet 16 – but it's his inside skills and defense that were important to the Golden Eagles last season, and it won't be any different this year.
Crowder's ability to guard bigs while giving up four inches or more at times was key to compensate for MU's lack of size. He'll need to do that again this season, while at the same time staying out of foul trouble – a problem that plagued Crowder at times last year.
Crowder led the team in rebounding last season at 6.8 and is the top returner in steals. Crowder will need to boost his points per game total from 11.8 last year, and will likely get the extra shots to do so.
Center: Chris Otule
The problem that plagued the junior from Richmond, Texas in the past was staying healthy. Well, last season Otule seemed to find the solution, playing in all 37 games and starting in 35.
The new problem for the 6-11 big man was foul trouble. He led the team with 100 personal fouls last year in just 651 minutes played. That's an average of 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes – a ratio that has to go way down if he's going to build on his averages of 17.6 minutes, 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season.
Otule has grown leaps and bounds on the offensive end from his raw days as a freshman, but he won't be called on to put up 15 points per game this year. The spot were Otule can contribute most is on the defensive end with his shot blocking ability (1.5 average last year) and presence in the paint to cut off drives.
Otule needs to be the anchor at the back of the defense to erase on-the-ball mistakes, but to do that he'll need to avoid cheap fouls to stay on the floor.
Bench
In the rotation:
Vander Blue: The sophomore guard came in highly-regarded as MU's highest-ranked recruit since Doc Rivers. But, the Madison native looked largely overwhelmed in Big East play with out of control drives and no confidence in his jumpshot. He finished with just 5.1 ppg, but finished fifth on the team in total minutes largely because of his on-the-ball defense and hustle to loose balls. Blue still has time to live up to the hype, but he'll need to find a jumpshot and cut down on turnovers.
Davante Gardner: The sophomore center is built like a tank, which was both good and bad for him last year. His size allowed him to carve out space on the offensive end, enabling him to show off his deft post moves and soft touch. Unfortunately, his size also allowed him to pick up cheap fouls on the defensive end and hurt his ability to beat his man to the block, leading to easy buckets for the opponent. If Gardner wants to see more minutes this year, he'll have to cut down on fouls and work harder on defense.
Jamail Jones: The Adonis-like sophomore certainly looks the part, but there's more to basketball than passing the eye test. Jones struggled within the team defense and looked too timid offensively in his spot minutes last year (played in 18 games). But Jones showed an ability to shoot the 3 throughout his high school career. If he can commit to his defense, he'll get more minutes this year.
Newcomers
Juan Anderson: The 6-6 forward with length is the first MU recruit from the Golden State in recent history. He comes to MU with a unique skill set, size to play forward with the ball skills and passing to play guard. He's nursing a foot injury, but could find some minutes if he commits to defense.
Todd Mayo: Yes, he's the brother of O.J., but no, he does not bring the same baggage his brother brought to USC. The 6-3, 190-pounder is known best for scoring and stretching the defense. The freshman could find time backing up the No. 1 or No. 2, but it's unlikely he'll have a big impact this year with DJO and Blue in front of him at his best position.
Jake Thomas: The junior transfer from South Dakota played his high school ball at Racine St. Catherine's. What Thomas lacks in his 6-3, 185-pound frame, he makes up for in his shooting ability. He set a South Dakota record with 10 made 3-pointers in a game for South Dakota last season. He could be called in for short minutes this season when MU needs to stretch the defense.
Derrick Wilson: The 6-1, 215-pound point guard from Alaska might be the most college-ready of the newcomers. The freshman's physical frame and on-the-ball defense could get him in the rotation this season, providing a spell for Cadougan. Wilson is a pass-first guard who has the strength to hang tough in the Big East.
Notable Non-Conference Games
Nov. 18-21, Paradise Jam: The Golden Eagles will participate in a non-conference tournament with the Paradise Jam at the U.S. Virgin Islands. If they beat Winthrop in the first round on Nov. 18, the'll take on either Drake or Ole Miss in the second round No. 19. The final round games are Nov. 21. Drexel, Norfolk State, TCU and Virginia are also in the tournament.
Dec. 3, at Wisconsin: This is likely to be a matchup between a pair of ranked opponents and is always a heated rivalry. Marquette has lost the last two games to Bucky, but the teams are 2-2 in their last four meetings. A win in the Kohl Center will be tough, but not impossible. Since 2007, Wisconsin has lost only two non-conference games at home. One was to Texas in 2008, the other was to Marquette in 2007.
Dec. 6, vs. Washington: The Golden Eagles will be playing under the bright lights in Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic. This is a rematch of an 2010 NCAA Tournament opening round game in which the Huskies won by one point on their final possession. MU will have its work cut out for them against a talented team that is one of the contender for a Pacific 12 Conference title.
Dec. 29, vs. Vanderbilt: MU will host a top 10 team in the Bradley Center as part of a home-and-home series in which the Golden Eagles fell to the Commodores in the final possession last year (seeing a trend here?). Vanderbilt features at least three future NBA draft picks and Marquette will have to play well to pull the upset.
Quick Predictions
Regular Season Record: 21-10
Big East Finish: 11-7, sixth
Post-season: Big East, semifinals; NCAA, Sweet 16
Leading scorer: Johnson-Odom
Leading rebounder: Jae Crowder
Leading assist man: Junior Cadougan
So, that's a comprehensive look at the Golden Eagles player-by-player, as well as some key non-conference games and quick predictions.
Stay tuned for a preview the rest of the Big East with team capsules and in the near future we'll post the Big Ten team capsules. College basketball is right around the corner, and it's about time.
Back from the Dead
After a way-too-long absence from my blog, I'm back. Energized by the NBA lockout, I'll be opining on all things college basketball from the preseason through the national championship in April – and that's a guarantee (mostly to hold myself to it).
The goal is to provide daily updates, starting Wednesday, Nov. 2 with the preview of my hometown Marquette Golden Eagles. I'm going to go through previews for each Big East and Big Ten team as those are the conference I will focus primarily throughout the season.
Also, I'll post some supplemental thoughts on brewtownsports.com where I am a contributor.
I hope everyone enjoys the basketball season and I'm looking forward to the season.
The goal is to provide daily updates, starting Wednesday, Nov. 2 with the preview of my hometown Marquette Golden Eagles. I'm going to go through previews for each Big East and Big Ten team as those are the conference I will focus primarily throughout the season.
Also, I'll post some supplemental thoughts on brewtownsports.com where I am a contributor.
I hope everyone enjoys the basketball season and I'm looking forward to the season.
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