Marquette hosts Seton Hall

THE FACTS

Time and Date: Thursday, 17 December, 8 p.m. CT

Records: Marquette (5-2, 1-0) | Seton Hall (4-3,1-0)

Rankings: Marquette (#33 KenPom) | Seton Hall (#53 KenPom)

TV Channel: FOX Sports 1

Watch Online: FOX Sports Go

Line: Marquette -3.5

O/U: 143.5

The Preview

Marquette is coming off of their second win over a top 10 team on the season. Lucky for the Golden Eagles, DJ Carton may have found himself within this Marquette offense. In his first five games in a Marquette uniform, Carton averages 8.8 PPG while shooting 36% from the field and 21% from 3. In Marquette’s last two games (UCLA and Creighton) he’s averaging 19.0 PPG on 50% shooting and 54% from 3. While also averaging 3.7 APG on the season, Carton is proving to be the lead man this offense needed.

Keep an eye on Marquette’s turnovers. Marquette’s turnover woes under the Wojo era are no secret to Marquette fans. It is a weakness that has plagued the offense for numerous seasons now. This season Marquette has turned the ball over an average of 13.4 times in their five victories. Marquette’s two losses came against long, athletic, strong defensive teams, where they turned the ball over 24 (Oklahoma St) and 18 (UCLA) times. Forcing turnovers hasn’t been a strength of Seton Hall’s this season (12.9 turnovers forced per game is 236th in the country), but sometimes it doesn’t have to be. A decision to apply full court pressure or an in game defensive shift is sometimes all it takes to throw Marquette’s offense out of rhythm.

Sandro Mamukelashvili continues his campaign for Big East player of the year. He’s averaging 20.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG so far this season and had a dominant opening conference game putting up 32 points and 9 rebounds in a victory over St. John’s. Last season he had success against Marquette, scoring 29 points and grabbing 9 rebounds in his lone game against the Golden Eagles. Another dominating performance would vault Mamukelashvili to being the (very early) favorite for BEPOY.