Sacar Anim, Harry Froling bolster Marquette's supporting cast

They aren't facing two top-10 teams like last week, but the Marquette Golden Eagles are still looking at a crucial stretch in the coming days.

With nine games remaining in the regular season, including five on the road, MU needs to polish its NCAA Tournament résumé. 

The Golden Eagles (13-8, 4-5 Big East) have the chance to add some quality wins this week at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. They welcome Butler (15-7, 5-4) at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Providence (14-7, 5-3) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Butler beat MU, 94-83, on Jan. 12 in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs are 2-3 in conference road games, averaging 76.2 points per game away from home and 88 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

MU also has some distinctive home-road scoring splits.

In conference games, senior guard Andrew Rowsey is averaging 27.4 points at the Bradley Center and 11.3 on the road. Sophomore guard Markus Howard's numbers are flipped, with 34 ppg on the road and 11.6 at home.

With their two stars alternating good and sub-par games, the Golden Eagles have had to look for other sources of offense.

Sophomore forward Sacar Anim and sophomore center Harry Froling are two players that have stepped up their scoring.

Anim tied a collegiate high by notching 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the 85-82 loss to Villanova on Sunday. He's sticking to what he does best, driving through gaps in the defense, especially along the baseline.

"Most of the time it's open because a lot of the attention is on the other guys," Anim said. "So I have the chance to drive the baseline. I'm just going to take what the defense gives me, continue to drive the basket hard. If it's there, lay it up. If not, I can kick it to open teammates for knock-down shots."

Anim is avoiding three-point shots. He's 1 of 16 from beyond the arc this season, but has attempted just one three-point shot in the last four games. In that stretch, Anim is 15 of 20 on two-point field goals.

Froling responded well to getting his first start of the season against the Wildcats. He made all five of his shots for a collegiate-high 11 points.

He's also sticking with close-range shots, going 11 of 15 on two-point attempts in the last four games. Froling is 2 of 15 on three-pointers in 11 games this season, but he has only attempted four in the last four games.

Anim and Froling are giving opponents something else to think about other than the three-point shooting of Rowsey, Howard and sophomore Sam Hauser.

"Very difficult team to play against," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I know they're ranked nationally offensively, but just one of the most difficult teams you can ever face and have to defend."

MU will likely need more offensive contributions from the supporting cast as the Golden Eagles head into the back half of the league schedule.

Froling said last week that he's not feeling extra pressure.

"You got to enjoy everything when you're on the court," Froling said. "You got to enjoy it every time. I try to do that. Whether it's Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall, whoever. They're all big teams. We're in the Big East, they're all really good teams. I really appreciate and enjoy all of them."