Senior Night vs Cincinnati

Just a quick update before tonight's game. First things first... it's senior night, which is always one of my favorite games of the year. If you don't usually stick around for the ceremony, it's worth it. This will be the final home game for Jimmy F. Butler, Joe Fulce, Dwight Buycks, and Rob Frozena.

Rosiak has an article the role these four seniors played. He also has a blog entry about how the third time is the charm for Williams. Yeah, no more senior night losses.

This is a big game, obviously. Marquette 18-11 (9-7) needs at least one more victory to lock up that NCAA berth. With the final game of the season being Saturday at Seton Hall, the home court advantage is huge.

Game time is 7 pm. The AD site has logistics information. However, let me say this. It's ridiculous that the only option for TV is either TW32 or ESPN3. I hate to say it, but at this stage of the game one should not need to hunt around for an internet feed to watch the game. small-time.

Cincinnati also stands at 9-7 in conference, with a 22-7 record that is the result of fattening up on cupcakes. Cincy does play good defense, though, as evidenced by their #12 ranking. It's almost as though they are a doppelganger version of Marquette, where their mediocre offense and good defense match up against our good offense and mediocre defense.

For Cincinnati, although their eFG% defense has been strong, in conference play they're only 11th best. MU's strength vs Cincy's weakness. Where Cincy has excelled has been in forcing turnovers (#2 in conference). That's a strength vs strength matchup for Marquette. Where Marquette has been most vulnerable is where the Bearcats are weak too. The one area to look out for defensively is where Cincinnati crashes the offensive boards.

Pomeroy gives us a 65% chance of winning, but I'd put it a little bit higher. Expect our defense to continue to improve as Marquette sends the seniors out on a final note.