Sunday Big East NCAA Basketball Odds: Villanova at No 13 Marquette
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Frank Martin
Marquette Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams issued a challenge to his team after the it was embarrassed at home by Vanderbilt in its non-conference finale Thursday.
“Season one is over,” Williams said. “Season number two starts (soon). We can respond like champs or we can respond like chumps.” Williams hopes the latter isn’t the case Sunday afternoon when 13th-ranked Marquette hosts Villanova Wildcats in its Big East opener. No matter the outcome, the Golden Eagles are sure to take a tumble in the rankings after being dismantled 74-57 by the Commodores.
Each of the last five meetings with Villanova have been decided by five points or less. The Wildcats prevailed 75-70 at the Pavilion last season, and lead the series 11-7. The Golden Eagles are 4-0 in conference openers at the Bradley Center.
- Villanova Wildcats @ #13 Marquette Golden Eagles
When:
1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 1, 2012
Where:
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
TV:
ESPNU
The Golden Eagles have opened as 10-point favorites on SBG Global Sportsbook’s Live NCAA Basketball Odds.
Villanova Wildcats (7-6, 0-1 Big East): The Wildcats, who play five freshmen, have lost six of nine. Villanova was doomed by 15 turnovers and a 3-for-14 effort from beyond the arc in a 83-69 loss to West Virginia in its Big East opener Wednesday. Junior guards Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek each scored 20 points. Wayns (17.6 points, 5.3 assists) and Cheek (12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds) haven't received much help offensively. Junior center Mouphtaou Yarou (12.9 points, 8.5 rebounds) is the only other player averaging double figures. The Wildcats are uncharacteristically bad from 3-point range (31 percent). Villanova, however, is 21st in the nation in rebounding (40.0).
Marquette Golden Eagles (11-2, 0-0 Big East): The Golden Eagles have lost two of three after a 10-0 start. Not much went right in the loss to Vanderbilt, which began the season as a top-10 team. The Golden Eagles missed 16 of their first 17 shots and trailed 35-8 with under eight minutes left in the first half. No one had a worse night than senior forward Jae Crowder (17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds). The team’s second leading scorer missed his first seven shots and finished 4-of-13 for 16 points. Meanwhile, Darius Johnson-Odom (17.4 points, 3.4 rebounds) hit five of 15 attempts and is shooting 33 percent over the last two games. The undersized Golden Eagles missed 6-11 center Chris Otule, who has sat out the last five games with a knee injury, after big man Davante Gardner was limited to five minutes due to foul trouble against the Commodores. Despite the poor showing, Marquette is still 29th in the nation in scoring (78.5 points).
1.
“We were too reliant on making shots in
hopes of increasing our energy.” – Williams, on the Golden Eagles abysmal first
half in which they shot 21.2 percent.
2. Otule has been out since Dec. 6 and Williams said Thursday his
return is “a long time from now.”
3. As
of the latest NCAA statistics posted on Dec. 18, the Wildcats were the
eighth-best free-throw shooting team in the nation (77.7).
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dominic cheek - bradley center - buzz williams - darius johnson-odom - davante gardner - jae crowder - maalik wayns - marquette golden eagles - mouphtaou yarou - villanova wildcats
