You know about Tom Izzo and Tom Crean. They're best friends. They built MSU to be the program it is today. But what about the rest of Marquette? Get to know the artists formerly known as the Warriors.
Key player
Dominic James, an explosive 5-foot-11, 175-pound sophomore guard, runs the show for Marquette. He averages 14.8 points and five assists per game. He's not immune to turnovers, however, averaged by an assist-to-turnover ratio that is less than 2-to-1.
"The big key to them is they are such a good penetrating team," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "James is as good a guy at pushing it up the floor as I've seen. He's athletic, he's strong, he can jump out of the gym."
"Stopping penetration is going to be a big part of the game plan."
In an interesting subplot to the game, James was recruited by Izzo to come to MSU. He'll be matched up against sophomore guard Travis Walton — who was recruited by Marquette head coach Tom Crean.
"It's going to be exciting for me to go against him," Walton said of James. "He's one of the best point guards in the nation. Marquette's a good school, and coach Crean is a good coach, so it's going to be a good matchup and a great game."
A missing link
Jerel McNeal, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard, will sit out with a right thumb injury. He started 29 games for Marquette over the course of the season and was the team's second leading scorer, averaging 14.7 points per game. He also was one of the Golden Eagles' best defenders. He leads the team in steals, despite sitting out four games already.
"Losing McNeal hurts them some," Izzo said.
A measuring stick
Marquette and MSU shared two common opponents during the 2006-07 season: Oakland and Wisconsin. Marquette beat Oakland, 80-62, and fell to Wisconsin, 70-66. Both games were at home.
MSU topped Oakland by the same margin, 71-53. The Spartans played Wisconsin three times. They won at home, 64-55, lost on the road, 52-50, and lost to the Badgers a second time in the Big Ten Tournament, 70-57.
Marquette isn't without quality wins, however. The Golden Eagles earned victories over Duke, Pittsburgh (twice), Villanova and Louisville.
"Marquette's a great team," junior guard Drew Neitzel said. "They're similar to us with Coach Crean."
Pushing the pace
The Golden Eagles are more prone to pushing the pace than the Spartans are. Marquette averaged 58 shot attempts per game, while the Spartans averaged 49. MSU has actually give up one more shot per game (50) than they take.
"(Crean) has done a great job with their fast break," Izzo said. "They blitz, they break, they run constantly."
Bombs away
That poor perimeter defense that plagued MSU against Northwestern and Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament? It might want to fix it before tonight. Marquette takes 19 3-pointers per game, hitting 33 percent. If someone gets hot, MSU could be in trouble. David Cubillan and Dan Fitzgerald are the Golden Eagles' best marksman. Each hits about 43 percent from beyond the arc. The combo has stepped in to supplant McNeal's production.
