Watch, Listen, Stream, Follow

Game Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Location: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TV: Fox Sports 1

Stream: Fox Sports Go

Radio: 540 ESPN Milwaukee

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

Three Things to Watch

Andrew Rowsey

Andrew Rowsey, for those who are unaware, is one of Marquette’s dynamic backcourt duo, along with Markus Howard. However, on Monday against Northern Illinois, Rowsey went down with what appeared to be a leg injury. The Marquette fan base held its collective breath until today, when it was announced he had returned to practice and would be available for the American game. While it remains to be seen how much time he will see against American (or if he starts), the fact that he is healthy enough to be available has to be relieving to Marquette fans with a game against Xavier looming next week to open Big East play.

Harry Froling

Harry Froling is an Australian forward/center who transferred to Marquette from SMU and is finally eligible as of the Northern Illinois game on Monday. Fans expected a big coming-out party where he became an immediate offensive threat both down low and as a pick and pop threat.

And he got three minutes of time, having two rebounds, a foul, and a turnover.

Not exactly the best debut. However, Marquette was locked in a tough game against a Northern Illinois team that gave the Golden Eagles everything they wanted at home. Wojo not playing the Aussie all that much (0 minutes in the second half) shows that he still needs to earn the trust of the staff in-game. Sure, he’s shaking off the rust after not playing for a year and he’s in a new system with a lot of pressure from a fan base and the talent to live up to expectations. But that can’t be incredibly exciting to start with.

He should get going in time, and hopefully Marquette plays better against American than they did against Northern Illinois to let him get more time on the court.

The Marquette Defense

Marquette has been (and stop me if you’ve heard this one before) slightly underwhelming on the defense end of the court. They sit right about in the middle of D1 on KenPom for Defensive Efficiency (their Adjusted defensive Efficiency being 103.6 according to KenPom, good for 156th in the country). In particular, Marquette has been getting picked apart from inside the arc (their opponents are shooting 54% from 2 against the Golden Eagles). However, Marquette’s defense has been improving in the last few games and has looked solid against some decent players. Look for the Golden Eagles to continue to improve before Big East play. Sacar Anim has been a stalwart alongside Greg Elliott, Jamal Cain, and Sam Hauser. This is the last chance they all get to sharpen up before Trevon Blueitt comes to rain unholy hell on the Golden Eagles, so hopefully they turn in a good performance.

The Don’t @ Me Prediction

Well, Marquette’s favored by 20 according to KenPom. If the Marquette offense clicks and the defense holds steady, look for that to be a fairly accurate final result. I’ll let one of Marquette’s offensive juggernauts (Rowsey, Howard, and Hauser) go off and lead Marquette to a victory, 90-72.