.PNG&w=244&h=193&zc=1 "Throwback Thursday: Cincinnati vs East Tennessee State March 19, 2004")
Know Your Opponent: Marquette Golden Eagles
Tomorrow afternoon at 3 on ESPNU, the Cincinnati Bearcats finish up their 2 game road trip at historical rival Marquette. The Bearcats and Golden Eagles have been going to war since the Conference USA days. Ever since the mid-2000s, this was the main rival on the floor. That has faded quite a bit since the teams joined the Big East. That's a shame. I still remember the great battles that the Bearcats had against the Dwyane Wade led teams of the past. Because I'm old. This is the toughest game Cincinnati has left on the schedule. Team Rankings gives the Cats a 20.2% chance of winning. Marquette was the game last season that the Bearcats swiped to make their final push towards the NCAA tournament. It was a hard fought win and got the Bearcats on the path of where they wanted to go. This season, the Bearcats once again travel to the Bradley Center late in the year for a huge game that will get them on the direction they are going. Getting a win here would be huge. There are only 7 more of these games left. Let's win them all.
Stats are conference only. From stat sheet.
Record: 17-7, 7-4
Coach: Mick Cronin: 104-84, 1-3 vs Marquette
Vs Marquette: 25-18
In Milawaukee: 9-9
Last Meeting: 67-60 March 2, 2011
Road: 10-4
RPI: 96
SOS: 141
G: Sean Kilpatrick - The Cincinnati small forward/shooting guard is playing 34 minutes a game with 15.2 points. Kilpatrick uses 21.4% of the Cincinnati possessions with a 113.8 offensive rating. He's 28-59 from 2 and 31-81 from 3. He's made and taken the 3rd most 3s in the league. His 38.3% ranks him 7th. Kilpatrick gets to the line only when someone makes him, just a 19.2 rate (attempts per every 100 shots). He's made 18-27. That's only 67%, which is also no great shakes. Kilpatrick is pulling in 5 rebounds a game, 3.5% of all the available offensive boards and 13.5% of the available defensive. He has 20 assists to 13 turnovers. That gives him an assist turnover ratio of 1.5, which is alright. SK has 12 steals. Kilpatrick played pretty well against St John's. The zone did take away some of his shot attempts. It'll be interesting to see how Marquette guards him. But as St John's found out, all SK needs is a few shots to turn the game around.
G: Dion Dixon - The senior from nearby Chicago is getting 35 minutes a game with 13.3 points. He's using 22.4% of the UC possessions with a 104.8 offensive rating. Dixon is 34-82 on 2s and 17-64 on 3s. Even after dropping a couple against St John's, that's not a pretty percentage from deep. After getting to the line at will against DePaul, Dixon didn't against the Storm and is down to a 23.9 free throw rate. 80% foul shooters need to shoot free throws. Am I wrong in thinking this? I don't think I am. Since we are best friends I can speak freely, get your ass to the foul line Dion. Dixon is pulling in 2.9 boards, 5.4% offensive, 3.3% defensive. He really neglects defensive rebounds. They aren't spinach. Dixon has 30 assists to 12 turnovers. His 2.5 ratio is good for 4th in the Big East. He's 9th in the BE with 21 steals and steals per game 1.9. His 3.3 steal pct is 12th. We've seen very well rounded basketball from Dixon lately. He's passing more, stealing a lot, occasionally rebounding better. He needs to rebound and get to the foul line more. It's a necessity.
G: Cashmere Wright - The point guard is playing 30 minutes a game with 10 points per game. Back to 10, good. He's using 22.5% of the UC possessions with a 98.5 offensive rating. He's 22-66 on 2s and 18-46 on 3s. That 33% looks a lot better than 26%. Cash has been to the line 18 times, making 12. Very low free throw rate for a point guard. Wright is pulling in 4 boards a game, 3.9% of offensive, 10.8% of defensive. Who knew getting a double double would raise your rebounding stats so much? He has 47 assists, 10th in the BE, to 23 turnovers. His 2 a/t ratio is 9th in the league. The one thing that dropped in the StJ game. Cash is 4th in the BE in steals with 27, 3rd in steals per game, 2.45, and 4th steal pct, 4.9. Wright is 27th, 18th and 21st in those steal categories nationally. When people think of Cashmere Wright, great defender is not one of the first things that springs to mind. Maybe it should be. He knows how to get in passing lanes and has great anticipation. He's one of the thieves in America. Keep dribbling wide, Big East
F: JaQuon Parker - JaQuon Parker is playing 23 minutes a game with 7.1 points. He's using 18.3% of the UC possessions with a 99.4 offensive rating. He's 17-46 on 2s, 10-26 on 3s. He has cooled off a whole lot lately. He needs to get back to taking shots in the rhythm of the offense. Parker gets to the foul line at an ok rate. He's made 14-21. JaQuon is pulling in 4.1 rebounds a game. He's getting 5.2% of the offensive rebounds and 15% of defensive. He has 9 assists to 10 turnovers. That's not really amazing. He has 9 steals. That has come up a lot lately. Parker has wrestled the role of starter back from Justin Jackson. He seems to be finding his footing against offensively. He's not getting exploited on defense that much anymore. At least against the smaller teams. Just need him to knock down shots.
F: Yancy Gates - Gates is playing 29 minutes a game with 12 points per. Yancy is using 20.2% of the UC possessions with a 119 offensive rating. Gates is 50-91 from the field, 55%. Yancy Gates has been straight up dominant lately. The lack of big men in the Big East has let Gates feast and feast he has. He gets to the line at a 37.3 rate, making 59%. That needs to be better. Gates is pulling in 8.9 rebounds a game, 4th in the league. His 35 off-rebs (told you it was a thing) are 6th in the league. His 3.5 a game are 4th. He's getting 12.2% which is a disappointing by comparison 12th. Gates is 9th in the BE with 5.4 defensive boards. His 22% is 2nd in the BE. That's a much better statistic. Should have listed it first. Gates has 5 assists to 7 turnovers. That doesn't change a lot. Gates has 5 steals and 7 blocks. He's getting called for 3 fouls a game. It has been a problem lately. It was against St John's, but not a major one because UC won by 20.
Bench: Justin Jackson - Jackson is playing 22 minutes a game with 5.2 points per. Haven't heard anything new on him, so I assume he'll play. He's using 15.6% of the UC possessions with a 101 offensive rating. Jackson is 23-49 from the field 47%. If not for those 4 three attempts, he would be at 50%. Jackson is 11-20 at the foul line. He's 18% better than last season. Jackson is still not rebounding, 3.2 rebounds a game. From your power forward. He's getting 7.3% of offensive and 8.1% of defensive. Magic Jackson has 16 assists to 12 turnovers, which is exactly the same since before the last game. Jackson has 12 steals. His 3% steal pct is 17th in the BE. He's blocked 12 shots. That's 17th in the league. He's 15th in blocks per game. Jackson is 13th with a 5.1 block pct. Jackson continued his ugly offensive game against St John's. How limited he will be tomorrow is a mystery.
Cheikh Mbodj - The big man is playing 11 minutes a game with 1.9 points per. He's 8-23 from the field, which is not good. He's made 3-7 free throws. 13's job is to rebound. He's pulling in 3.3 a game. He's getting 13% of the offensive boards and 20.6% of the defensive. He is cleaning the glass. He has 2 assists to 3 turnovers. 13 has blocked 12 shots. It was a block party and everyone on St John's was invited. He's also committed 19 fouls. He's given solid minutes lately, which is all you can ask for from your reserve big.
Jeremiah Davis - Davis is playing 9 minutes a game with 2.6 points. He's using 19% of the UC possessions. He's 7-18 on 2s and 5-15 on 3s. Davis has only made 2 of 7 free throws. Really bad. He has 9 rebounds, 7 defensive. He's got 6 assists to 4 turnovers. Jeremiah has 4 steals. He's really getting after it on d. Not the best on ball defender, but he tries. He looked a lot more confident in his offensive game the other day. Hopefully that keeps up.
Ge'Lawn Guyn - Guyn is playing 9 minutes a game. He's 4-14, 1-8 from 3, 1-2 at the foul line. Guyn has 7 defensive rebounds. He has 3 assists to 4 turnovers. Guyn has 6 steals. A 5.1 steal pct is very good. His defense has been good. Guyn didn't wear a headband for the last game and got dunked on. Headband Ge'Lawn, head band. I liked what I saw in the extended minutes he got the other game. He can play.
Jermaine Sanders - Sanders is playing 6.4 minutes a game, but hasn't played in 2. He got first half minutes and garbage time minutes against St John's. He's 1-4 shooting and 1-2 at the foul line. Liked to see him put up shots. He has 7 rebounds, 2 offensive. He has 7 assists to 3 turnovers. Don't know how consistent his playing time will be the rest of the season. Gotta keep your head up and be ready, 15.
Record: 20-5, 9-3
Rank: 18/19
Coach: Buzz Williams 89-42
Home: 12-1
RPI: 12
SOS: 34
G: Darius Johnson-Odom - DJO is one of my favorite players in the league. He's playing 35 minutes a game with 19 points per. That's 2nd in the BE. He uses 25.2% of the Marquette possessions with a 107.1 offensive rating. He's made the 3rd most FGs with the 2nd most attempts, 76-179. He's 43-99 on 2s. DJO is 2nd in 3s made, 4th in 3s attempted and 5th in 3% by going 33-80, 41.2%. When he makes a 3, the Marquette people call him 3JO. I kind of love it. He's 7th in FTs made, 8th in FTs attempted and 13th in FT%, 43-55, 78%. DJO gets to the line at a 30.7 rate. Johnson-Odom is pulling in 3.5 boards a game, 1.6% of the offensive, 9.7% defensive. If he wins the game on a put back, feel free to break things. He has 33 assists to 30 turnovers. He turns it over a lot. DJO has 13 steals. He's called for 2 fouls a game. He's an elite guard. Wonder who sticks him. I'm guessing SK.
G: Junior Cadougan - The junior guard, not a pun, plays 30 minutes a game with 5.9 points. He uses 16.8% of the Golden Eagle possessions with a 95.4 offensive rating. Nearly all of his shots are 2 points off drives and pull ups. He's 20-56, 36%. He's just 4-14 from deep. He gets to the line a ton, a 62.5 rate. That's 62.5 FT attempts per 100 shot attempts unless I'm horribly mangling that stat. He's a 77% foul shooter. 38% of his points come from the stripe. He gets 1.8 boards a game, all but 2 of his total rebounds were defensive. Cadougan has 72 assists, which is 2nd in the league and 24th in the nation. His 6 per game are 22nd in the NCAA and 2nd in the BE. His 34.5 assist pct is 4th in the league. He has 33 turnovers. His 2.2 a/t ratio is 5th in the BE. Junior's turnover pct is 31.7, the 6th worst in the conference. He's 16th in steals with 18. Solid guard who knows his role.
G: Vander Blue - The man with the awesome name is getting 23 minutes a game with 7.3 points per. He's using 21.1% of the Eagle possessions with a 96.8 offensive rating. Blue is another guy who takes nearly all 2s and gets to the line a lot. He's 32-70 from the field, 2-9 from deep. That's a solid 46%. He's been playing very well lately, with 16, 12 and 16. Unlike Cadougan, Blue is a poor foul shooter, 58%. He rebounds pretty well, 4.5 a game. He's getting 7.4% of the off-rebs and 14.7% of the d-rebs. Blue is a good passer. He's 16th in the BE with 35 assists. He has 24 turnovers for 1.5 a/t ratio. He doesn't get steals or blocks or foul very much. He kind of disappears on defense until he skies for a rebound. In a year or two, he's going to be very good.
F: Jae Crowder - The senior forward who Mick Cronin wants JaQuon Parker to play like even though Parker is 6-3 and Crowder is 6-6 is playing 34 minutes a game with 14.7 points. Crowder uses 18.6% of the Eagle possessions with a 118.8 offensive rating. That's 10th in the league. Crowder is 45-82 on 2s, which is 55%, and 19-51 from deep, 37%. Both of those are pretty good. That's why he's pretty good. Crowder is 29-38 at the foul line, 76%, with a 28.5 rate. He pulles in 7.8 rebounds a game, 11th in the BE. Crowder is a great defensive rebounder. He's 3rd with 74, 4th in d-reb per game 6.2 and pct at 20.6. He gets 5.6% of the offensive rebounds. Crowder has 24 assists to 15 turnovers, a 1.6 ratio. He is 3rd in the nation and 2nd in the league with 35 steals. He's 2nd in the BE and 6th nationally with 2.9 steals a game. He's 22nd and 5th with a 4.9 steal pct. He's also 12th in the Big East in blocks with 14. Crowder does get 2.5 fouls a game called on him. UC would be best advised to use them because Crowder is a hell of a player. Gotta slow him down.
F: Jamil Wilson - Wilson is playing 25 minutes a game with 8 points per. He's using 17% of the Marquette possessions with a 108.9 offensive rating. He's only 38-90 from the field, 42%, 4-9 from deep He's coming off 18 on 8-11 shooting against DePaul. DePaul is the cure for offense, don't ya know. Wilson is a nice free throw shooter for a big guy, 68%. He's getting 4.2 rebounds. He's good on the offensive glass, 9.5%. He gets 9.7% of the defensive boards, which is probably a little disappointing. Wilson has blocked a shot in 9 straight games. He's 7th in the BE with 18 blocks in conference play. He has 16 assists to 8 turnovers. That a/t ratio of 2 is 9th in the league. He has 10 steals. A very solid defender who is smart with the ball. When you have guys who can score, that's all you need. He's not the best with fouls, 2.9 a game. He could have trouble with Gates.
Bench: Davante Gardner - Is injured and listed as doubtful. If by some miracle he plays, he's getting 12 points per game on 58%, makes 71% of his free throws, is 4th in the BE in offensive rebound % at 14.7 and fouls a lot.
Todd Mayo - He is OJ Mayo's brother. Todd is playing 22 minutes a game with 7.4 points. He's using 18.7% of the Eagle possessions with a 99.8 offensive rating. He's 19-37 from 2 and 9-32 from 3. One of those is over 50%, the other 28%. Should probably drive more. Mayo gets to the line at a solid 39% rate. He's money at the stripe, 24-27. His 89% is 2nd in the BE. He's been slumping lately. Mayo is 3-18, 0-8 from 3 from the field the past 5 games. He's gone 2-2 at the line in the past 6 games. Mayo doesn't rebound much, 2.7 a game, 6.6 off-reb, 7.3% d-reb. He has 12 assists to 20 turnovers. He's a lot. Mayo has 5 steals and a block. He's been whistled for 2.2 fouls a game, which seems like a lot for the short minutes. He's in for his offense. He can be a microwave.
Derrick Wilson - Wilson is playing 6 minutes a game. He's scored 7 points in Big East play on 3-4 shooting. 6 of those points have come in the last 2 games. He's getting 2 segments a game the past 4. He has 8 rebounds, 6 defensive. He's got 5 assists to 2 turnovers. 4 steals. Wilson has 15 fouls. His plus minus is -28, which is a lot.
Jamail Jones - A 6-6 sophomore guard who is getting 6 minutes a game. He hasn't played in 4 games in conference play. He is a spot rotation guy. All 8 of his points came in the ND blowout. He's 4-14 from the field, 4-9 in that game. He has 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 5 turnovers. If he's in for extended minutes, someone is in foul trouble or injured or it's a blowout.
Juan Anderson - Anderson is playing 4.5 minutes a game. He didn't play against DePaul. He hasn't played in 3 of the conference games. He's 2-4 from the field, 0-2 at the foul line. He has 7 rebounds, 6 defensive. He has 2 assists to 4 turnovers.
Paw Points
The road team has won 4 of the last 5 meetings.
UC has won their last 3 road games against ranked opponents, Pitt, Georgetown and UConn. Of course it should be pointed out that 2 of those 3 are no longer ranked and kind of suck.
It's a gold out for Marquette. Look for lots of yellow shirts. It's also National Marquette Day. Ok.
Marquette falls behind early. They did against Louisville, Nova, Seton Hall and DePaul the other day. They bounce back well. They did fall down big early against Vandy and Syracuse and lose.
As you can tell, Marquette is very short on the bench. I expect UC to press a lot and try to wear them down. Look for a suffocating defensive effort.
Marquette is 2nd in scoring margin in the league at 5.3. They are the 4th most efficient team at 1.06 points per possession. UC is 6th at 1.03. Defensively, Marquette is 8th at 0.98 ppp. UC is 6th at 0.98.
Marquette is one of the best shooting teams in the league. They are 3rd in FG% at 44.6, they are 4th in effective FG% at 49.8, that counts 3s, they are 2nd in true shooting%, which counts 3s and FTs at 54. UC is near the bottom of the league in all 3. Both Marquette and Cincinnati are middle of the pack defensively in those stats. UC is a bit better in all 3.
Marquette has attempted the 2nd most FTs in the league and has the 4th highest FT rate. UC has given up the 2nd fewest FT attempts and is tied with ND for the lowest rate. Marquette is middle of the pack. Don't expect a ton of free throws tomorrow.
Marquette has attempted the 6th fewest 3s in the Big East, but have made the 4th most. Their 36% is second to Providence. Defensively, Marquette has given up the 5th most made 3s at the 5th wost percentage. That could fare well for UC.
Cincinnati and Marquette are extremely similar when it comes to rebounding. Cincinnati is worse at offensive rebound percentage. Cincinnati is geting 49.4% of rebounds, Marquette 49.9%. Whoever wins the rebounding battle will have a huge advantage.
Marquette is the best assisting team in the league by far. They average over 17 a game, they assist on nearly 68% of ther field goals. Cincinnati assists on 52.7%. The passing rubs off on other teams. Marquette's opponents average 15.4 assists a game.
Marquette turns it over the 5th fewest times a game, 13. Cincinnati turns it over 9, which is the fewest. However, Marquette has forced the highest number of turnovers and therefore the most per game, with the 3rd best turnover percentage, 23.2%. Cincinnati is 7th. The Bearcats are tied for 2nd in the league in steal percentage at 13.5%. UC opponents have a steal percentage of 6.
The teams are 7th and 8th in fouls per game. UC is drawing the fewest fouls in the league, 15 a game, Marquette has drawn the 3rd most at 19.4. A tight game could hurt UC. It could really hurt the thin Golden Eagles.
Prediction
This is a huge game for the Bearcats. I don't suspect many people think they will win at Marquette again. I think there is a high chance that they could steal this one. I'm going to say that they do. I feel the team knows how important this road trip is, and they know that they can sweep it. Marquette is tough and they will give UC a lot of problems. Problems the Bearcats will have answers for. It'll be a throw back, high level of play game. Just like when Steve Logan and D-Wade were on the floor. Just like back then, I think UC takes it late.
Cincinnati 63 Marquette 62
Stats are conference only. From stat sheet.
Record: 17-7, 7-4
Coach: Mick Cronin: 104-84, 1-3 vs Marquette
Vs Marquette: 25-18
In Milawaukee: 9-9
Last Meeting: 67-60 March 2, 2011
Road: 10-4
RPI: 96
SOS: 141
G: Sean Kilpatrick - The Cincinnati small forward/shooting guard is playing 34 minutes a game with 15.2 points. Kilpatrick uses 21.4% of the Cincinnati possessions with a 113.8 offensive rating. He's 28-59 from 2 and 31-81 from 3. He's made and taken the 3rd most 3s in the league. His 38.3% ranks him 7th. Kilpatrick gets to the line only when someone makes him, just a 19.2 rate (attempts per every 100 shots). He's made 18-27. That's only 67%, which is also no great shakes. Kilpatrick is pulling in 5 rebounds a game, 3.5% of all the available offensive boards and 13.5% of the available defensive. He has 20 assists to 13 turnovers. That gives him an assist turnover ratio of 1.5, which is alright. SK has 12 steals. Kilpatrick played pretty well against St John's. The zone did take away some of his shot attempts. It'll be interesting to see how Marquette guards him. But as St John's found out, all SK needs is a few shots to turn the game around.
G: Dion Dixon - The senior from nearby Chicago is getting 35 minutes a game with 13.3 points. He's using 22.4% of the UC possessions with a 104.8 offensive rating. Dixon is 34-82 on 2s and 17-64 on 3s. Even after dropping a couple against St John's, that's not a pretty percentage from deep. After getting to the line at will against DePaul, Dixon didn't against the Storm and is down to a 23.9 free throw rate. 80% foul shooters need to shoot free throws. Am I wrong in thinking this? I don't think I am. Since we are best friends I can speak freely, get your ass to the foul line Dion. Dixon is pulling in 2.9 boards, 5.4% offensive, 3.3% defensive. He really neglects defensive rebounds. They aren't spinach. Dixon has 30 assists to 12 turnovers. His 2.5 ratio is good for 4th in the Big East. He's 9th in the BE with 21 steals and steals per game 1.9. His 3.3 steal pct is 12th. We've seen very well rounded basketball from Dixon lately. He's passing more, stealing a lot, occasionally rebounding better. He needs to rebound and get to the foul line more. It's a necessity.
G: Cashmere Wright - The point guard is playing 30 minutes a game with 10 points per game. Back to 10, good. He's using 22.5% of the UC possessions with a 98.5 offensive rating. He's 22-66 on 2s and 18-46 on 3s. That 33% looks a lot better than 26%. Cash has been to the line 18 times, making 12. Very low free throw rate for a point guard. Wright is pulling in 4 boards a game, 3.9% of offensive, 10.8% of defensive. Who knew getting a double double would raise your rebounding stats so much? He has 47 assists, 10th in the BE, to 23 turnovers. His 2 a/t ratio is 9th in the league. The one thing that dropped in the StJ game. Cash is 4th in the BE in steals with 27, 3rd in steals per game, 2.45, and 4th steal pct, 4.9. Wright is 27th, 18th and 21st in those steal categories nationally. When people think of Cashmere Wright, great defender is not one of the first things that springs to mind. Maybe it should be. He knows how to get in passing lanes and has great anticipation. He's one of the thieves in America. Keep dribbling wide, Big East
F: JaQuon Parker - JaQuon Parker is playing 23 minutes a game with 7.1 points. He's using 18.3% of the UC possessions with a 99.4 offensive rating. He's 17-46 on 2s, 10-26 on 3s. He has cooled off a whole lot lately. He needs to get back to taking shots in the rhythm of the offense. Parker gets to the foul line at an ok rate. He's made 14-21. JaQuon is pulling in 4.1 rebounds a game. He's getting 5.2% of the offensive rebounds and 15% of defensive. He has 9 assists to 10 turnovers. That's not really amazing. He has 9 steals. That has come up a lot lately. Parker has wrestled the role of starter back from Justin Jackson. He seems to be finding his footing against offensively. He's not getting exploited on defense that much anymore. At least against the smaller teams. Just need him to knock down shots.
F: Yancy Gates - Gates is playing 29 minutes a game with 12 points per. Yancy is using 20.2% of the UC possessions with a 119 offensive rating. Gates is 50-91 from the field, 55%. Yancy Gates has been straight up dominant lately. The lack of big men in the Big East has let Gates feast and feast he has. He gets to the line at a 37.3 rate, making 59%. That needs to be better. Gates is pulling in 8.9 rebounds a game, 4th in the league. His 35 off-rebs (told you it was a thing) are 6th in the league. His 3.5 a game are 4th. He's getting 12.2% which is a disappointing by comparison 12th. Gates is 9th in the BE with 5.4 defensive boards. His 22% is 2nd in the BE. That's a much better statistic. Should have listed it first. Gates has 5 assists to 7 turnovers. That doesn't change a lot. Gates has 5 steals and 7 blocks. He's getting called for 3 fouls a game. It has been a problem lately. It was against St John's, but not a major one because UC won by 20.
Bench: Justin Jackson - Jackson is playing 22 minutes a game with 5.2 points per. Haven't heard anything new on him, so I assume he'll play. He's using 15.6% of the UC possessions with a 101 offensive rating. Jackson is 23-49 from the field 47%. If not for those 4 three attempts, he would be at 50%. Jackson is 11-20 at the foul line. He's 18% better than last season. Jackson is still not rebounding, 3.2 rebounds a game. From your power forward. He's getting 7.3% of offensive and 8.1% of defensive. Magic Jackson has 16 assists to 12 turnovers, which is exactly the same since before the last game. Jackson has 12 steals. His 3% steal pct is 17th in the BE. He's blocked 12 shots. That's 17th in the league. He's 15th in blocks per game. Jackson is 13th with a 5.1 block pct. Jackson continued his ugly offensive game against St John's. How limited he will be tomorrow is a mystery.
Cheikh Mbodj - The big man is playing 11 minutes a game with 1.9 points per. He's 8-23 from the field, which is not good. He's made 3-7 free throws. 13's job is to rebound. He's pulling in 3.3 a game. He's getting 13% of the offensive boards and 20.6% of the defensive. He is cleaning the glass. He has 2 assists to 3 turnovers. 13 has blocked 12 shots. It was a block party and everyone on St John's was invited. He's also committed 19 fouls. He's given solid minutes lately, which is all you can ask for from your reserve big.
Jeremiah Davis - Davis is playing 9 minutes a game with 2.6 points. He's using 19% of the UC possessions. He's 7-18 on 2s and 5-15 on 3s. Davis has only made 2 of 7 free throws. Really bad. He has 9 rebounds, 7 defensive. He's got 6 assists to 4 turnovers. Jeremiah has 4 steals. He's really getting after it on d. Not the best on ball defender, but he tries. He looked a lot more confident in his offensive game the other day. Hopefully that keeps up.
Ge'Lawn Guyn - Guyn is playing 9 minutes a game. He's 4-14, 1-8 from 3, 1-2 at the foul line. Guyn has 7 defensive rebounds. He has 3 assists to 4 turnovers. Guyn has 6 steals. A 5.1 steal pct is very good. His defense has been good. Guyn didn't wear a headband for the last game and got dunked on. Headband Ge'Lawn, head band. I liked what I saw in the extended minutes he got the other game. He can play.
Jermaine Sanders - Sanders is playing 6.4 minutes a game, but hasn't played in 2. He got first half minutes and garbage time minutes against St John's. He's 1-4 shooting and 1-2 at the foul line. Liked to see him put up shots. He has 7 rebounds, 2 offensive. He has 7 assists to 3 turnovers. Don't know how consistent his playing time will be the rest of the season. Gotta keep your head up and be ready, 15.
Record: 20-5, 9-3
Rank: 18/19
Coach: Buzz Williams 89-42
Home: 12-1
RPI: 12
SOS: 34
G: Darius Johnson-Odom - DJO is one of my favorite players in the league. He's playing 35 minutes a game with 19 points per. That's 2nd in the BE. He uses 25.2% of the Marquette possessions with a 107.1 offensive rating. He's made the 3rd most FGs with the 2nd most attempts, 76-179. He's 43-99 on 2s. DJO is 2nd in 3s made, 4th in 3s attempted and 5th in 3% by going 33-80, 41.2%. When he makes a 3, the Marquette people call him 3JO. I kind of love it. He's 7th in FTs made, 8th in FTs attempted and 13th in FT%, 43-55, 78%. DJO gets to the line at a 30.7 rate. Johnson-Odom is pulling in 3.5 boards a game, 1.6% of the offensive, 9.7% defensive. If he wins the game on a put back, feel free to break things. He has 33 assists to 30 turnovers. He turns it over a lot. DJO has 13 steals. He's called for 2 fouls a game. He's an elite guard. Wonder who sticks him. I'm guessing SK.
G: Junior Cadougan - The junior guard, not a pun, plays 30 minutes a game with 5.9 points. He uses 16.8% of the Golden Eagle possessions with a 95.4 offensive rating. Nearly all of his shots are 2 points off drives and pull ups. He's 20-56, 36%. He's just 4-14 from deep. He gets to the line a ton, a 62.5 rate. That's 62.5 FT attempts per 100 shot attempts unless I'm horribly mangling that stat. He's a 77% foul shooter. 38% of his points come from the stripe. He gets 1.8 boards a game, all but 2 of his total rebounds were defensive. Cadougan has 72 assists, which is 2nd in the league and 24th in the nation. His 6 per game are 22nd in the NCAA and 2nd in the BE. His 34.5 assist pct is 4th in the league. He has 33 turnovers. His 2.2 a/t ratio is 5th in the BE. Junior's turnover pct is 31.7, the 6th worst in the conference. He's 16th in steals with 18. Solid guard who knows his role.
G: Vander Blue - The man with the awesome name is getting 23 minutes a game with 7.3 points per. He's using 21.1% of the Eagle possessions with a 96.8 offensive rating. Blue is another guy who takes nearly all 2s and gets to the line a lot. He's 32-70 from the field, 2-9 from deep. That's a solid 46%. He's been playing very well lately, with 16, 12 and 16. Unlike Cadougan, Blue is a poor foul shooter, 58%. He rebounds pretty well, 4.5 a game. He's getting 7.4% of the off-rebs and 14.7% of the d-rebs. Blue is a good passer. He's 16th in the BE with 35 assists. He has 24 turnovers for 1.5 a/t ratio. He doesn't get steals or blocks or foul very much. He kind of disappears on defense until he skies for a rebound. In a year or two, he's going to be very good.
F: Jae Crowder - The senior forward who Mick Cronin wants JaQuon Parker to play like even though Parker is 6-3 and Crowder is 6-6 is playing 34 minutes a game with 14.7 points. Crowder uses 18.6% of the Eagle possessions with a 118.8 offensive rating. That's 10th in the league. Crowder is 45-82 on 2s, which is 55%, and 19-51 from deep, 37%. Both of those are pretty good. That's why he's pretty good. Crowder is 29-38 at the foul line, 76%, with a 28.5 rate. He pulles in 7.8 rebounds a game, 11th in the BE. Crowder is a great defensive rebounder. He's 3rd with 74, 4th in d-reb per game 6.2 and pct at 20.6. He gets 5.6% of the offensive rebounds. Crowder has 24 assists to 15 turnovers, a 1.6 ratio. He is 3rd in the nation and 2nd in the league with 35 steals. He's 2nd in the BE and 6th nationally with 2.9 steals a game. He's 22nd and 5th with a 4.9 steal pct. He's also 12th in the Big East in blocks with 14. Crowder does get 2.5 fouls a game called on him. UC would be best advised to use them because Crowder is a hell of a player. Gotta slow him down.
F: Jamil Wilson - Wilson is playing 25 minutes a game with 8 points per. He's using 17% of the Marquette possessions with a 108.9 offensive rating. He's only 38-90 from the field, 42%, 4-9 from deep He's coming off 18 on 8-11 shooting against DePaul. DePaul is the cure for offense, don't ya know. Wilson is a nice free throw shooter for a big guy, 68%. He's getting 4.2 rebounds. He's good on the offensive glass, 9.5%. He gets 9.7% of the defensive boards, which is probably a little disappointing. Wilson has blocked a shot in 9 straight games. He's 7th in the BE with 18 blocks in conference play. He has 16 assists to 8 turnovers. That a/t ratio of 2 is 9th in the league. He has 10 steals. A very solid defender who is smart with the ball. When you have guys who can score, that's all you need. He's not the best with fouls, 2.9 a game. He could have trouble with Gates.
Bench: Davante Gardner - Is injured and listed as doubtful. If by some miracle he plays, he's getting 12 points per game on 58%, makes 71% of his free throws, is 4th in the BE in offensive rebound % at 14.7 and fouls a lot.
Todd Mayo - He is OJ Mayo's brother. Todd is playing 22 minutes a game with 7.4 points. He's using 18.7% of the Eagle possessions with a 99.8 offensive rating. He's 19-37 from 2 and 9-32 from 3. One of those is over 50%, the other 28%. Should probably drive more. Mayo gets to the line at a solid 39% rate. He's money at the stripe, 24-27. His 89% is 2nd in the BE. He's been slumping lately. Mayo is 3-18, 0-8 from 3 from the field the past 5 games. He's gone 2-2 at the line in the past 6 games. Mayo doesn't rebound much, 2.7 a game, 6.6 off-reb, 7.3% d-reb. He has 12 assists to 20 turnovers. He's a lot. Mayo has 5 steals and a block. He's been whistled for 2.2 fouls a game, which seems like a lot for the short minutes. He's in for his offense. He can be a microwave.
Derrick Wilson - Wilson is playing 6 minutes a game. He's scored 7 points in Big East play on 3-4 shooting. 6 of those points have come in the last 2 games. He's getting 2 segments a game the past 4. He has 8 rebounds, 6 defensive. He's got 5 assists to 2 turnovers. 4 steals. Wilson has 15 fouls. His plus minus is -28, which is a lot.
Jamail Jones - A 6-6 sophomore guard who is getting 6 minutes a game. He hasn't played in 4 games in conference play. He is a spot rotation guy. All 8 of his points came in the ND blowout. He's 4-14 from the field, 4-9 in that game. He has 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 5 turnovers. If he's in for extended minutes, someone is in foul trouble or injured or it's a blowout.
Juan Anderson - Anderson is playing 4.5 minutes a game. He didn't play against DePaul. He hasn't played in 3 of the conference games. He's 2-4 from the field, 0-2 at the foul line. He has 7 rebounds, 6 defensive. He has 2 assists to 4 turnovers.
Paw Points
The road team has won 4 of the last 5 meetings. UC has won their last 3 road games against ranked opponents, Pitt, Georgetown and UConn. Of course it should be pointed out that 2 of those 3 are no longer ranked and kind of suck. It's a gold out for Marquette. Look for lots of yellow shirts. It's also National Marquette Day. Ok. Marquette falls behind early. They did against Louisville, Nova, Seton Hall and DePaul the other day. They bounce back well. They did fall down big early against Vandy and Syracuse and lose. As you can tell, Marquette is very short on the bench. I expect UC to press a lot and try to wear them down. Look for a suffocating defensive effort. Marquette is 2nd in scoring margin in the league at 5.3. They are the 4th most efficient team at 1.06 points per possession. UC is 6th at 1.03. Defensively, Marquette is 8th at 0.98 ppp. UC is 6th at 0.98.Marquette is one of the best shooting teams in the league. They are 3rd in FG% at 44.6, they are 4th in effective FG% at 49.8, that counts 3s, they are 2nd in true shooting%, which counts 3s and FTs at 54. UC is near the bottom of the league in all 3. Both Marquette and Cincinnati are middle of the pack defensively in those stats. UC is a bit better in all 3. Marquette has attempted the 2nd most FTs in the league and has the 4th highest FT rate. UC has given up the 2nd fewest FT attempts and is tied with ND for the lowest rate. Marquette is middle of the pack. Don't expect a ton of free throws tomorrow. Marquette has attempted the 6th fewest 3s in the Big East, but have made the 4th most. Their 36% is second to Providence. Defensively, Marquette has given up the 5th most made 3s at the 5th wost percentage. That could fare well for UC. Cincinnati and Marquette are extremely similar when it comes to rebounding. Cincinnati is worse at offensive rebound percentage. Cincinnati is geting 49.4% of rebounds, Marquette 49.9%. Whoever wins the rebounding battle will have a huge advantage. Marquette is the best assisting team in the league by far. They average over 17 a game, they assist on nearly 68% of ther field goals. Cincinnati assists on 52.7%. The passing rubs off on other teams. Marquette's opponents average 15.4 assists a game. Marquette turns it over the 5th fewest times a game, 13. Cincinnati turns it over 9, which is the fewest. However, Marquette has forced the highest number of turnovers and therefore the most per game, with the 3rd best turnover percentage, 23.2%. Cincinnati is 7th. The Bearcats are tied for 2nd in the league in steal percentage at 13.5%. UC opponents have a steal percentage of 6. The teams are 7th and 8th in fouls per game. UC is drawing the fewest fouls in the league, 15 a game, Marquette has drawn the 3rd most at 19.4. A tight game could hurt UC. It could really hurt the thin Golden Eagles. Prediction
This is a huge game for the Bearcats. I don't suspect many people think they will win at Marquette again. I think there is a high chance that they could steal this one. I'm going to say that they do. I feel the team knows how important this road trip is, and they know that they can sweep it. Marquette is tough and they will give UC a lot of problems. Problems the Bearcats will have answers for. It'll be a throw back, high level of play game. Just like when Steve Logan and D-Wade were on the floor. Just like back then, I think UC takes it late.
Cincinnati 63 Marquette 62
