UConn Huskies Marquette Golden Eagles
15-3 (7-0) 15-3 (4-3)
Date: Tuesday, January 23rd 2024
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Al McGuire Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
TV: SNY
0
MARQUETTE | UCONN
UCONN LEADS 17-1 H: 7-0 | A: 7-1 | N: 3-0
02/25/06 #8 UConn 74, Marquette 59 Storrs, Conn.
02/03/07 #3 UConn 52, Marquette 48 Milwaukee, Wis.
02/20/08 #1 UConn 95, Marquette 63 Hartford, Conn.
02/07/09 #1 UConn 83, Marquette 49 Milwaukee, Wis.
01/13/10 #1 UConn 68, Marquette 43 Milwaukee, Wis.
12/09/10 #1 UConn 79, Marquette 47 Storrs, Conn.
02/25/12 #4 UConn 85, Marquette 45 Milwaukee, Wis.
01/12/13 #3 UConn 85, Marquette 51 Milwaukee, Wis.
02/05/13 #3 UConn 94, Marquette 37 Storrs, Conn.
02/05/21 #3 UConn 87, Marquette 58 Milwaukee, Wis.
03/01/21 #1 UConn 63, Marquette 53 Storrs, Conn.
03/08/21 #1 UConn 73, Marquette 39 Uncasville, Conn.
02/13/22 #8 UConn 72, Marquette 58 Milwaukee, Wis.
02/23/22 #7 UConn 69, Marquette 38 Hartford, Conn.
03/06/22 #7 UConn 71, Marquette 51 Uncasville, Conn.
12/31/22 #8 UConn 61, Marquette 48 Storrs, Conn.
02/08/23 Marquette 59, #4 UConn 52 Milwaukee, Wis.
03/05/23 #9 UConn 81, Marquette 52 Uncasville, Conn.
12/31/23 #15 UConn 95, Marquette 64 Hartford, Conn.
Marquette Season to Date
After gettting off to their best start in their history, undefeated after 12 games Marquette has come back to earth against Big East opponents.
They started the season with an easy game, a 84-51 win over UT Martin. A much tougher opponent waited in the second game. At the time No. 23 Illinois game the Golden Eagles a tough go but Marquette prevailed winning 71-67 in a really tough battle. Perspecive on this game is that Illinois is no longer receiving votes and is 6-5 on the season.
They then beat IUPUI 92-58, Saint Peter's 96-36, Boston College 73-65, Arkanasas 74-58, Memphis 88-59, and Pennsylvania 87-52.
In the next game, they were able to squeak out a 64-62 win over Illinois State. They needed to outscore the Redbirds 23-15 in the last quarter for the comeback win. How good is Illinois State? Massey has them at 99. Maybe they had an overlook game with Big East team Creighton coming up in the next game? They were able to beat the Blue Jays in a tight game 76-70.
They followed that with a 99-91 win over Appalachian State who is ranked 183 by Massey. They used a big 2nd quarter to take a 10 point halftime lead. Not good they were outscored by 2 points in the second half. In their final game before playing the Big East they easily handeled Bucknell, winning 67-39.
After UConn beat them 95-64, Marquette was upset by St. John 57-56. Was that UConn Hangover? I suspect it was. They righted the ship beating Xavier 81-52, Seton Hall 75-54 and DePaul 78-47. All blowouts.
In their last game, the Golden Eagles were upset by a down Villanova team 66-63. Clearly a trap game and Marquette was clearly trapped.
Comparative Team Statistics
(leader in bold)
UConn Marquette
84.3 PPG 77.1
58.8 Defensive PPG 59.9
25.5 Scoring Margin 17.2
51.7 Field Goal % 48.9
36.0 Defensive FG% 39.2
37.7 Three Point % 39.6
30.1 Defensive 3PT% 30.6
74.8 Free Throw % 74.5
37.9 Rebounds/game 37.8
5.3 Rebounding Margin 8.3
20.6 Assists per game 19.8
13.5 Turnover per game 15.0
1.5 Assists/TO ratio 1.3
10.3 Steals per game 7.1
3.4 Blocks per game 4.1
Before the first matchup, it was unusual to see a Big East opponent with the advantage in so many categories. Strength of Schedule meant so much then. UConn has the No. 1 SOS and Marquette is the 75th SOS. Huge diffence.
However, since the first matchup, UConn has won every game and Marquette has gone 4-3. And it reflects in the stats. The Huskies picked up the lead in seven categories. It's just the direction of the two teams at work.
UCONN
The player and coaches names for both teams
are clickable to see their Bios
are clickable to see their Bios
UConn Starters
UConn Injuries
Unknown Return
OUT FOR THE SEASON
ACL
Achilles Injury
MARQUETTE
Marquette Starters
Marquette Bench
Game Analysis
Marquette had a great season before meeting UConn the first time. They still really rely on their starters. 82% of their points have come from their starters. Their two players off the bench in competative games have only scored 10.2 PPG combined. You will see how that played out in the first UConn game as I go through each player.
This season's leading scorer is Lisa Karlen, a 6'2" senior forward at 17.5 PPG. She is second in rebounding at 7.3 RPG. She is second in blocks at 18. She is a solid three point shooter at 41.4% but only takes a little over 1 per game. She's a terrific rebounder for her size. A great all around game. She scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the first matchup. But was only 4-18 from the field.
5"11" Senior Jordan King is the second leading scorer at 14.8 PPG. Second on the team in assists she is a well rounded player. She is a three point threat, shooting 40.8% from deep. Not only the one of the best players, she is the team leader as well. In the first matchup she led the team in scoring with 16 points but like Karlen had a tough shooting day going 5-13 from the field. She did go 2-4 on threes. That means 3-9 on two pointers.
Sophomore Mackenzie Hare is the third leading scorer on the team. The 5'9" guard has been shooting lights out for the Golden Eagles. She is averaging 14.7 PPG and coming into the first UConn game was shooting an amazing 41-75 on threes. However, since then she is 14-41, only 34.1%. In the first match up she scored 12 points but was 2-6 on threes. UConn really made her either rush her shot or move her out of her comfort zone.
6'1" Grad Student Frannie Hottinger is the leading rebounder for Marquette at 9.2 RPG and is scoring at a 9.4 PPG clip. So close to averaging a double double. The transferred in from Lehigh after playing there for four seasons. Last season she was first team All-Patriot League and Patriot League player of the year. Yes, a lower level league but still a great accomplishment. However the Big East has brought her to reality of higher level basketball. She is down to 8.8 PPG and 7.6 RPG. A big drop. Against UConn she only managed 4 points and not ONE rebound. That is hard to believe.
5'7" junior guard Rose Nkumu is the fifth starter. She is averaging 7.7 PPG and leads the team with 5 assists per game. She is quick and a clever passer. Terrific on the fast break. She was up to the task against the Huskies in the first game. She had 8 points and 7 rebounds.
Only two players will see much time off the bench.
6'3" Freshman Skylar Forbes is the size off the bench. Tall but not wide, she really runs the court well. She is averaging 6.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG. She had a nice game against UConn. 10 points, 6 rebounds a 2 blocks.
Lee Volker is a 6'1" junior guard. She averages 4.4 PPG and 2.7 RPG. She certainly brings some size to the guard position. She had 1 point and 5 rebounds in the first match up.
In watching Marquette play, they are a terrific and cohesive team. They really play well off each other. Players drive and kick to open players and the Golden Eagles are quick to let it go from deep. Hare is quick as a bunny with her three point release and has no hesitation in that shot. The starters shoot the three pointer at 47%. UConn will have to do a good job getting out on the shooters. It won't be easy.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles play exclusively a man-to-man. They are not a or quick team defensively so the Huskies have an advantage with Edwards. I don't think The Golden Eagles have a player that can guard her.
UConn was able to uptempo the first game and they will try to do it again. Surprisingly UConn killed Marquette on the boards 47-32. They will run on almost every defensive rebound. But Marquette is always very physical and hopefully no one gets hurt. I'm sure that the Marquette coach will have them pocussing on blocking out and rebounding the ball. It will be a battle in the paint for sure.
Marquette is still a very good three point shooting team even though they were 6-21 in the first match up and UConn has really turned on their game from beyond the arc so if Marquette at home reverts to form this could be a real shoot out.
Prediction
UConn is the more talented team. And they are playing better and better. Marquette has struggled some since the first match up. Not shooting as well, not rebounding as well and not defending as well.
So how will this play out? Marquette will play better with home court advantage. I havene't even mentioned Paige Bueckers and I'm sure the physical Marquette team will do what they can to throw her off her game. It won't work. She had 25 points in the first match up. UConn now has too many weapons.
It will be a closer game.
UConn by 18+
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