Davidson @ Marquette preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 21, 2013 ) Davidson 58, Marquette 59

Markus Howard will have to hope Disney is the cure for his mini shooting slump when he leads Marquette into the Orlando Invitational, where it faces Davidson on Thursday in the opening round. The senior guard has missed 19 shots over the last two games and didn't attempt very many in the latest win for the Golden Eagles, who will be out to shut down the Wildcats' Kellan Grady.

After a 6-for-21 showing in a loss to Wisconsin, Howard put up six shots against Robert Morris, his lowest total when healthy in more than a year. With Howard, whose scoring average sits at 21.3 points, well below the 25 points per game from last season that helped to earn him Big East Player of the Year honors, the Golden Eagles turned to Sacar Anim and Brendan Bailey to erase an 18-point deficit against Robert Morris. The duo each registered season highs with 14 and 10 points, respectively, with all 10 of Bailey's coming in the second half as Marquette overcame the big deficit. Grady, a junior with 1,195 points in 68 career games, will try to match Howard point for point for the Wildcats, who fell to Wake Forest last week after trouncing Nevada and UNC Wilmington.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT DAVIDSON (2-3): When the Wildcats get outrebounded, as is often the case for a team averaging 29.6 - a total that beat only nine teams in the country entering Wednesday, it usually loses. That was the case in all three of their defeats and particularly against Wake Forest, which enjoyed a 43-29 edge overall and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points. Davidson gets 58.5 percent of is rebounds from four players - Grady, Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Carter Collins and Luka Brajkovic - so it takes someone to step up in a big way to enjoy a rebounding edge like they did 39-24 against Wilmington.

ABOUT MARQUETTE (3-1): The Golden Eagles have many flaws - turnovers, failure to create turnovers and two-point shooting - and some of them were exacerbated by Robert Morris. Steve Wojciechowski's team is averaging 16.8 turnovers and 11.25 forced turnovers. The Golden Eagles' two-point shooting was solid against Robert Morris (51.6 percent) but over the four games, they are making 44 percent of their 2-pointers - slightly better than their 3-pointers, which at 41 percent was ranked 18th in the country.

TIP-INS

1. Wojciechowski earned his 100th victory at Marquette in the win over Robert Morris, making the sixth-year coach 100-70.

2. Marquette holds a 2-1 mark against Davidson, including a memorable victory in the opening round of 2013 NCAA Tournament when it rallied from down five points with 30 seconds remaining to win 59-58 on a layup by Vander Blue with one second left.

3. The Golden Eagles are making their third appearance in the Orlando Invitational, which is held at HP Field House on the Disney campus, and sport a 4-2 record after placing third in 2014 and second in 2009.

PREDICTION: Marquette 71, Davidson 62