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.

It’s a final here at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., with Marquette beating Northern Iowa 73-43 in the third round of the Chicago Invitational. The closest this one got was 0-0, because Marquette jumped out to a 32-8 lead at the start and lead 37-18 at the half.

Senior guard Jerel McNeal, a Chicago native, had 13 points for Marquette. He added two steals as the Golden Eagles forced 14 turnovers. Fellow guard Wesley Matthews continued his surprisingly strong start to the season with 17 points and seven rebounds. Forward Lazar Hayward turned in another good game for Marquette, scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Now the bad news. Marquette looked shaky in the halfcourt again, settling too often for quick 3-point shots. That worked in the first half, when the Golden Eagles shot 42.9 percent from three, but not as well in the second half when they shot 38.5 percent. We’ll have coach Buzz Williams’ comment on that as soon as possible.

Senior forward Dwight Burke managed to stay on the court for most of the game, playing 30 minutes and scoring one point while grabbing six rebounds. Other than that, walk-on Robert Frozena got in for an unprecedented five minutes tonight.

I’ll give you some postgame quotes when they become available.

A quick look at No. 16 Marquette (2-0) against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (3-1) in Milwaukee today:

Probable Starters (season stats in parenthesis):
Marquette:
G Dominic James (6.5 ppg, seven steals)
G Jerel McNeal (18.5 ppg, 11 assists)
G Wesley Matthews (26.5 ppg, 7.0 apg)
F Lazar Hayward (20.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
F Dwight Burke (1.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg)

UW-Milwaukee:
G Tone Boyle (14.5 ppg, 6 steals)
G Ricky Franklin (11.8 ppg, 3.8 apg)
G Deonte Roberts (6.0 ppg, 1.8 apg)
F Tony Meier (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
F Anthony Hill (9.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg)

The Golden Eagles hold a 35-0 record all-time against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, so this cross-town “rivalry” is such in name only. In reality, Marquette and UW-Milwaukee are rivals like blades of grass and a lawn mower are rivals. Or how Barack Obama and Ron Paul are rivals.

Still, senior guard Wesley Matthews acknowledged the perceived importance of being called “the best team in Milwaukee” this week.

“It’s just the next game on the schedule,” Matthews said. “But we still don’t forget about those bragging rights.”

Right. UW-Milwaukee lost Torre Johnson, Paige Paulson and Marcus Skinner from last season – when Marquette won a 100-65 decision. That trio accounted for 38.6 points and 20.3 rebounds per game last year. The Panthers now rely on juco transfer Tone Boyle.

It should be business as usual for the size-challenged Golden Eagles, with Matthews and fellow guards Jerel McNeal and Dominic James leading the way. Matthews has 27 and 26 points in his first two games of the year, respectively, and McNeal is off to a quietly stellar start. Junior forward Lazar Hayward is averaging a double-double, and should have a chance for a good showing considering UW-Milwaukee is equally size-starved.

More on this one after it finishes.