Las Vegas Dice

Rutgers at Marquette
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Where: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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THE STORY: Despite being hit hard by injuries in the frontcourt, No. 10 Marquette has positioned itself for a high NCAA Tournament seed by winning 10 of its last 11 games. The Golden Eagles have been riding a high-octane offense that ranks among the national leaders in scoring, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. Rutgers comes in with a five-game losing streak, including a bitterly fought 74-64 defeat against No. 2 Syracuse on Sunday. Marquette earned a 73-65 road win over the Scarlet Knights last season, their fifth straight triumph in the series.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Big East Network, Sports32 (Milwaukee/Green Bay), MSG (New York City), WFMZ (Philadelphia), ESPN3.com

ABOUT RUTGERS (12-15, 4-10 Big East): The Scarlet Knights have remained competitive thanks in large part to a defense that still ranks among the league leaders in steals (8.4) and holds opponents to 64.7 points on 41.2 percent shooting from the floor. Rutgers has been turnover-prone on offense (14.7 per game) but makes up for it by forcing plenty of mistakes (15.8) at the other end. Six players average at least seven points apiece for the Scarlet Knights, led by freshman guard Eli Carter (13.4). Sophomore forward Gilvydas Biruta had 21 points in the loss to Syracuse.

ABOUT MARQUETTE (22-5, 11-3 Big East): The Golden Eagles, tied with Notre Dame for second place in the conference, have been getting by despite knee injuries to their top two centers — senior starter Chris Otule is out for the year, and sophomore Davante Gardner is still doubtful after missing the last five games. Marquette remains potent offensively, led by the outside-inside senior combo of guard Darius Johnson-Odom (18.6 points) and forward Jae Crowder (16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals).

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1. Marquette has been dominant on its home floor against Rutgers, winning their three games in Milwaukee by an average of 24.3 points.

2. The Golden Eagles have won at least 10 Big East games in six of their seven seasons since joining the league in 2005-06.

3. Marquette plays its next two games on the road against West Virginia (Feb. 24) and Cincinnati (Feb. 29) before returning home to wrap the regular season against Georgetown on March 3.

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