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Much has been made about undefeated Marquette’s high-octane offense. Its defensive efforts, however, also deserve some attention.
With point guard Junior Cadougan expected back following a one-game suspension, the 11th-ranked Golden Eagles look to extend their best start in five years Tuesday night when they face Washington in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Marquette (7-0), which last opened with eight consecutive wins in 2006-07, boasts one of the country’s most prolific offenses. The Golden Eagles rank in the top 10 nationally in field-goal percentage (50.9 percent) and are just outside the top 10 in points per game (84.1).
While that offense continues to shine, their defense has more than held its own. Marquette is limiting opponents to an average of 58.7 points on 34.9 shooting - including just 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles’ defensive prowess was on display during Saturday’s 61-54 victory at then-No. 9 Wisconsin. While Marquette struggled at the offensive end with Cadougan serving a one-game suspension for an unspecified violation of team rules, the defense held the Badgers to 32.0 percent shooting and their lowest scoring output of the season.
Given the circumstances, coach Buzz Williams was more than pleased with his team’s display.
“I think the reality speaks for itself,” he said.
Guard Vander Blue shared the same sentiment.
“We could have laid down and take the loss but that just shows the character of our team,” said Blue, who had a team-high eight rebounds. “No matter what, we’re going to fight for the end.”
Marquette could get back to its high-scoring ways with Cadougan, averaging 7.7 points and a team-best 6.3 assists, expected back versus Washington (4-2). Shots were falling for both teams when they met in the first round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, a game won by the Huskies 80-78 despite the Golden Eagles hitting 12 of 19 3s and getting 19 points from Darius Johnson-Odom.
Washington, which fell 77-64 at St. Louis on Nov. 20, is coming off its second loss in three games, a 76-73 overtime defeat at Nevada on Friday.
“We’ve been in this position in the past where we’ve had to learn, and we’ve caught on,” coach Lorenzo Romar, whose team committed 11 of its season-worst 21 turnovers in the first 11 minutes, told the school’s official website. “I’m confident we’ll be able to catch on again.
“By the time we get to the Garden, we’ll have put this behind us and we’ll be ready to go.”
Terrence Ross, who leads the Huskies with 16.2 points per game, had 18 and fellow guards C.J. Wilcox and Tony Wroten each scored 14. While Wroten has come up big off the bench, averaging 13.0 points, he’s committing 4.5 turnovers per game - second worst in the Pac-12.
The Huskies will need to be wary of a Marquette team forcing an average of 18.1 turnovers.
Washington has gone 4-0 in Seattle but is 0-2 on the road. Though Tuesday’s matchup isn’t a true road game, Romar knows his team needs to pick up the pace away from home.
“We did things to show we made progress from the last time we were on the road,” he said. “But not enough progress. We have to turn the page quickly. But not so fast that we don’t learn from our mistakes.”
The Huskies are 1-5 in their six most recent meetings versus ranked opponents - the last three of which have been decided by a combined six points.
Romar, now in his 10th season with Washington, again tries for his 200th win since joining the program.
Much has been made about undefeated Marquette’s high-octane offense. Its defensive efforts, however, also deserve some attention.
With point guard Junior Cadougan expected back following a one-game suspension, the 11th-ranked Golden Eagles look to extend their best start in five years Tuesday night when they face Washington in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Marquette (7-0), which last opened with eight consecutive wins in 2006-07, boasts one of the country’s most prolific offenses. The Golden Eagles rank in the top 10 nationally in field-goal percentage (50.9 percent) and are just outside the top 10 in points per game (84.1).
While that offense continues to shine, their defense has more than held its own. Marquette is limiting opponents to an average of 58.7 points on 34.9 shooting - including just 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles’ defensive prowess was on display during Saturday’s 61-54 victory at then-No. 9 Wisconsin. While Marquette struggled at the offensive end with Cadougan serving a one-game suspension for an unspecified violation of team rules, the defense held the Badgers to 32.0 percent shooting and their lowest scoring output of the season.
Given the circumstances, coach Buzz Williams was more than pleased with his team’s display.
“I think the reality speaks for itself,” he said.
Guard Vander Blue shared the same sentiment.
“We could have laid down and take the loss but that just shows the character of our team,” said Blue, who had a team-high eight rebounds. “No matter what, we’re going to fight for the end.”
Marquette could get back to its high-scoring ways with Cadougan, averaging 7.7 points and a team-best 6.3 assists, expected back versus Washington (4-2). Shots were falling for both teams when they met in the first round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, a game won by the Huskies 80-78 despite the Golden Eagles hitting 12 of 19 3s and getting 19 points from Darius Johnson-Odom.
Washington, which fell 77-64 at St. Louis on Nov. 20, is coming off its second loss in three games, a 76-73 overtime defeat at Nevada on Friday.
“We’ve been in this position in the past where we’ve had to learn, and we’ve caught on,” coach Lorenzo Romar, whose team committed 11 of its season-worst 21 turnovers in the first 11 minutes, told the school’s official website. “I’m confident we’ll be able to catch on again.
“By the time we get to the Garden, we’ll have put this behind us and we’ll be ready to go.”
Terrence Ross, who leads the Huskies with 16.2 points per game, had 18 and fellow guards C.J. Wilcox and Tony Wroten each scored 14. While Wroten has come up big off the bench, averaging 13.0 points, he’s committing 4.5 turnovers per game - second worst in the Pac-12.
The Huskies will need to be wary of a Marquette team forcing an average of 18.1 turnovers.
Washington has gone 4-0 in Seattle but is 0-2 on the road. Though Tuesday’s matchup isn’t a true road game, Romar knows his team needs to pick up the pace away from home.
“We did things to show we made progress from the last time we were on the road,” he said. “But not enough progress. We have to turn the page quickly. But not so fast that we don’t learn from our mistakes.”
The Huskies are 1-5 in their six most recent meetings versus ranked opponents - the last three of which have been decided by a combined six points.
Romar, now in his 10th season with Washington, again tries for his 200th win since joining the program.
