Point Guard

Scoop Jardine

6-2, 190, JR.

12.9 PPG, 5.6 APG

Dwight Buycks

6-3, 190, SR.

10.7 PPG, 3.9 APG

Buycks is a steady senior point guard who has a 1.82 assist-to-turnover ratio. That doesn’t best Jardine’s 2.0 ratio, but heading into this game, Jardine has looked like anything but a seasoned point guard.

Shooting Guard

Brandon Triche

6-4, 205, SO.

10.3 PPG, 3.1 APG

Darius Johnson-Odom

6-2, 215, JR.

16.5 PPG, 2.7 APG

It doesn’t get any easier for the top of the Orange’s 2-3 zone after Jeremy Hazell shredded it Tuesday. Johnson-Odom is perhaps the most underrated guard in the conference, and his slashing will test Triche and Scoop Jardine’s defensive will early.

Small Forward

Kris Joseph

6-7, 210, JR.

15.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG

Jimmy Butler

6-7, 220, JR.

15.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG

Butler led the Golden Eagles with 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 100 percent shooting from the line in the tough loss to Connecticut Tuesday. He is the do-everything player who will log 33 to 38 minutes.

Power Forward

Rick Jackson

6-9, 240, SR.

13.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG

Jae Crowder

6-6, 225, JR.

13.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG

Crowder could be the Golden Eagles’ X-factor against the SU zone, finding seams everywhere from the 3-point line to the block. He is a jack-of-all-trades who shoots 41 percent from 3, yet he hauls in seven rebounds per game.

Center

Fab Melo

7-0, 44, FR.

2.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG

Chris Otule

6-11, 260, SO.

4.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG

Otule is one of the Big East’s young starting centers who most closely resemble Melo. He only plays about 14 minutes per game, but in those minutes the sophomore does much more than Melo, averaging close to five points per game on 60 percent shooting.

Coach

Jim Boeheim

848-296, 34 seasons

Buzz Williams

74-45, 3 seasons

Williams is 0-2 vs. Boeheim, but he has found a way of holding his own during his time in the Big East. He’s 27-17 in the conference since taking over prior to the 2008-09 season and has had success against some of the top teams in the league.

Free throws

• Saturday’s game will be played on National Marquette Day, a day designated for fans to show off their Marquette pride.

• Marquette is 0-5 vs. Syracuse since joining the Big East prior to the 2005 season. Since then, the Golden Eagles have beaten Big East powers Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, West Virginia and Villanova.

• Marquette’s four leading scorers have shot 108-of-269 (40 percent) from 3-point range this season. Syracuse has struggled to stop shooters during its current losing streak.

Stat to know: 2006

The last year Syracuse lost four consecutive games. SU will try to break its three-game losing skid against Marquette.

Big number: 22

The margin by which Marquette beat then-No. 11 Notre Dame inside the Bradley Center on Jan. 10.

 

Beat writer predictions

Tony Olivero

Marquette 73, Syracuse 69

Everything that could have gone wrong for this Syracuse team since its 18-0 start has gone wrong. It’s a true time of reflection, and against maybe the most overachieving team in the conference, the team that may be underachieving the most won’t have the mental fortitude on the road.

Andrew L. John

Marquette 76, Syracuse 73

Seton Hall may have been the wake-up call Syracuse needed, but Marquette sees blood in the water.

Brett LoGiurato

Marquette 81, Syracuse 72

Panic. Spelled B-O-E-H-E-I-M.

Published on January 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm