GameCap - February 18 vs. Pittsburgh

In a game in which the Golden Eagles had the home crowd rocking from start to finish, Marquette came away with an 84-82 win over the 9th ranked Pitt Panthers. Pitt tried time and time again to take over the pace of the game, but the Golden Eagles limited the effectiveness of center Aaron Gray, and the Panthers were unable to establish an inside presence.

Gray was held to 10 points, and Pitt got their only significant scoring from Carl Krauser, who had 18 to go along with 5 assists. Fouls limited Levon Kendall to only 5 points in 19 minutes. Pitt was unable to dictate the flow of the game, and even though the Golden Eagles were content to play the Panther's physical type of game, Pitt could not come away with a W.

Steve Novak led all scorers with 27 points, and added 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Dominic James, looking for his 5th Big East Rookie of the Week award, added 16 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Guard Wes Matthews had his best game since returning from injury, scoring 13 points while adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The home crowd willed the team to victory, and the attendance was the largest to see a college basketball game in the state of Wisconsin. The team fed off the energy and held on to the game, even as the Panthers tried to take it away late. Marquette now has one home game remaining, March 4 against Providence.