Huskies (4-2) vs #11 Golden Eagles (7-0)
The Washington Huskies are expected to compete for supremacy in the PAC 12 but they haven’t shown us much yet. They lost some significant contributors from last year, especially in the backcourt, but coach Lorenzo Romar has developed an underappreciated program in the Pacific Northwest.
Tuesday December 6
Madison Square Garden
9:00PM
Moneyline:
Spread: Marquette -6
O/U: 156.5
Washington
They have plenty of the kind of players he likes to compete with including top prospects Terrence Ross and Abdul Gaddy – who could be in the NBA next year. Just imagine if they had kept Terrence Jones in the fold.
The Huskies top four scorers all all guards but against a quality opponent it it could be their bigs who make the difference. They are getting quality minutes from Darnell Gant and Aziz N’Diaye who have been cleaning up on the glass and challenging shots. As long as that continues they will find themselves in pretty much in any game this season. This is a high scoring team averaging 81ppg. They shoot well in general but their foul shooting needs to improve. They only shoot 62%. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Marquette
Marquette has been a nice story so far this season. They haven’t lost yet and are coming off an impressive victory against a Wisconsin team that nearly upset the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. The upset victory was especially impressive because they beat the Badgers at their own game, winning by 7 even though they were 23 points below their season average. This team may be in the second tier of the Big East but you know they are going to give the top teams all they can handle. (P.S. Isn’t it amazing how Wisconsin always gets teams to play their game)
This should be a fun game to watch as Marquette wants to push the ball as much as Washington, maybe more. They average 84ppg and are led by DJO or Darius Johnson-Odom. Like their opponent this is a perimeter oriented team, in fact they have even less size than the Huskies with Jae Crowder their best big man at only 6’6”. If they can hold their own on the glass they have a chance and they should feel more comfortable playing at Madison Square Garden then their opponent. These teams are made to play each other. In fact they faced off in the tournament two years ago with Washington winning 80-78.
Spread Pick: Washington
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Washington 84 – Marquette 80
