Marquette Hosts Eastern Michigan

The Marquette Golden Eagles, fresh off of a dominating victory over Detroit, will look to build on its 3-0 record when they host the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday afternoon at the Bradley Center. Tipoff is set for 1pm CST.

EMU stands at 1-2 in this young season. The Eagles were clipped in Ann Arbor by Michigan 80-51 on Sunday night. Coach Charles Ramsey, an EMU alum, is looking to revive a once strong mid-major program. The Eagles are coming off of a 7-21 season.

EMU is led by sophomore point guard Carlos Medlock, the reigning MAC player of the week. Medlock, a starter as a freshman, averages nearly 15 points and 4 assists per game for the Eagles. Medlock struggles with turnovers -- he committed a whopping 116 last season and has turned it over 11 times in three games so far this season.

Jesse Bunkley, a 6'4" junior, is chipping in 10 points per game in the early going and is shooting a strong 43% from three-point range. A guard-oriented team, EMU has been out-rebounded in each of their first three games.

Former Marquette Golden Eagle James Matthews is listed on the EMU roster, but has yet to play this season. EMU's student newspaper previews the Eagles 06-07 campaign in this article.

Marquette counters with its Triple Threat and the emergence of three newcomers; Lazar Hayward, David Cubillan and Trend Blackledge -- each delivered their best performance of the young season earlier this week in the win over Detroit.

Cubillan has been a revelation in the early going. The lightly-recruited freshman has proven to be strong with the basketball and is a terrific on-the-ball defender. Cubillan has committed only two turnovers in some 57 minutes of action, while shooting 55% from the field. His emergence as an effective combo guard adds another dimension to the Marquette attack. Coach Tom Crean seems committed to easing the point guard burden on Dominic James, and while Wesley Matthews has logged time at the point it looks like Cubillan can play that role as well.

MU enters the game sans the services of 7'0" senior Mike Kinsella, out with a stress fracture in his foot. Thank goodness Ousmane Barro is off to a fast start this season.

The big question for Marquette fans going into tonight's game is -- which team will show up? Marquette delivered lackluster performances in its first two outings of the season before dialing it up against Detroit. Will the team build on the win, or slip back a bit -- perhaps looking ahead to Monday's matchup with Texas Tech in the semifinals of the CBE Classic?

We'll find out soon enough.

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GO MARQUETTE!