Our Diener is Better Than Yours

Travis Diener poured in 15 points and handed out seven assists while Steve Novak continued his string of strong performances with 22 points to pace Marquette to a 67-57 win over DePaul. MU closed the game strong, outscoring DePaul 13-6 in the final 6:11. Todd Townsend continued his renaissance, playing 33 strong minutes while shutting down DePaul's Quemont Greer in the second half (holding him to just two points after the break). The win gives Travis' Warriors a decisive 6-2 edge over cousin Drake's Blue Demons - - braggin' rights sit with Travis for the duration.

Incredibly, MU won despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds to the Blue Demons, and turning the ball over five more times than DePaul. MU made up for these shortcomings by shooting an admirable 51% from the field, including 47% from 3-point territory. Most importantly, MU held the Blue Demons to just 38% shooting and Greer was a non-factor in crunch time.

The win lifts MU to 18-8 on the season, and 6-7 in conference play. With three games to go, MU still controls its own fate this season. Today's victory gives MU a late-season quality win, and with both Cincinnati and Houston on the schedule - - Crean's squad has a chance to secure two more top 100 RPI wins. First things first - - winning on the road against the Bearcats later this week. Road wins late in the year - - always a good decision. Brilliant!

Here's a link to the Journal-Sentinel's post-game audio recap.