Georgia @ Marquette preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 4, 2016 ) Marquette 89, Georgia 79

Marquette has plenty of offensive firepower at its disposal, and comes into Saturday’s home game against Georgia off a school-record shooting display. The Golden Eagles established a program record in Wednesday’s 95-69 rout of Chicago State by making 18 3-pointers, led by Markus Howard’s 11-of-15 performance from beyond the arc, and the sophomore's 33-point effort marks the third consecutive game a Marquette player has scored 30 or more.

“Every time those guys are open, they should shoot the ball,” Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski told reporters afterward, also referencing Sam Hauser’s 30 points Monday and Andrew Rowsey’s 30 points against LSU in the Maui Invitational. “They are capable of nights like this.” The Bulldogs have won five of their first six games, the program’s best start since 2010-11 and ended the Wooden Legacy on Sunday with an 83-81 upset victory over ranked Saint Mary’s that was sparked by good perimeter defense. “We wanted to take the wing player’s 3’s away and we were able to do that,” Georgia coach Mark Fox told the media after the Bulldogs gave up only four 3-pointers. Forward Yante Maten is one of the top players in the SEC, averaging 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT GEORGIA (5-1): Guard Tyree Crump came off the bench Sunday to score a team-high 17 points (five in overtime), making four 3-pointers while giving the Bulldogs’ backcourt a boost. Freshman Rayshaun Hammonds is shooting 55 percent from the field while averaging nine points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Maten scored 16 points with seven rebounds against Saint Mary’s and has three double-doubles in six games.

ABOUT MARQUETTE (5-2): Rowsey is 11th in the nation in scoring at 23.7 points per game entering Thursday, leading an offense scoring 83.7 points per game while averaging 11.3 made 3-pointers. Howard averages 19.9 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles shot 53.1 percent from the field against Chicago State, topping 50 percent for the fourth time this season.

TIP-INS

1. Georgia shot a season-high 50.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range against Saint Mary’s.

2. Rowsey finished 6-for-12 from 3-point range in scoring 26 points Wednesday.

3. Hauser scored 19 points and Howard added 15 as the Golden Eagles beat the Bulldogs 89-79 last season in Athens, while Maten led Georgia with 24 points.

PREDICTION: Marquette 84, Georgia 77