BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE @ CINCINNATI

February 2, 2008


Saturday's action with an extremely interesting game to dissect. Marquette hits the road to meet the Bearcats of Cincinnati in a Big East battle that was a heated C-USA rivalry previously. Marquette is coming off an uninspiring 62-54 win over South Florida. Marquette has not been shooting the ball well lately and they have virtually given up any hope of an inside game.

Cincinnati is coming off a stunning 62-39 win at West Virginia. The victory was definitely a surprise, but the complete offensive meltdown by the Mountaineers was historical in nature. Cincinnati limited WVU to 10-50 shooting from the field and 1-20 from the 3-pt arc.

Marquette has yet to win on the road in Big East play. They have lost at West Virginia, Louisville and Connecticut and none of the games have been really close. The loss at WVU was close throughout until a late run by WVU made it look worse than it was, but by the same token, the 16-pt loss to UConn was not nearly that close.

What has made Cincinnati so tough is that they have embraced the defensive-first mentality that Mick Cronin has gotten them to use to win games. This is not an extremely talented group offensively, but they are athletic and strong at most positions. They have some experience and a lot of youth, but they have found a style that works to win games and have used it well.

Their big threat offensively is Deonta Vaughn who can put up some relly big scoring numbers. He will be matched against the tough Marquette backcourt and this could slow him down. When Vaughn is struggling to score points, Cincinnati also struggles. The Bearcats have continued to win, however, because they have brought forth the effort defensively and on the boards more consistently than last season.

Rebounding is a big area of concern for Tom Crean when it comes to his club. In fact, it looks like he has just given up, for the most part, in trying to find a big man that will defend the post and rebound and is now using a line-up of his three stud guards and a couple wing forwards, Lazar Hayward and Dan Fitzgerald, in the frontcourt to fill most of the minutes. The backcourt is deep with Maurice Acker and David Cubillan behind Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Mathews and they will look to hound Vaughn on the perimeter and make life difficult for Jamual Warren handling the ball. UC will try and make this group beat them from shooting outside and will likely to go zone to stop the dribble penetration of the MU guards. The Golden Eagles will have to prove to teams they can make the shots to defeat a zone.

I see this game being played right into the hands of Cincinnait. Low pace, low scoring with the Bearcats and Golden Eagles in a race to get to 60. Cincinnati won at Louisville playing this style and beat Pittsburgh at home in this manner.

Marquette is going to come motivated for a road win. Being 0-3 on the road in the Big East has many questioning the quality of the team. I think they will produce enough offense from their defense to pull the game out, but it will be the proverbial Big East 'rock fight', I am sure.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Marquette 61 Cincinnati 58