Omaha vs. Marquette: Halftime Notes

Halftime Notes

- Omaha has dominated Marquette in almost every facet of the game so far.  The Mavericks jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead by getting to the basket early and often.  Their first three baskets were layups.  On the other end, Marquette did not make a field goal until four minutes into the game.

- Omaha came in as one of the top rebounding teams in the country.  It showed in the first half against an undersized Golden Eagles' frontcourt.  Omaha leads the battle of the boards 22 to 11.

- Most notably, an Omaha miss has been a rarity.  They shot over 60 percent from the field for much of the first half before cooling off down the stretch.  They go into the half shooting 53 percent from the field.

- The only reason Marquette is within three points is because of its activity in the passing lanes.   At the under-12 minute timeout, Marquette had five steals, allowing them to get out in transition.  Marquette has 8 steals going into the half.  The Golden Eagles will need to continue to force turnovers and lock down the paint defensively if they want to come back in the second half.

- One of the more pleasant surprises for Marquette is its bench production.  The team's three leading scorers are Duane Wilson (9 points), Derrick Wilson (8) and Deonte Burton (8), all off the bench.  Duane Wilson entered the game at around the 16-minute mark and scored back-to-back threes.  Burton had a run of his own where he scored 7 points in a 5-minute stretch.  The bench has outscored the starters 25 to 16 in the first half.  The starters will have to step up in the second half to help give Marquette its first lead in the game.

Enjoy the second half!