Marquette opens NIT Tip-off in New York against loaded Kansas
Most college students look forward to the week of Thanksgiving as a time to relax for a few days.
The Marquette men's basketball team doesn't have that luxury.
The Golden Eagles (3-1) will face probably their biggest test of the nonconference slate against Kansas (3-0) in the NIT Tip-off on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in New York (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
MU will then face either Louisville or Tennessee on Friday in a loaded field.
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The Jayhawks are No. 2 in both the Associated Press rankings and the USA Today coaches poll. They were No. 1 in the preseason polls before getting leapfrogged by a rampaging Duke team.
"It's a big-time game on a huge stage against a national powerhouse," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Those are the type of games that we want to play in, that we want our program to be associated with.
"It's a game that people are going to be watching. I'm confident that we'll perform well. And we know it's going to be difficult, too. But that's why you come to Marquette.
"That's the things you should want. If you are a coach or a player, you should want to play on big stages in big-time games."
The Golden Eagles' big men, who have been inconsistent to start the season, will have their hands full with a talented Kansas frontcourt.
Udoka Azubuike, a 7-foot-1 junior center, is averaging 19 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3 blocks per game while shooting 67.6 percent. He has been bolstered by 6-9 junior forward Dedric Lawson, who puts up 13 points and nine rebounds per game while often facilitating the offense (3.7 assists) at the high post. Lawson transferred from Memphis along with his brother, K.J., who comes off the bench.
The Jayhawks start two ultra-talented freshmen in the backcourt in Quentin Grimes (12.3 points per game) and Devon Dotson (9.0), but the biggest threat on the outside has been Lagerald Vick (22.3). The senior, who declared for the NBA draft last year before returning to school, has shot 15 of 20 on three-pointers in Kansas' last two games.
Wojciechowski chuckled ominously when asked about the biggest challenge in defending Kansas.
"Biggest would be the right way to say it," the MU coach said. "They're huge inside. It's a double-edged sword because their frontcourt puts amazing pressure on the rim and they look to get it inside to the Lawson brothers and Udoka. And they're very efficient when they get it deep.
"But they generally are at their best when they are hitting threes. And so, when you're talking about their perimeter, I mean, Vick had a game when we was 8 for 8 from the three-point line. It's scary. Quentin Grimes, who we recruited very heavily, is an elite scorer. Dotson has been very good as a freshman."
The Golden Eagles will need to take care of the basketball to have a chance of upsetting Kansas. Early turnovers against Indiana led to easy baskets and a hole that MU couldn't get out of in a 96-73 loss last week.
MU also had 22 turnovers against Bethune-Cookman and 16 against Presbyterian.
Junior guard Markus Howard is adjusting to playing more minutes at point guard this season and coughed the ball up seven times against Presbyterian.
How is he going to fix that against Kansas?
"Um, not turn over the ball," Howard said with a laugh. "That's pretty much the biggest thing – executing our offense, trying to make sure we're getting the best shot while also staying poised.
"And knowing that they're going to try to pressure the ball ... so just trying to stay poised in all we do."
Junior forward Sam Hauser said MU can't get discouraged against the talented foes they will face in New York.
"When you're playing these big-time teams, there's going to be adversity that hits," Hauser said. "Whether a team goes on a run or a couple calls that don't go your way.
"You got to stick together and become even closer in those times and battle through it. I think that's an area we can get better at."