A quick look at tonight’s game between No. 8 Marquette and DePaul in Chicago.

STARTING LINEUPS (Season stats in parenthesis):

Marquette (19-2, 8-0 Big East):

G Dominic James (11.5 ppg, 5.3 apg)

G Jerel McNeal (19.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

G Wesley Matthews (19.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

F Lazar Hayward (16.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg)

F Dwight Burke (2.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

DePaul (8-14, 0-9):

G Michael Bizoukas (2.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg)

G Dar Tucker (18.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg)

G Will Walker (12.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

F Matija Poscic (3.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

C Mac Koshwal (13.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg)

When these two teams last met, Marquette won 79-70 in Milwaukee but the win wasn’t overwhelmingly impressive. The Blue Demons stayed close down the stretch before continuing their winless Big East season.

After beating Notre Dame and Georgetown in succession last week, the Golden Eagles are riding an 11-game winning streak. A recent cbssportsline poll said “It’s starting to look like Marquette will never lose again. Ever.” I’m fairly certain they’ll lose again, but It probably won’t be tonight.

All the Golden Eagles need to do is make sure to neutralize sophomore center Mac Koshwal and force Dar Tucker to take irresponsible shots (he will). Beyond that, the Golden Eagles shouldn’t be looking ahead to South Florida, so Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews should be able to take care of things.

We’ll have more from this one as we go.

It’s a final here in Milwaukee, as No. 8 Marquette beat No. 25 Georgetown 94-82. The game was probably a bit closer than the final score would indicate, but Marquette really outplayed the Hoyas in the second half.

The Golden Eagles got 26 points from Jerel McNeal, 23 points from Lazar Hayward and 23 points from Wesley Matthews to pull away after ending the first half at 42-42. McNeal had one of his better games at Marquette, adding 11 assists, five steals and three blocks to his stat line.

Still the biggest difference in this one might have been the emergence of Matthews (19 points after the break) and Marquette’s ability to limit Georgetown’s DaJuan Summers in the second half (nine points, three rebounds). Marquette improved to 8-0 in Big East play, while Georgetown lost its fourth consecutive conference game.

Really a well played game at the Bradley Center today as No. 8 Marquette is tied 42-42 with No. 23 Georgetown. The Hoyas started out strong and led by 10 just seven minutes into the game but Marquette got timely shooting from Lazar Hayward (14 points, 5-of-7 field goals) and Jerel McNeal (14 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers). The Golden Eagles used a late 16-6 run to control the end of the half.

Marquette had absolutely no answer for DaJuan Summers in the first half, as he scored 11 of his team’s first 14 points. He finished the half with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Austin Freeman (10 points) and Greg Monroe (eight points) also led Georgetown.

This one’s too close to call, both teams shot lights-out in the first half. Georgetown was 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) from the floor and Marquette was 13-of-23 (56.5 percent). Related fact from the Georgetown media guide: Of the last 90 teams to play Georgetown, 77 shot below 45 percent. So…there’s that.

We’ll have more when this one wraps up.

Here’s a quick look at this afternoon’s game between Marquette and Georgetown in Milwaukee.

Probable Starting Lineups (season statistics in parenthesis):

MARQUETTE (18-2, 7-0 Big East):

G Dominic James (11.6 ppg, 5.4 apg)

G Jerel McNeal (19.4 ppg, 48 3-pointers)

G Wesley Matthews (19.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

F Lazar Hayward (16.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg)

F Dwight Burke (2.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

GEORGETOWN (12-7, 3-5):

G Chris Wright (11.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

G Jessie Sapp (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

G Austin Freeman (12.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

F DaJuan Summers (14.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

C Greg Monroe (14.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg)

This game might not be a must win for the Hoyas, but it has to be getting pretty close. Georgetown has lost four straight, the last two coming to Big East basement-dwellers Seton Hall and Cincinnati. The Golden Eagles are coming off a road win against Notre Dame, no small feat even given the trouble the Irish have had of late.

I can’t really see a situation in which Greg Monroe doesn’t go nuts for Georgetown today, so look for Marquette to take the Luke Harangody approach they used on Monday. Basically, they’ll probably allow Monroe his points and try to shut down everyone else, betting that one guy can’t beat them. No official word yet on whether DaJuan Summers will play with an ankle injury suffered against Cincinnati. My guess is yes, but he won’t be 100 percent.

You know the drill for Marquette — good perimeter defense led by Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews, weak frontcourt that can’t afford to get in foul trouble and don’t fall in love with the 3-pointer.

Should be a good one today, we’ll have more as we go.

A quick look at tonight’s game between No. 8 Marquette and Notre Dame in South Bend.

Probable starters (season stats in parenthesis):

Marquette (17-2, 6-0 Big East):

G Dominic James (11.4 ppg, 5.4 apg)

G Jerel McNeal (18.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

G Wesley Matthews (19.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg)

F Lazar Hayward (16.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg)

F Dwight Burke (3.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Notre Dame (12-6, 3-4 Big East):

G Tory Jackson (11.2 ppg, 5.8 apg)

G Kyle McAlarney (16.6 ppg, 3.4 apg)

G Ryan Ayers (10.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

F Zach Hillesland (5.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg)

F Luke Harangody (24.8 ppg, 13.1 rpg)

I’m here at the Joyce Center in Notre Dame for tonight’s game. The Irish just dropped out of the AP Top 25 after Saturday’s loss (their third in a row) to No. 2 Connecticut, and Marquette is ranked (by my tally) about 10 spots too high at No. 8. You know what that means – another tightly contested affair between these two Big East rivals. Last year, these squads have traded home wins and Marquette won a neutral site game in the Big East Tourney. Before the Huskies beat the Irish 69-61 on Saturday, Marquette was the last team to take down Notre Dame at home, but I wouldn’t count on it happening again.

Luke Harangody will lead the Irish in this one, that’s no secret. In fact, Marquette probably wouldn’t mind if he went off. In Milwaukee last year, the Golden Eagles let him run rampant, choosing instead to focus on shutting down guards Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson. The strategy worked, and the Golden Eagles scored a blowout win. Marquette’s frontcourt has only gotten worse since then, expect a big one from No. 44.

Marquette has three players averaging over 15 ppg in senior guards Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and forward Lazar Hayward. Senior guard Dominic James averages in double digits as well and is having arguably his best season as a game manager. These Golden Eagles focus on defense, and know that with their Big East-leading scoring offense, the points will come. To win, Marquette will have to shut down Notre Dame’s perimeter attack.

We’ll have more on this one as we go.

It’s a final here in Milwaukee as No. 15 Marquette pulled away down the stretch to beat No. 22 West Virginia 75-53. The final score doesn’t really do justice to just how sloppy and ugly this game was, and it didn’t really get out of hand until Da’Sean Butler, the Mountaineers’ leading scorer with 18 points, fouled out with about six minutes to play.

For most of the game Marquette guards Dominic James and Jerel McNeal were wild and took some ill-advised shots, but the duo ended up with 17 and 26 points, respectively. McNeal turned the ball over six times though, and they were a combined 17-for-37 from the floor. The Golden Eagles really took over a few possessions into the second half when they grabbed their first lead of the half on a pair of free throws from Jimmy Butler. From there, Marquette controlled most of the play.

I mentioned before that, in losing efforts this season, West Virginia has shot 31.5 percent and scored 54.3 points. That held pretty true today as the Mountaineers were outshot 41.1 percent to 35 percent and scored just 53 points.

Tight one in Milwaukee today as No. 22 West Virginia leads No. 15 Marquette 31-29 at the half. The Mountaineers got a buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior Da’Sean Butler, who has been abusing Marquette all day. The forward has 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and four rebounds.

Play has been mostly sloppy, with the number of fouls called exceeded only by the number of fouls not called, and the number of people falling on the ground after collisions. West Virginia owned an early 21-13 lead, but a Marquette run around the six minute mark ensured play stayed fairly even.

Jerel McNeal leads the Golden Eagles with 11 points (on 5-of-13 shooting), but has been mostly out of control and committed the team’s only three turnovers. He was 1-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. Dominic James has eight points and, all and all, the Golden Eagles should consider themselves lucky not to be down more.

We’ll have more from this one after it wraps up.

A quick look at No. 15 Marquette vs. No. 22 West Virginia in Milwaukee today.

Probable starters (season stats in parenthesis):

Marquette (14-2, 3-0 Big East):

G Dominic James (11.4 ppg, 5.1 apg)

G Jerel McNeal (18 ppg, 4.6 rpg)

G Wesley Matthews (19.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg)

F Lazar Hayward (16.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg)

F Dwight Burke (2.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

West Virginia (11-3, 1-1):

G Alex Ruoff (16.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

G Darryl Bryant (11.1 ppg, 3.0 apg)

F Da’Sean Butler (15.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg)

F Devin Ebanks (7.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

F Wellington Smith (6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg)

Marquette enters today’s game fresh of a closer-than-had-to-be 81-76 win over Rutgers Wednesday. Guards Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews have been on a tear of late, with Matthews making all 10 shots he took from the field against the Scarlet Knights, and McNeal going 11-for-15 from behind the 3-point line in his last two contests. The Golden Eagles have also begun to toss recovering forwards Joseph Fulce (knee) and Chris Otule (foot) into the mix. Early returns on those two aren’t overwhelmingly positive, but at least the Golden Eagles have a few more fouls to spare.

Guard Alex Ruoff leads West Virginia as the Mountaineers’ lone senior. Also dangerous is forward Da’Sean Butler, who is averaging over 15 points per game. West Virginia is 4-0 in true road games this season, but is coming off a 61-55 home loss to UConn. The stats say West Virginia has been streaky this season, shooting 46.9 percent in wins against just 31.5 percent in losses. They also score 80.1 points in victories, and just 54.3 points in losses.

We’ll have more from this one as we go.

A few highlights from today’s press conference at Marquette:

Villanova coach Jay Wright on the play of Marquette’s three senior guards Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews:

“If you weren’t playing against them, they’re actually fun to watch…I thought they controlled the game, all three of them…in college basketball, big time guards are going to be very successful.”

McNeal on Matthews’ quiet first half (three points), followed by his 16-point second half:

“He was a missing piece tonight, he was a little bit quiet until that point.”

McNeal on the play of James, who forced ‘Nova guard Scottie Reynolds into four offensive fouls:

“He was locked in, and I was locked in, we were on a mission tonight…he did a real good job defending (Reynolds).”

It’s a final here in Milwaukee, as No. 25 Marquette beats No. 13 Villanova 79-72 on New Year’s Day. The Golden Eagles were led by a a quartet of double-digit scorers. Jerel McNeal led all scorers with 24 points and Dominic James (17), Wesley Matthews (19) and Lazar Hayward (15) gave him plenty of help.

James shot just 6-of-15 from the floor, but his four three pointers were timed so well it seemed like he made a lot more. Marquette withstood several Villanova runs in the second half, keyed by Corey Fisher (21 points, 8-of-11 free throws), Scottie Reynolds (15 points) and Dante Cunningham (16 points, 8 rebounds).

The Wildcats are good this year, but for my money probably a ranked a touch too high at No. 13. Still a solid win for a Marquette team that, aside from Wisconsin, hasn’t beaten anyone this year.

I’ll have quotes when they become available. If ‘Nova coach Jay Wright is half as animated as he was on the sidelines today, they’ll be good ones.