Payback? Let's hope so

The Marquette Warriors travel to Fort Worth tonight to take on the TCU Horned Frogs. If revenge was a factor in Saturdays' victory, it should be as well tonight. Last season, TCU swept MU, winning at the Bradley Center and then again in the conference tournament.

TCU has a respectable RPI of 99, and has shown marked improvement this season. TCU is led by pair of guards, Corey Santee and Marcus Shropshire, both of whom played key roles in last year's games. MU seems to give up big games to opposing guards with some regularity (see Rodgers, Plavich, Carney, Washington), so tonight will prove to be a tough matchup again. Moreover, TCU gets to the free throw line more than 20 times per game, so this one could be ugly and foul-ridden.

With both Travis Diener and Joe Chapman on the mend, MU could be at full strength for the first time in weeks. The timing could not be better since this is another must-win for MU. At 16-6, there's little margin for error if this squad is to claim a ticket to the NCAA tournament. Winning road games in February will can re-establish MU's momentum this season, just in time for a run of home games to close the season.