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Mar. 20—CLEVELAND, Ohio — Marquette's Kam Jones. New Mexico's Donovan Dent.
They're the names that have been on the top of every opposing scouting report on the No. 7 Golden Eagles or No. 10 Lobos.
And their matchup on Friday night in Rocket Arena in the first round of the South Region is already one of the most hyped in this year's NCAA Tournament.
But they won't actually be matched up on one another.
"A lot of times we tend to oversimplify and fans kind of go by what they hear from the media, but in reality, that's not a two-man matchup," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said when the Journal asked Thursday about Marquette's defensive stopper Stevie Mitchell and UNM's perimeter pest Tru Washington having to defend the two stars.
"That's a four-man matchup because you're right, Tru Washington, terrific defender, does a great job with his hands. You can tell that he's been well schooled and he's been very aggressive with that. Then Stevie Mitchell, for us, is always our guy that we put on an elite guard like Donovan Dent. That matchup will involve all four of those guys, plus their teammates, because when you're out there on the court, there's 10 total guys, and the help defense and the pick-and-roll coverages and those sorts of things really, really matter, too."
In Jones (19.3 points per game, 5.9 assists) and Dent (20.6 points, 6.4 assists), this game has two of the best scoring and distributing players in all of college basketball. But it's with Williams, Marquette's senior stopper, and Washington, UNM's sophomore stopper, where the key to the game might lie for these teams built more on defense — Marquette ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency per KenPom.com, New Mexico even better at 19th in the nation.
Dent said he doesn't think anyone he's played this season defends quite like what he's seen Mitchell do in film. But that doesn't mean he doesn't feel somewhat prepared.
"He reminds me a lot of a former teammate, (Jaelen) House," Dent said of the former Lobo star who Dent had to go up against every day in practice the previous two years.
"(Mitchell) is really a pest on the ball, just hustling around the court," he said.
UNM coach Richard Pitino said Mitchell has the team's respect, though he thinks the Marquette guard is more physical than House was.
"I think reminds me a little bit of some of those San Diego State guards physicality-wise," Pitino said. "But yeah, they play on the perimeter a lot offensively, so you may think that they're not as physical as they are. But it'll be one of the most physical teams we've played all year."
Both teams expressed mutual respect for the players involved in what Smart calls the "four-man matchup" involving the two star guards.
"Dent is a heck of a player," Smart said. "I told the guys when we first started introducing New Mexico, 'Understand this, he averages more points per game than Kam and more assists per game, in a league that's comparable. We've got five teams in the NCAA Tournament, the Mountain West got four. So it's a heck of a challenge."
But if the matchup at guard is the first talking point, the matchup in the post might be even more important. How Nelly Junior Joseph plays could be a larger factor in whether the Lobos are able to overcome the 3.5-point favorites who are playing in their neck of the woods — Cleveland is 430 miles from Milwaukee as opposed to 1,600 from Albuquerque.
In Junior Joseph, the Lobos have a center who often times, though not always, fits the description of a rebounding machine, physical and strong — the kind of player who has given the Golden Eagles fits.
For example, St. John's junior 6-9 center Zuby Ejiofor averaged 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.7 free throw attempts in the Red Storm's three wins over conference rival Marquette.
In last Friday's Big East semifinal, Ejiofor scored 33 points, had nine rebounds and was 11-of-12 at the free throw line in a win over the Golden Eagles.
"Zuby is a relentless rebounder, offensive rebounder especially," Pitino said, "but Nelly and him are somewhat similar, so I think when you're watching that last game in (Madison Square) Garden there, hopefully, Nelly can see some advantages. But they also do a great job of whether it's trapping or slapping down, as well."
Smart added that Junior Joseph, the Lobos fifth-year senior center, probably deserves more praise than he gets for being a key part of every Lobos' offensive success.
"I think Nelly Joseph is a big domino for Dent and the rest of the team," Smart said. "Dent is unquestionably the best player, but Nelly Joseph, man, I mean, the motor with which he plays and the way he impacts play on both ends of the floor is incredible."
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They're the names that have been on the top of every opposing scouting report on the No. 7 Golden Eagles or No. 10 Lobos.
And their matchup on Friday night in Rocket Arena in the first round of the South Region is already one of the most hyped in this year's NCAA Tournament.
But they won't actually be matched up on one another.
"A lot of times we tend to oversimplify and fans kind of go by what they hear from the media, but in reality, that's not a two-man matchup," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said when the Journal asked Thursday about Marquette's defensive stopper Stevie Mitchell and UNM's perimeter pest Tru Washington having to defend the two stars.
"That's a four-man matchup because you're right, Tru Washington, terrific defender, does a great job with his hands. You can tell that he's been well schooled and he's been very aggressive with that. Then Stevie Mitchell, for us, is always our guy that we put on an elite guard like Donovan Dent. That matchup will involve all four of those guys, plus their teammates, because when you're out there on the court, there's 10 total guys, and the help defense and the pick-and-roll coverages and those sorts of things really, really matter, too."
In Jones (19.3 points per game, 5.9 assists) and Dent (20.6 points, 6.4 assists), this game has two of the best scoring and distributing players in all of college basketball. But it's with Williams, Marquette's senior stopper, and Washington, UNM's sophomore stopper, where the key to the game might lie for these teams built more on defense — Marquette ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency per KenPom.com, New Mexico even better at 19th in the nation.
Dent said he doesn't think anyone he's played this season defends quite like what he's seen Mitchell do in film. But that doesn't mean he doesn't feel somewhat prepared.
"He reminds me a lot of a former teammate, (Jaelen) House," Dent said of the former Lobo star who Dent had to go up against every day in practice the previous two years.
"(Mitchell) is really a pest on the ball, just hustling around the court," he said.
UNM coach Richard Pitino said Mitchell has the team's respect, though he thinks the Marquette guard is more physical than House was.
"I think reminds me a little bit of some of those San Diego State guards physicality-wise," Pitino said. "But yeah, they play on the perimeter a lot offensively, so you may think that they're not as physical as they are. But it'll be one of the most physical teams we've played all year."
Both teams expressed mutual respect for the players involved in what Smart calls the "four-man matchup" involving the two star guards.
"Dent is a heck of a player," Smart said. "I told the guys when we first started introducing New Mexico, 'Understand this, he averages more points per game than Kam and more assists per game, in a league that's comparable. We've got five teams in the NCAA Tournament, the Mountain West got four. So it's a heck of a challenge."
But if the matchup at guard is the first talking point, the matchup in the post might be even more important. How Nelly Junior Joseph plays could be a larger factor in whether the Lobos are able to overcome the 3.5-point favorites who are playing in their neck of the woods — Cleveland is 430 miles from Milwaukee as opposed to 1,600 from Albuquerque.
In Junior Joseph, the Lobos have a center who often times, though not always, fits the description of a rebounding machine, physical and strong — the kind of player who has given the Golden Eagles fits.
For example, St. John's junior 6-9 center Zuby Ejiofor averaged 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 10.7 free throw attempts in the Red Storm's three wins over conference rival Marquette.
In last Friday's Big East semifinal, Ejiofor scored 33 points, had nine rebounds and was 11-of-12 at the free throw line in a win over the Golden Eagles.
"Zuby is a relentless rebounder, offensive rebounder especially," Pitino said, "but Nelly and him are somewhat similar, so I think when you're watching that last game in (Madison Square) Garden there, hopefully, Nelly can see some advantages. But they also do a great job of whether it's trapping or slapping down, as well."
Smart added that Junior Joseph, the Lobos fifth-year senior center, probably deserves more praise than he gets for being a key part of every Lobos' offensive success.
"I think Nelly Joseph is a big domino for Dent and the rest of the team," Smart said. "Dent is unquestionably the best player, but Nelly Joseph, man, I mean, the motor with which he plays and the way he impacts play on both ends of the floor is incredible."
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