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Big East Tournament 2012: Marquette Basketball Preview

By Jared Smith

The Big East Conference Tournament 2012 tips off Tuesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, and this SB Nation New York StoryStream is the place to come for every tidbit of information. For a full schedule with results and updates of the bracket, click here.

The men's basketball program playing the best basketball heading into the Big East Tournament is probably the Marquette Golden Eagles, who polished of their regular season by winning 13 of their last 15 games.

Marquette (25-6, 14-4 Big East) earned the No. 2 seed and with just two victories could avenge a loss to the No. 1-seeded Syracuse Orange in the championship game, March 10.

Head Coach: Buzz Williams, fourth season

Ever since Williams was named the head coach after Tom Crean left for Indiana, Marquette has been a staple of excellence in the Big East and the NCAA Tournament. For the fourth straight season, the Golden Eagles will make March's big dance, however, this time with probably its best team since Dwyane Wade was still balling in 2003.

Team MVP: Jae Crowder, senior forward

The former JUCO transfer showed potential from the time he arrived at Marquette, and now its seems his skill-set is reaching its peak at the right time. For the past month, Crowder, named a All-Big East First Team selection Sunday, has been outstanding for the Golden Eagles and the results may lead to a Big East Player of the Year honor.

Playing For: NCAA Tournament seeding

The Golden Eagles will more than likely end up being a No. 3 seed come March Madness, however, a Big East Tournament crown could move them up a notch.

Breakdown: By now, almost everyone knows about the dynamic duo of seniors Crowder and guard Darius Johnson-Odom, who can basically do anything they want on the hardwood.

However, what makes this team really good is the sneaky play of sophomore forward Davante Gardner, the leadership of junior guard Junior Cadougan and flashiness of freshman guard Todd Mayo.

This squad is good and ready to rock-and-roll for a big run in March.

Big East Tournament Seed: No. 2, will played Thursday (7 p.m. ET) against either: No. 7 Louisville Cardinals, No. 10 Seton Hall Pirates or No. 15 Providence Friars.

Roster and stats:

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Darius Johnson-Odom 30 32.3 6.1 13.6 45.1 2.3 5.7 40.1 3.7 4.9 76.7 0.7 2.7 3.4 2.8 2.3 1.0 0.1 2.0 18.3
Jae Crowder 31 32.8 6.2 12.1 51.2 1.8 5.0 36.1 3.5 4.6 74.3 1.8 6.2 7.9 2.1 1.3 2.4 1.0 2.6 17.6
Davante Gardner 23 19.6 3.4 5.9 57.8 0.0 0.1 0.0 3.0 4.0 74.7 2.7 2.9 5.5 0.7 1.3 0.8 0.2 2.6 9.7
Vander Blue 31 25.9 2.9 6.9 42.5 0.3 1.0 26.7 2.5 3.7 69.3 1.7 2.7 4.4 2.9 2.1 1.2 0.2 1.6 8.7
Todd Mayo 31 20.6 2.5 6.2 41.4 0.8 2.7 30.1 1.9 2.4 78.7 0.9 1.7 2.5 1.2 1.5 0.5 0.1 2.1 7.8
Jamil Wilson 30 23.7 2.8 6.2 45.2 0.3 0.9 34.6 1.2 1.7 74.0 1.6 2.3 3.9 1.2 1.0 0.8 1.2 2.8 7.1
Junior Cadougan 30 28.5 2.1 5.4 39.5 0.3 1.1 24.2 1.9 2.7 70.0 0.4 1.7 2.1 5.5 2.5 1.1 0.2 2.0 6.4
Chris Otule 8 17.8 1.9 3.1 60.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.4 52.6 1.6 2.8 4.4 0.1 1.6 0.9 1.6 2.4 5.0
Jamail Jones 26 8.9 0.8 2.2 35.7 0.2 0.9 20.8 0.0 0.2 20.0 0.2 1.2 1.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.6 1.8
Juan Anderson 21 4.9 0.2 0.6 41.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.4 66.7 0.3 0.6 1.0 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.8
Derrick Wilson 29 9.8 0.2 0.5 40.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.6 47.1 0.4 0.8 1.2 0.8 0.3 0.7 0.0 1.7 0.7

For a SB Nation New York preview of other Big East schools, click on its respective links: Syracuse, Marquette, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgetown, South Florida, Louisville, West Virginia, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John's, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Providence, DePaul.

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