LINKS: Hoyas Match Up with #15 Marquette

The #15 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1) visit the Georgetown Hoyas (12-5, 2-2) in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. This week’s BIG EAST awards identify three players from this game who excelled last week in Marquette’s Markus Howard (Player of the Week) and Georgetown’s James Akinjo (Freshman of the Week) and Jessie Govan (Honor Roll).

It’s no secret why Howard got the nod this week—he dropped 53 points on Creighton and set a new Big East scoring record. Meanwhile, both Akinjo and Govan had a pair of solid performances and were each vital in GU’s thrilling double-overtime win over Providence on Saturday. Georgetown freshman Mac McClung, back after missing four games with an ankle injury, nailed a thirty-foot 3-pointer off the glass at the buzzer.

Here are the links:

Georgetown Hosts No. 15/13 Marquette on Tuesday | GUHOYAS

Marquette is coming off a 70-66 BIG EAST victory against Seton Hall at home, its third-straight league win following a loss to St. John’s in the conference opener. Markus Howard, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, leads the Golden Eagles with 25.8 ppg while Sam Hauser and Joey Hauser add 13.4 and 10.4 ppg, respectively.

Sam Hauser is MU’s top rebounder with 6.8 rpg and Howard averages 4.4 assists per game to run the offense. Tuesday’s game marks the 26th overall meeting against Marquette, with the Golden Eagles currently holding the narrow 13-12 series lead. Marquette defeated the Hoyas 90-86 in overtime in last year’s battle at Capital One Arena. Govan led Georgetown with 25 points and nine rebounds in the game.

No. 15 Marquette Travels To Georgetown Tuesday Night | GOMARQUETTE

Marquette has claimed four of the last five outings with the Hoyas and now owns a slim 13-12 advantage in the all-time series...

In the most recent matchup, both forward Sam Hauser and former guard Andrew Rowsey led the way with 28 points. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 10 points in the first half, before watching the Hoyas take a 12-point lead prior to halftime...

Redshirt junior forward Sacar Anim has picked up his production at the offensive end with the start of BIG EAST play and is contributing 11.8 points per game in the team’s last four outings.

Big East What To Watch: Week 11 | ANONYMOUSEAGLE

MU heads back out on the road here to see what they can accomplish, and they need to get the win here if they have eyes on the Big East regular season title. Meanwhile, in the past seven days, Georgetown blew a 17 point lead on the road and needed two buzzer beaters to force overtime twice to beat the only team in the league without a win so far. They’re either teetering on the edge or desperate for a solid win.

Save Yourself The Embarrassment And Stop Guarding Markus Howard | DEADSPIN

Howard’s confidence and his unbelievable accuracy from three-point range—he went a preposterous 10-of-14 from deep on the game—was on full display against Creighton. If anything, that somehow undersells Howard’s merciless and comprehensive destruction of Creighton’s defense, on both a physical and a psychological level. No matter which Blue Jay switched onto him, Howard picked him apart with his combination of a bulletproof handle and the ability to score from anywhere on the court...

No one had it worse all night than starting Creighton point guard Davion Mintz, who, try as he might, just could not avoid giving Howard the separation he needed to knock down shots.

Against Marquette’s Markus Howard, Georgetown will need to rise to the defense | WASHINGTONPOST

For Georgetown, Pickett’s defensive showing was well timed. That aggressive, confident defense is a key part of the Hoyas’ blueprint moving forward, and they’ll need it Tuesday against No. 15 Marquette (14-3, 3-1) and star guard Markus Howard. Georgetown (12-5, 2-2) has experience going up against dominant scorers, including Campbell’s Chris Clemons, the nation’s leading scorer, Shamorie Ponds from St. John’s and Diallo. But none of those guards can do what Howard does. The 5-foot-11 shooter from Arizona has scored 45 points or more three times this season, most recently in an overtime win at Creighton on Wednesday...

“Energy and effort,” Ewing said. “You’ve got to guard who you’re playing, and if you get beat, you have to have the belief that your teammates are going to step up and take charges.”

The Hoyas are tasked Tuesday with bottling a scorer who always has the green light to shoot.

College basketball film study: Here’s what makes Markus Howard impossible to stop | NCAA

Howard is shooting 44 percent from 3 on high volume, and more importantly, a high degree of difficulty. He’s no spot-up shooter. Howard’s looks are usually well-contested and off-balance, and he still connects at an absurd rate. So naturally, defenders are most worried about his 3-point shot.

Only now, Howard is toasting guys off the dribble. Again, he’s not fast enough to do that without the threat of his jump shot. We’re not talking about De’Aaron Fox here. But when defenders are scared to give you an inch of breathing room, beating them to the paint gets much easier. And Howard can do that now. Kansas State is one of the best defensive teams in the country, but he lived in the lane against them earlier this year, getting to the free-throw line 21 times.

Sophomore center Theo John is an intimidating presence for Marquette | JSONLINE

It helps that John has honed his skills against another tough defender in the 6-7, 235-pound Morrow. “Me and Ed, we’re always going against each other and competing in practice,” John said... “And then just taking pride, knowing that this is our paint. We own this stuff. Just protecting our teammates and having their back.”

That back line of defense has been crucial to MU’s success this season. The Golden Eagles are No. 40 in defensive efficiency this season, according to the college basketball statistical analysis website kenpom.com. They finished last season at 182nd.

“Theo has had such an improvement from his freshman year to now,” MU junior guard Markus Howard said. “His defensive presence around the rim is the main reason we’ve improved drastically.”

#15 Marquette Basketball Preview Primer: at Georgetown Hoyas | ANONYMOUSEAGLE

Stopping Jessie Govan. Duh, right? He’s averaging 20 points and eight rebounds per game, and the 6’10” center from New York is canning triples at a 42% clip. He takes nearly four per game, and only James Akinjo shoots more three-pointers than Govan. This sounds like a nightmare to defend on a normal night, and Tuesday night in DC might not be a normal night for the Golden Eagles...

Let Mac McClung shoot three-pointers, at least until he makes two in the game. After going 2-for-6 in his first game back after missing four due to an ankle injury and going 4-for-9 in the game right before said injury, McClung is now up to [] 25% on the season...

Marquette a top-15 team for first time under head coach Steve Wojciechowski | JSONLINE

After a pair of Big East victories last week, including a 53-point performance from Markus Howard against Creighton, Marquette jumped six spots Monday in both top 25 rankings, to No. 13 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 15 in the Associated Press media poll. The lofty rankings are the highest for MU in head coach Steve Wojciechowski’s five seasons at the school...

MU garnered a lot of attention this week with Howard’s performance and Sam Hauser’s miraculous shot to force overtime against Creighton. Howard’s 53 points set a school and Big East record. The Golden Eagles followed up that game with a 70-66 victory over Seton Hall at Fiserv Forum on Sunday.