GameCap - January 28 at Pitt

I realize that this is a little late, but I was a little upset with the outcome of the game, so I wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of doing this, but here we go.

The Golden Eagles were outplayed by a bigger, more physical Pittsburgh team. Marquette had no one that could cover 7 ft. Junior Aaron Gray, who picked up 13 points in part because no one could stop him from getting his own rebounds. On two separate occasions he was able to get a basket on the fourth try. This largely accounted for his 20 rebounds. Antonio Graves and team leader Carl Krauser weren't too shabby either, picking up 19 and 16 points, respectively.

Marquette was led by Freshman Dominic James, who scored 16 while being limited to 30 minutes after aggrevating a shoulder injury that he had suffered in the first half. The Golden Eagles had led by as much as twelve, however once James left the offense seemed to lose all momentum. With Senior Steve Novak limited to under 10 points for the second straight game, the team was left without any high scorers. Ryan Amoroso added 14 off the bench, however many of those came in the first half, and from the outside which drew him away from the basket and out of position for what could have been key rebounds. Jerel McNeal continued to look like a freshman, committing 3 turnovers and shooting 0-4 from the charity stripe.

The outcome of the game, however, was ultimately reached by two things: Marquette's inability to rebound, and the fact that no one other than James played an overly good game. Marquette was outrebounded 45-29, and gave up 20 to center Aaron Gray alone. Conversely, the leading rebounders for the Eagles were Steve Novak and Dominic James, each with 6 while nursing injuries.

Pittsburgh is now 17-1 and extended its home winning streak to 13 games. Marquette is now 15-6 and remains the only new member of the Big East with a winning conference record at 5-3. Marquette next faces St. John's at the Bradley Center on Wednesday, I should have a game preview up by that morning, if not before.

That's all for now, if you guys leave enough comments or send me enough emails at robert.stack@mu.edu I will start a weekly mailbag segment where I'll post answers to your questions and comments.

Game Preview - January 28 at Pitt

On Saturday morning, the Golden Eagles will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 12th ranked Panthers. It will be the first Big East meeting between the two teams and first overall since March 2003 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Marquette advanced to the Elite 8 with a 77-74 win. The two teams have split four all time meetings. Pitt is a tough defensive team, ranking second in the Big East with only 59.9 points allowed per game.

The Golden Eagles (15-5, 5-2 Big East) are coming off a 62-47 win at the Bradley Center against the rival DePaul Blue Demons on Wednesday night. It was Marquette's third straight win and fourth in the last five games. Pittsburgh (16-1, 5-1 Big East) is coming off an 80-67 win over No. 25 Syracuse at home in the Panthers first game since suffering their first loss of the season against St. John's. They have a current 12-game home winning streak on the line.

Senior Carl Krauser is the only remaining Pittsburgh player that has faced Marquette. He is the team's scoring leader at 16.8 ppg. Marquette will also have to worry about Junior center Aaron Gray. The team's second leader at 13.1 ppg, he is also the leading rebounder, pulling down 10.4 boards per contest.

The Golden Eagles are led as always by Senior PF Steve Novak. He is team's leading scorer and rebounder at 16.3ppg and 5.9 rpg. Freshman PG Dominic James, three time Big East Rookie of the Week, is averaging 15.1 ppg and 5.8 apg. Pittsburgh will have to watch out for transer F/G Dan Fitzgerald, who is coming of a career best 18 points and 6 of 7 three point shooting against DePaul.

The game will be locally televised on Channel 41. I, however, will be watching the game from Buffalo Wild Wings on Water St. in Milwaukee.

Injury Notes
Marquette
Wesley Matthews-out (foot stress fracture)
Steve Novak-expected to play (sprained ankle)

Pittsburgh
None to report

5 Things I Think I Think

Here are five things that I think I've noticed thus far, in no particular order of course:

1. Dan Fitzgerald is the most underrated player on the team.
Dan comes out and plays good defense every night, and brings a good effort off the bench despite not being the go-to guy. Anyone who thought he was incapable of shooting the rock got an awakening Wednesday against Depaul with his 6-7 shooting from long range. He's been passing up too many open looks, but hopefully that will change as he hits more shots.

2. Steve Novak's ankle is fine.
True, he had an off night as far as shooting is concerned against DePaul, but I'm attributing that to limited practice time the last few days. He was able to move up and down the court without difficulty, and was able to pull down six rebounds. I really think that he was just a bit rusty and that's why he didn't shoot well. We'll find out for sure against Pittsburgh.

3. Tom Crean gives Jerel McNeal too long of a leash.
Jerel McNeal is an extremely talented player who will be great for Marquette in the not too distant future. But right now he is young and makes mistakes. He frequently forces the ball on the drive instead of kicking it out to Novak or Fitz on the perimeter. He was blocked way too many times against Cincinatti, and it happened again against DePaul. Crean allows him to stay on the floor and make more mistakes. If Crean would take him out occaisionally and tell him to be more patient, Jerel would learn from these mistakes and would mature as a player much faster.

4. Even without Novak, next year's team could be scary.
The three freshman guards all show tremendous potential, and all can score with ease as well as play tight defense. If some of the big men can improve on their rebounding and Dan Fitzgerald can make some outside shots, this could be a team that will make a deep run in the tournament.

5. The Gold Rush turnout against DePaul was disappointing.
DePaul is Marquette's biggest rival, and only a handful of students had to sit in the upper deck. Against both UCONN and Notre Dame those upper deck sections were filled. Back in the McGuire days, there would not have been an empty seat in the house at Mecaa when DePaul came to town. I'm very disappointed in all of you that stayed home.

Those are five things I think I think. I'll be back a little later to give a preview of tomorrow's game against Pitt.