Mountaineers Battle Marquette
December 31, 2010 06:46 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia will have an early wakeup call on Saturday morning when the Mountaineers take on Marquette at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) in a Big East game that will be televised on ESPN2.
West Virginia (8-3, 0-1) has a quick turnaround after dropping its Big East opener on Wednesday night at home to St. John’s. The Red Storm controlled most of the game by outscoring West Virginia 40-6 in the paint. The Mountaineers chose to shoot 3s, trying 22 in the first half and 36 in all, making 13 for 36.1 percent.
“They beat us to the basket and they beat us in transition,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.
St. John’s had a 10-rebound advantage on the glass and shot 61 percent for the game to snap a 10-game losing streak to West Virginia.
Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 17 points while Truck Bryant added 14.
Marquette (9-4) is also coming off a loss Wednesday night at Vanderbilt, 77-76. The Golden Eagles had a chance to win the game at the end but turned the ball over before they could get off a game winning shot attempt.
Forward Jimmy Butler scored 15 points to lead five double-digit scorers. The Tromball, Texas resident leads Marquette in scoring (15.3 ppg.) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). Guard Darius Johnson-Odom is averaging 14.2 points per game and leads the team with 20 3s.
Marquette has five different players averaging double figures, while starting center Chris Otule shows averages of 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 81.5 points per game and are shooting 50.2 percent from the floor; Marquette also has a 38.3-33.1 advantage on the boards. Marquette’s four losses this year have come against top-quality opponents: Duke, Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt – all by five points or less.
West Virginia is averaging 76.5 points per game while giving up an average of 66.8. The Mountaineers have had trouble on the glass, showing just a four-rebound edge against their opponents. Rebounding and sharing the basketball are Huggins’ two major concerns with his team.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do or it’s going to be a long year,” said Huggins. “To a large degree the reason why we struggle on offense is because we don’t pass the ball. It’s not a matter of people not being open. They’ve been open for many years, we were just better at getting them the ball.”
Casey Mitchell (17.0 ppg.), Jones (13.2) and Bryant (11.7) are the team’s three leading scorers while senior forward John Flowers is pulling down a team best 6.8 rebounds per game. Flowers scored 4 points and grabbed three rebounds before fouling out against St. John’s.
Last year in Morgantown, West Virginia needed a buzzer-beating basket by Da’Sean Butler to defeat Marquette 63-62.
The two teams have played eight times with each winning four in all-time series play. West Virginia owns a slim 3-2 edge since Marquette joined the Big East.
MSN’s pregame coverage begins with the Coliseum Countdown at 10:30 a.m. ET.
West Virginia (8-3, 0-1) has a quick turnaround after dropping its Big East opener on Wednesday night at home to St. John’s. The Red Storm controlled most of the game by outscoring West Virginia 40-6 in the paint. The Mountaineers chose to shoot 3s, trying 22 in the first half and 36 in all, making 13 for 36.1 percent.
“They beat us to the basket and they beat us in transition,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins.
St. John’s had a 10-rebound advantage on the glass and shot 61 percent for the game to snap a 10-game losing streak to West Virginia.
Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 17 points while Truck Bryant added 14.
Marquette (9-4) is also coming off a loss Wednesday night at Vanderbilt, 77-76. The Golden Eagles had a chance to win the game at the end but turned the ball over before they could get off a game winning shot attempt.
Forward Jimmy Butler scored 15 points to lead five double-digit scorers. The Tromball, Texas resident leads Marquette in scoring (15.3 ppg.) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). Guard Darius Johnson-Odom is averaging 14.2 points per game and leads the team with 20 3s.
Marquette has five different players averaging double figures, while starting center Chris Otule shows averages of 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
The Golden Eagles are averaging 81.5 points per game and are shooting 50.2 percent from the floor; Marquette also has a 38.3-33.1 advantage on the boards. Marquette’s four losses this year have come against top-quality opponents: Duke, Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt – all by five points or less.
West Virginia is averaging 76.5 points per game while giving up an average of 66.8. The Mountaineers have had trouble on the glass, showing just a four-rebound edge against their opponents. Rebounding and sharing the basketball are Huggins’ two major concerns with his team.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do or it’s going to be a long year,” said Huggins. “To a large degree the reason why we struggle on offense is because we don’t pass the ball. It’s not a matter of people not being open. They’ve been open for many years, we were just better at getting them the ball.”
Casey Mitchell (17.0 ppg.), Jones (13.2) and Bryant (11.7) are the team’s three leading scorers while senior forward John Flowers is pulling down a team best 6.8 rebounds per game. Flowers scored 4 points and grabbed three rebounds before fouling out against St. John’s.
Last year in Morgantown, West Virginia needed a buzzer-beating basket by Da’Sean Butler to defeat Marquette 63-62.
The two teams have played eight times with each winning four in all-time series play. West Virginia owns a slim 3-2 edge since Marquette joined the Big East.
MSN’s pregame coverage begins with the Coliseum Countdown at 10:30 a.m. ET.
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