The Daily Campus

Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ryan Sayers Jeff Adrien rises up for a jump shot during Saturday's game against South Florida.

In their first game since dropping to the No. 2 spot in the polls, the Huskies will head to Wisconsin to take on No. 10 Marquette today at 7 p.m.

The Golden Eagles have the nation's fourth longest home-winning streak with 16 wins at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

The Huskies (25-2, 13-2 Big East) have gone 12-0 on the road this season.

A UConn win would give coach Jim Calhoun his 800th career win as a head coach, making him the seventh coach in Division I history to accomplish that feat.

But for now, the Calhoun and the Huskies are worrying themselves with the bigger tasks at hand.

"Right now, [800] means nothing," Calhoun said. "I've already addressed that issue and very simply, I'd like to get into great company someday, but right now it's much more important for us to get into and try to win a Big East Championship. That's a hell of a lot more important than anything that goes by my name."

The Huskies head into Wednesday's match-up having won their last game against South Florida last Saturday.

Marquette (23-4, 12-2) comes into the game having won three straight contests, all against Big East opponents. The Golden Eagles have lost to Dayton, Tennessee, then-ranked No. 13 Villanova and South Florida. They lost to the Bulls 57-56, after missing two shots in the final seconds.

In that game, Marquette shot 16 percent from behind the arc on 4-of-24 shooting and also recorded a season-worst 43.5 percent from the charity stripe, making 10-of-23 foul shots.

Leading the way for the Golden Eagles are their big three in the backcourt. Jerel McNeal is the team's leading scorer, averaging 20 points, 4.7 rebounds, four assists and two steals a game. Wesley Matthews is right behind, scoring 19 points a game to go along with five rebounds. The third guard in Marquette's deep backcourt is Dominic James who averages 12 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game.

Earlier this season, McNeal became the school's all-time leading scorer. He currently has 1,831 points.

The two teams have only met each other three times, with Marquette having the 2-1 advantage in the series.

Last season, the Huskies got the best of the Golden Eagles 89-73 at Gampel Pavilion, as five UConn players scored in double-figures. A.J. Price led the way with 17 points and recorded eight assists. Hasheem Thabeet had 15 points in that game to go along with seven rebounds and six blocks.

Marquette returned four of their five starters from last year's game against UConn. This season, the Golden Eagles have gone with the same starting lineup for all 27 games. They are one of five schools that have gone with the same starting lineup all season.

On paper, the two teams seem to be evenly matched. They shoot exactly the same percentage from the field, at 47, and they both shoot about 35 percent from behind the arc. Marquette averages 80 points a game while UConn puts up 76 points.

The biggest difference between the teams is that Marquette's starting five average 69.7 points per game and UConn's starting five only averages 53.

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