Nov. 16, 2009

Marquette-UMES Game Notes (PDF)

The Marquette University men's basketball team continues its season-opening four-game homestand Tuesday night when the team hosts Maryland Eastern Shore at 7 p.m. in the Bradley Center. The first-ever matchup between the two programs will be featured on Sports32 in the greater Milwaukee area, with Dennis Krause (play-by-play) and Jim McIlvaine (analyst) calling the action. MU will continue its homestand against Grambling (Nov. 21) and South Dakota (Nov. 24) before traveling to the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Starting Lineup Combo Short On Experience
With just one returning starter (Lazar Hayward) from last year's squad, head coach Buzz Williams' starting five on the season opener was short on experience.

Forwards Joe Fulce and Jimmy Butler and guard Dwight Buycks made their respective first-ever starts for the Golden Eagles, while senior David Cubillan was on the court for the opening tip for just the second time in his career.

In the team's final matchup of the 2008-09 campaign, the senior-dominated lineup accounted for a total of 510 starts. Saturday's starters now own 90 total, 85 of which are by Hayward. The coaching staff could use a variety of combinations in the scorebook, but only one other player on the roster, Maurice Acker, has ever started for the Blue & Gold. The senior guard is in possession of eight starts.

Golden Eagles To Face Hawks For First Time
Marquette will face Maryland Eastern Shore for the first time in school history Tuesday night, one of two first-time opponents on the 2009-10 schedule. The Golden Eagles have also never played the Ospreys of North Florida in men's basketball.

While MU hasn't played the Hawks previous to this year, the program has had a good amount of success against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Marquette owns a combined record of 19-0 versus the 12 teams currently in the league, having faced Coppin State (5-0) the most occasions of any opponent.

The most recent MEAC team to visit the Bradley Center was Coppin State in 2007-08, which resulted in an 89-42 MU victory.