MU Opens Five-Game Homestand Saturday Against Sacramento State
Game notes:
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/marq/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/mu_sacnotes.pdfThe No. 10/13 Marquette men's basketball team opens a season-long five-game homestand Saturday afternoon when the team welcomes Sacramento State to the Bradley Center for the first-ever meeting between the two programs. The opening tip is slated for 1 p.m. ESPN+ is producing the broadcast, which will air locally on Time Warner Sports Channel 32. Dave Kaplan (play-by-play) and Bob Wenzel (analyst) will call the action. Saturday's matchup is the first of four-consecutive non-conference outings prior to the BIG EAST Conference lidlifter Jan. 3 versus Providence. The Golden Eagles will play seven of their next eight games in Milwaukee.
MU Completes State Sweep With Win Over UW
Marquette's 81-76 victory at Wisconsin was important for a number of reasons, including the fact the win allowed the Golden Eagles to claim both of their matchups versus instate opponents.
Marquette also defeated UW-Milwaukee 100-65 on Dec. 8 in the first meeting between the two programs since 1998. The Golden Eagles improved to 35-0 all time versus the Panthers, extending the NCAA's second-longest current winning streak over a single opponent.
MU's win at Wisconsin marked the program's first in Madison since 1997 and snapped the Badgers' 28-game home court winning streak. UW entered the game ranked 23rd in the nation, marking the first time the Golden Eagles had downed a ranked Badger squad on its home court.
James Claims Another Conference Accolade
Junior Dominic James has been named the BIG EAST Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon.
James led all scorers with 20 points in Marquette's 81-76 victory at No. 23 Wisconsin Dec. 8. He shot 7-of-15 from the field and also contributed six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals in 34 minutes of action.
The Richmond, Ind., native claimed the accolade for the third time in his career. He garnered the award on two occasions in 2006-07 and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week six times in 2005-06. James is the first Golden Eagle to claim the honor this season.
In his last two games, James is averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field.
Balanced Scoring Key To Success Early In 2007-08
While Marquette currently features three players (Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Lazar Hayward) ranked among the league's top scorers, the contributions of the team's fourth scorer have proven to be just as important to the team's success.
The Golden Eagles have featured four players in double figures in each of the team's seven games in 2007-08, helping the squad to a 6-1 start. While McNeal (15.7 ppg.), James (15.4 ppg.) and Hayward (12.6 ppg.) pace MU on the year, Marquette has also received double-figure efforts from Dwight Burke, David Cubillan, Dan Fitzgerald and Wesley Matthews.
Since the start of the 2006-07 campaign, the Golden Eagles are 20-4 when at least four players score 10-or-more points.
Burke Makes The Most Of His Minutes At Wisconsin
There were several important contributions in the win at Wisconsin, but it would be hard to argue none was more important than junior Dwight Burke's.
In just 17 minutes of action, Burke chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He shot 4-of-5 from both the field and the free throw line and seven of his boards came at the offensive end.
Even more impressive than his overall production against the Badgers was the timing of his scoring and rebounding. Having converted on just 44.3 percent of his career free throw attempts entering the game, Burke calmly sank a pair of charity tosses with 1:24 left to give MU a five-point lead. He also had several late offensive rebounds, which led directly to points in the closing minutes.
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