BIG EAST Basketball: Tale of the Tape For Top 20 Creighton-Marquette Game
BIG EAST Basketball: Tale of the Tape For Top 20 Creighton-Marquette Game
BIG EAST Conference counterparts Marquette and Creighton square off Dec. 13 in a matchup of teams ranked in the AP Top 20.
The BIG EAST is home to the biggest game of the week in women's basketball. Two of the conference's three teams ranked in the Dec. 11 Associated Press Top 25 poll — No. 20 Creighton and No. 19 Marquette — meet in a tone-setting league opener.
Creighton treks to Milwaukee for the Dec. 13 showdown on a five-game winning streak, improving to 7-1 on the season with some of the most defensively dominant play anywhere in college basketball.
Host Marquette is one of only nine undefeated teams remaining after beating Illinois State in a gritty, 64-62 comeback win. The Golden Eagles moved to 9-0 ahead of the BIG EAST tip-off.
Ahead of their Wednesday night main event, here's the tale of the tape between the Bluejays and Golden Eagles.
Defense
Both Creighton and Marquette have been excellent defending a specific phase of the opponent's offense. In the Golden Eagles case, it's been protecting the interior.
Opposing offenses have shot only 40.3 percent on field-goal attempts inside the 3-point arc vs. Marquette, contributing to an overall opponent field-goal percentage of 36.9 percent.
The Golden Eagles' ability to effectively crash the glass helps them capitalize on the misses they force. Marquette allows only nine offensive per game.
Meanwhile, Marquette's ability to swarm inside forces opponents into ill-advised decisions looking for openings, which the Golden Eagles have converted into takeaway opportunities.
Behind a quartet of Golden Eagles averaging at least 1.2 steals per game — Jordan King (1.2), Frannie Hottinger (1.3), Mackenzie Hare (1.3) and Rose Nkumu (1.9) — Marquette forces more than 19 turnovers per game. That's good for a takeaway on 23.5 percent of all opponent possessions per game, via HerHoopStats.com.
And, also via HerHoopStats, the Golden Eagles rank 14th nationally in defensive rating metrics.
That stingy approach will be tested against a potent Creighton offense. The same is true for the Bluejays, however, with the Golden Eagles boasting a prolific offense of their own.
Creighton has been especially effective defending 3-point shooters, holding opponents to just 23.3 shooting beyond the arc.
The Bluejays are excellent on the defensive glass, which they convert into scoring opportunities by getting into transition. Four Bluejays average at least five rebounds per game: Lauren Jensen (5), Mallory Brake (5.9), Morgan Maly (6.3) and Emma Ronsiek (6.4), with all but Brake averaging more than four per on the defensive end.
Offense
With two of the nation's highest-scoring teams in action, this BIG EAST pairing has the potential for serious fireworks. Creighton is scoring 77 points per game, good for 44th in Div. I, thanks to some of the most unselfish play seen anywhere in the game.
The Bluejays score off of assists on 18.1 of their 28.1 made field goals per contests. Their overall assist average ranks No. 22 nationally, and the distribution of their scoring from assists, per HerHoopStats.com, is 32nd.
Molly Mogensen dishes 3.9 assists a contest, Jensen distributes three, and another three Bluejays average at least two assists an outing.
The trio of Jensen, Ronsiek and Maly provide the bulk of Creighton's scoring, posting 17.9, 17.1 and 16.5 points per game. Any of the three is capable of erupting for a 25-point-plus effort, like Maly when she posted 26 points in the Jays' Cancun Challenge win over Michigan State.
Few teams have as selfless and balanced on top as Creighton — but Marquette's one of them.
The Golden Eagles average 20.3 assists per game, good for 10th in the nation. Nkumu leads the way in that category with 4.8 distributed a contest. She's also produced at a assist-to-turnover rate of almost 3-to-1.
Nkumu is also one of five Golden Eagles scoring at least 9.1 points per game, all starters. Hottinger and Nkumu both put up 9.1 a contest, with King (15), Liza Karlen (15.6) and Hare (16.2) each averaging in double-figures.
All the more impressive is that four of the five are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. Marquette creates open looks to generate its offense, resulting in the nation's seventh-best overall field-goal percentage at 50.8.
What's more, the Golden Eagles have been better than any team in basketball shooting the 3-pointer at 42 percent. Hare, who attempts 6.7 3-pointers per game, is knocking down a blistering 58.3 percent. She is 13-of-18 in Marquette's last three contests.
X-Factor Players to Watch
Evenly matched starting fives put a high premium on the role of bench contributors in this one. Each side features a reserve to watch, who could make a pivotal impact.
For Marquette, freshman post player Skylar Forbes provides size and a potential matchup problem. Forbes is making almost 61 percent of her field-goal attempts, and gets to the foul line more than any other Golden Eagle save King, averaging 2.3 free throws per game.
Forbes can also alter shots and is averaging a team-best 1.1 blocks per game.
Creighton's Kennedy Townsend, meanwhile, provides quality depth for the Bluejays backcourt. Townsend is shooting north of 46 percent from 3-point range and making close to one an outing. She's also produced almost a steal per game, and is hitting the boards for 2.3 per game in 14.7 minutes played.