Marquette - Stanford Preview

South- Round Two
Marquette Golden Eagles (6) Vs. Stanford Cardinal (3)
Saturday, March 22 @ 6:45 pm
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Marquette managed their first Round One NCAA Tournament bracket victory since 2003 by beating a tough Kentucky team 74- 66. Although Kentucky was better from the field and the three-point line, it was the foul stripe that decided this game as the Eagles were 22 of 29 (.793) and the Wildcats went 12 of 17 (.706). Those 10 points sealed the deal for Marquette.

With 22 seconds to go, Kentucky was within two. But with just a few seconds left, junior guard Wesley Mathews hit two frees and then two more to ice the game. He made 9 of 10 frees. Top scorer for Marquette was guard Jerel McNeal with 20 points. Forward Lazar Hayward, who had 16, grabbed 7 of the Eagles’ 30 rebounds. Guard Dominic James was good for 15 points with 8 coming from the foul line.

Stanford easily handled Cornell in its first game of the tournament, going into the locker room at halftime with a 21-point lead and beating the Big Red 77- 53. Stanford hit 55% of its shots, while Cornell put in only 31%. The Cardinal club grabbed 44 rebounds to the Big Red’s 23. It was on of the most dominating first round tournament performances of 2008.

Stanford’s seven-foot center Robin Lopez put in 14 points, while big man Lawrence Hill, at forward, handled 10 rebounds and scored 9 points. Forward Taj Finger took down 8 rebounds and put in 10 points. Guard Kenny Brown threw in 18 points. Although Mitch Johnson did not score, he dished off 5 assists.

The Marquette- Stanford game should be a good one and Maddux Sports had an expert basketball pick available on the game. Stanford lost the ball a lot to Cornell and that should be a concern. Both clubs can hit free throws, while Stanford has the edge in the frontcourt and the Eagles are a more refined perimeter club. Look for the Cardinal big guys to take it to the outside shooting Golden Eagles.