Written by
The Sports Network
Rosemont, IL (Sports Network) - Coming off a humbling loss, the Marquette
Golden Eagles will try to bounce back tonight against the DePaul Blue Demons
in a Big East Conference battle at Allstate Arena.
This will be the 111th meeting in the all-time series. Marquette leads the
series 66-44 after a dominant 94-64 victory on Jan. 18th, 2011 last season.
The Blue Demons did however pick up a 51-50 victory in their last encounter
with the Golden Eagles in Rosemont.
Head coach Buzz Williams has led his team to a 19-5 overall record, as it fell
to 8-3 in Big East action after a 76-53 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish
on Saturday. The Golden Eagles struggled offensively in the loss to the Irish
as they were held under 40 percent shooting from the field and set a season-
low with a three-point percentage of .154. Marquette is now 2-3 on the road in
Big East games this season. The Golden Eagles have one of the best offenses in
the Big East, as they are ranked second in scoring offense with an average of
75.4 ppg on 45.3 percent shooting from the field.
Marquette is led by its star seniors Darius Johnson-Odum and Jae Crowder.
Johnson-Odom is leading the team with 18.0 ppg on 44.3 percent shooting from
the floor. The senior guard has been consistent as he has scored in double-
figures in all of his appearances this season. Crowder is second on the team
in scoring (16.0) and the teams top rebounder with 7.5 boards per game.
Crowder is also making a difference on the defensive end with 2.3 steals per
outing. Davante Gardner, Todd Mayo, Vander Blue, and Junior Cadougan are
decent role players who add depth that makes Marquette nearly impossible to
match up with.
Head coach Oliver Purnell has led his DePaul team to a 11-11 overall record,
but just a 2-8 mark in Big East action after its 74-66 loss to Cincinnati on
Sunday. The Blue Demons pulled down a season-high 40 rebounds in the loss to
the Bearcats, but still found themselves on the losing end after they
committed 18 turnovers. Although DePaul is serviceable on the offensive end in
league play with an average of 7-.5 ppg, it has the worst scoring defense in
Big East action with an allowed average of 80.8 ppg. Conference foes have
connected on 51.3 percent of their field goal attempts against DePaul.
Cleveland Melvin is pacing DePaul with 18.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
The sophomore forward recorded his second-straight double-double his last time
out as he finished with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in the team's
loss to Cincinnati. Brandon Young is second on the team in scoring (15.5) and
the top passer with an average of 5.0 assists per outing. Young has averaged
11 points and nine assists per game in his last two games. Jeremiah Kelly
provides a scoring spark off the bench for DePaul, while freshman Jamee
Crockett continues to improve while starting at small forward.
The Sports Network