BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Marquette @ DePaul

February 14, 2007



Former Conference USA rivals re-unite this evening at Allstate Arena just outside Chicago as the DePaul Blue Demons host the Marquette Golden Eagles in a Big East conference match-up. TThe Blue Demons bring their 5-6 conference mark into the game against the 8-3 Golden Eagles as both teams have a lot to still play for.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this motning:

Burns Burning to Carry DePaul to the Postseason (Chicago Tribune)
Marquette a Key Foe for DePaul, Chandler (Chicago Sun-Times)
DePaul's Chandler a Work in Progress (Daily Herald)
Center Draws Spotlight (Daily Herald)
Marquette Basketball Preview (Post-Crescent)
Frigid Conditions (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Saturday was not a good day for Marquette. Wesley Mathews was struggling with illness, Jerel McNeal picked up his 3rd foul with more than 10 minutes left in the 1st half and Dominic James struggled to find his shooting touch, finishing the game 2-17. Yet, the Golden Eagles hung tough on the road before Georgetown finished the game on a 23-5 run for a 76-58 win. James and McNeal were also a bit under the weather as Tom Crean was still recovering from sickness.

Tonight, the Golden Eagles look to return to healthy at the expense of the DePaul Blue Demons. Although Marquette is ranked 12th in the country, they are 2.5-pt underdogs on the road against a sub-.500 conference foes...Hmmmmm.

Depaul has gotten a big lift of late from Draelon Burns offensively. Burns has turned in some high scoring efforts of late, averaging 21 PPG in their last three outings, two of which were DePaul wins. Wilson Chandler dominated Notre Dame last Thursday, scoring 25 pts and grabbing 14 rebounds and DePaul will need a similar effort tonight against the perimeter-strong Marquette club. This will also put Sammy Mejia in the spotlight again. Mejia will likely have Jerel McNeal assigned to him and he will need to find his offense once again. The point-guard by committee that DePaul turns to is going to have their hands full with a determined Dominic James, who wants to get back on track in a big way.

With Pittsburgh dropping a game to Louisville on Monday, Marquette sees their chances in the Big East regular season race improve, but they will have to navigate a tricky road trip to DePaul tonight in order to do so. With their three guards back to health, I see them getting their offensive touch back tonight, especially James. DePaul is a little too inconsistent for me to lean on them tonight, but they will make this game a close one, but the talented guard trip of Marquette will make the plays down the stretch and look for a timely 3-pt shot from Dan Fitzgerald when they need it to complete a late run for the win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Marquette 67 DePaul 63