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Game Preview: Georgia vs. Marquette

The Golden Eagles take on the Bulldogs

Marquette v LSU Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images

Watch, Stream, Follow, Listen

Game time: 1:00 PM CST

Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI

TV: CBS Sports Network

Stream: CBS Sports Online (Where available)

Radio: 540 ESPN (in Milwaukee)

People to Follow on Twitter (Marquette): @AnonymousEagle @PaintTouches @CrackedSidewalks @mubbnation @AndyGold24

SB Nation Blogs Involved: Anonymous Eagle, Dawg Sports


Three Players to Watch

Yante Maten

This kid is a monster. He’s averaging 18.3 PPG and 9.5 RPG and he’s shooting 97.5% from the free-throw line (and that’s not even because he has low numbers, he’s 39 of 40 from the line this year) while standing at 6’8” and 240 pounds. He’s dominant on the low block but has flashed a few jump shots, too (he’s 5 of 15 from three this year). While he doesn’t have the size advantage that Issac Haas had in the Purdue game, Marquette’s cadre of big men will still struggle to defend this guy. Georgia tends to play Maten at the 4, so we may be Sam Hauser matched up against him for a solid portion of the game (which might help, as Hauser may be the best defensive forward Marquette has). Honestly, with how the Marquette defense has been playing, being able to simply limit him instead of flat-out trying to stop him may be the best move.

Markus Howard

Didja see Howard hit 11 threes on Wednesday? If you didn’t shame on you. Go now. If he can keep the hot streak alive, Marquette may run Georgia out of the building. Georgia has some length on the defensive end in their backcourt, and they definitely can defend (41st best defensive efficiency in the nation according to KenPom and the 20th best defense against the 3). If Howard doesn’t keep the streak alive, look for one of Hauser or Rowsey to be the focal point for the Marquette offense. Hauser should match up well offensively against Maten, who is much more of a traditional post defender. Expect a lot of movement around the outside to switch Maten into an even worse matchup (against Howard or Rowsey) while putting Hauser into a matchup with a Bulldog guard to take advantage of.

Greg Elliott

Freshman Greg Elliott has quickly become Coach Wojo’s first man off the bench (due in large part to only having three freshman on the bench right now, but semantics). He put up nine assists against Chicago State and had four blocks and four rebounds against Eastern Illinois (a game in which he scored a huge bucket to put Marquette up four late in OT and then blocked a potential go-ahead basket with less than 30 seconds left). He’s quickly becoming the glue guy and has had to defend up and down the spectrum (from point guards to much taller wing players), and he’s done admirably. Expect him to draw the toughest defensive assignments when he’s on the floor. If he can hold his own, it’ll go a long way.


The Don’t @ Me Prediction

Maten is going to be a handful and a half. There’s no getting around that. But Georgia seems to lack guards that are consistently game-changing on the offensive end. If Marquette can keep Maten in check and force the guards around him to elevate their game, Marquette should walk out with the victory. I’ll take Marquette 85-78.

If you want to @ me, it’s @Snewb22 on Twitter.