Kevin Doyle is an RTC correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @KLDoyle11. He filed this report from the Kentucky-Georgia game in Athens Tuesday night.

Shortly after the Top 25 poll was released for the week of January 23, Kentucky head coach John Calipari was no doubt a bit uneasy seeing his Wildcats perched atop of the rankings. In Kentucky’s first stint as the #1-ranked team in America back in December, they fell to an upstart Indiana team in what has been, without question, the game of the season to date. The Wildcats led in the final minute, but two late missed free throws allowed the Hoosiers to have one final shot to win it and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward a month and a half and 11 games — all UK victories, by the way — and Kentucky found themselves in a similar position. In an article released by The Louisville Courier-Journal recently, Calipari explains how experiencing adversity and knowing what it feels like to lose again may not be the worst thing in the world:

I did tell them the way this is going, we probably need a loss so that we’ll come together and say, ‘We’re not losing like this.’ In other words, getting manhandled. We’re getting manhandled and winning close games, so they think it’s OK. So my thing is, let’s take it on the chin. Now whatcha gonna do? You going to say it’s OK? I don’t think they’re going to say it’s OK.

In last night’s contest at Stegeman Coliseum before a sold-out crowd of Georgia fans (although Big Blue Nation certainly made their presence felt), Kentucky was the team that did, as Calipari would call it, “the manhandling.” It was not the most aesthetically pleasing basketball game to watch as the teams combined for a mere 101 points, but Kentucky powered their way to a comfortable 13-point victory, 57-44. Georgia hung around for much of the first half, but after the under-four media timeout Kentucky exerted their will and coasted. The Bulldogs never got within single digits in the second half.

The Unibrow Is a Dominant Defender Only Scratching the Surface of His Ability

Looking back at Cal’s remarks, it is easy to side with him and say that a tough loss may be good for team morale as it would ostensibly rally the squad together and force them to refocus. He can say that the target is even bigger on their backs now since they are riding a 12-game winning streak, undefeated in the SEC, one of only three 20+ game winners, and the #1 team in the country. But, let’s be honest, they are the University of Kentucky — Big Blue Nation — the target is always on their back and every time they step on the floor the spotlight is squarely on Cal & Co. Would a loss change Kentucky’s mindset as to how they approach a future game?

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That’s Debatable is back for another year of expert opinions, ridiculous assertions and general know-it-all-itude. Remember, kids, there are no stupid answers, just stupid people. We’ll try to do one of these each week during the rest of the season. Feel free to leave your takes below in the comments section.

This Week’s Topic: Through the first half of the season, which player has been the biggest surprise? 

Walker Carey, Correspondent

With Kemba Walker leaving Connecticut early for the NBA Draft, I knew someone on the Huskies was going to need to step up to complement Jeremy Lamb. I thought that player was going to be Alex Oriakhi. As it turns out, my thought was very wrong. As of right now, Oriakhi is only averaging 7.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. The junior big man has also apparently fallen out of Jim Calhoun’s good graces, as he is only averaging 19.9 minutes per game after averaging 29.1 last season. In Connecticut’s three conference losses, Oriakhi has only scored a combined 10 points and grabbed a combined 11 rebounds. I highly doubt that was the kind of production Calhoun and his staff were looking for this season. I believe that if the Huskies are going to be a major player in the Big East conference race, they’re going to need a much better contribution from Oriakhi.

Kellen Carpenter, ACC Microsite Correspondent

Duke's Ryan Kelly has Bumped His FT Percentage Up 50 Percent This Season

Ryan Kelly has made big strides in his game this year for Duke. Increasing offensive efficiency while having your offensive role and usage expand dramatically is a hard task to pull off. While I’d say that overall he’s improved most facets of his game, the most impressive change is how he is getting to the line this year. After posting a free throw percentage of 22.3% last season, he’s bumped the rate to 72.1%, one of the best marks in the country. He’s gone 71-of-88 from the line so far this year, meaning that he’s already made more free throws in half a season than he even attempted in his past two years combined.

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Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC columnist. His Love/Hate column will publish on Mondays throughout the season. In this weekly piece he’ll review the five things he loved and hated about the previous seven days of college basketball.

Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED….Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s momentum changing alley-oop against Tennessee. My favorite plays are those ones where in a second, the whole mood of a chaotic gym suddenly changes. The combination of floating from one side of the hoop to the other (hang time we can only dream of) and the emphatic CRACK of the rim snapping took UT’s good vibes and threw them for a complete 180. If there’s one thing I love about the modern game, it’s the microphone near the rims – they make monster slams even better (watch at the 0:40 mark).

I LOVED….Baylor keeping me wondering whether they’re for real. Coming into this week, I looked at their schedule and thought, well, they still haven’t played anyone stellar. And yet, even after last night’s tough loss in Allen Fieldhouse — a place where nobody can reasonably expect to win — it’s getting harder and harder to find too much to fault with these Bears. This weekend’s upcoming game in Waco against Missouri will help me figure this team out.

I LOVED….Syracuse continuing to shrug off the scandal surrounding the program and keep pace at No. 1. It’s tough to focus on playing when your coach and the university are under so much scrutiny, but this mess was not brought on by these kids – who have worked hard to put themselves in prime position for a postseason run. Let’s hope that they continue to tune out the other stuff.

I LOVED….feeling the upset-happy “This is College Basketball” vibe for the first time this year on Saturday. North Carolina turned the world upside down by getting trounced, Northwestern shocked the hottest team in the country, Iowa upended Michigan, Oklahoma took out KSU….this is the chaos I know and love.

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The SEC Full Court Press is a quick hitting review of my thoughts and observations from the last week, as well as a look ahead.

The Week That Was (01.09.12 – 01.15.12)

• Florida’s Kenny Boynton seemed to prefer a high degree of difficulty on his way to 15 points against Georgia. He was 1-6 (16.6%) from two point field goals on Saturday, but 4-7 (57.1%) from three-point range.
• Now that his time playing football for Steve Spurrier is over, South Carolina point guard Bruce Ellington has excelled on the hardwood. This week he averaged 18.5 points and three assists per game against Vanderbilt and Florida. Coming into these two games, Ellington had only scored in double figures twice all season.
• Vanderbilt got to the free throw line 44 times (making 30) against Georgia, showing improvement in its aggressiveness and ability to establish a presence in the low post.
• Three-point shooting continues to be an issue for Alabama. The Crimson Tide were 1-9 (11.1%) in a loss in Starkville against Mississippi State.
• Arnett Moultrie continues to rack up video game type numbers with 25 points and 13 rebounds against Bama. At one point, Moultrie scored 14 straight points for the Bulldogs.
• While I still think Moultrie is the SEC Player of the Year, Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has made a fairly significant case for most valuable player. He finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds against Tennessee, but came up big in the clutch when Kentucky needed him most.
• Speaking of Kentucky, the Cats have as many conference road wins already this season (two) as they had on the road throughout the entire SEC slate last season.
• Who says John Calipari-coached teams can’t shoot free throws? Since the beginning of SEC play, the Cats are shooting 75% from the charity stripe. And they’ve been there 69 times in the first three conference games.
• For all my NCAA Tournament bubble talk last week, I now believe the SEC will end up as a five-bid league. LSU, Ole Miss and Arkansas looked as though they could wind up on the bubble, but all three are far too inconsistent to make a serious run.

Beat the Press

• The team I was most impressed with this week was the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  After struggling last week in a fast paced affair with Arkansas, Mississippi State got two important wins this week. First, the Bulldogs won 62-58 over the Tennessee Volunteers and then outlasted Alabama for a 56-52 win. The offense wasn’t clicking for the Bulldogs on either night, shooting under 45 percent from the field in both, but they found a way to win. This week will be even more telling as Mississippi State hits the road for contests against in-state rival Ole Miss and then on to Nashville for a tough game at Vanderbilt.

Anthony Davis needs one block to tie the single season blocks record at Kentucky

• This week, not only did Anthony Davis beat the press, but he swatted it into fifth row of the stands. Davis was key down the stretch in Kentucky’s victory over Tennessee as the freshman center showcased some offensive moves in the post. He finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks against the Vols, averaging 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, 2.5 steals and two assists on the week. Davis handles the ball on the perimeter often for the Cats, but had zero turnovers in either game.  With his eight blocks this week, Davis is now two blocks away from setting the single season blocks record (one block to tie) at Kentucky.

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Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

Compiling a list of the nation’s top freshmen in mid-January is admittedly unfair. Whether they’re a high-profile athlete or a science lab dork, ask anyone to reminisce about their first semester at school and the phrase “learning experience” comes to mind. Over the next two months, the grind of conference play will quickly mold youthful freshmen into hardened veterans. As Jeremy Lamb can attest, there’s still plenty of time for collegiate rookies to become a household name.

With that important caveat in mind, let’s gauge where this year’s talented rookies rank in terms of production and instant impact. Not all of the inclusions were ballyhooed recruits and high school All-Americans, but instead I present to you the collection of players who possess the maturation, intelligence and skill level to succeed immediately during such a difficult transition both on and off the court.

Cody Zeller has lived up to the lofty billing

Thomas Gipson, Kansas State- Gipson has proven a tremendous frontcourt compliment to the more perimeter-oriented Jamar Samuels, bulldozing opponents with his sturdy 6’7” frame to the tune of 9.2 PPG and 6.3 RPG through his first half season at Manhattan. Gipson ranks in the top-60 in the country in both offensive rebounding percentage and fouls drawn per 40 minutes.

Tony Mitchell, North Texas– Since becoming eligible on December 18 after failing to qualify at Missouri, Mitchell immediately scored in double-figures his first four games at North Texas. His banner performance to date was a 34-point, 16-rebound effort against South Alabama. The former five-star recruit is shooting an efficient 65% from inside the arc.

Quincy Miller, Baylor– The jewel of Scott Drew’s recruiting class may not post the raw numbers of other rookies due to the abundance of talent on his roster, but Miller has shown flashes of a future lottery pick, including a smooth step-back three down the stretch in Baylor’s win over Kansas State this past week. Miller is a versatile matchup nightmare as a double-figure scorer that shoots 35% from three and also snatches over five rebounds per contest.

Eli Carter, Rutgers– Carter didn’t come to Piscataway with quite the sterling reputation of some of his fellow classmates, but he’s been the most productive freshman from day one. Carter uses the most shots and possessions on a per-minute basis on the Scarlet Knights, and as long as he’s scoring over 14 a game, shooting 43% and posting 31/7/7 efforts like he did in their upset over Florida, Mike Rice will keep the green light on.

Tony Wroten, Washington– The Seattle native has been a Jekyll and Hyde act early for an equally enigmatic Huskies team. The turnovers (4.1 per game), defensive lapses and shot selection are sometimes mind-numbing, but you’ll live with some faults when your 6’5” guard is shooting 55% from inside the arc and grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game. Wroten has scored 20+ points in three of his first five conference outings.

10. Rodney Hood, Mississippi State– Dee Bost, Renardo Sidney and Arnett Moultrie receive the bulk of the attention, but Hood has provided a steady and efficient complimentary scoring option for Rick Stansbury. The southpaw is averaging 12.6 PPG on 53% from two and 44% from three and turns the ball over roughly once every 34 minutes. Improve from the charity stripe (59%) and Hood could be an all-SEC contender as soon as next season.

9. Austin Rivers, Duke- If you can filter out all of the unrealistic expectations, Rivers has completed a very respectable first semester serving as Duke’s primary dribble-drive threat and crunch-time scoring option. Rivers leads Duke in scoring, shoots 45% from two, 40% from three and put together 20+ point performances against top-15 Ohio State and Michigan. Look for Rivers to cut down on his turnovers as the game slows down and his decision-making improves.

8. Andre Drummond, Connecticut– Outside of #1 on this list, no player has as much room to grow from now until March as Drummond. Just as impressive as his highlight reel dunks during a 20-point, 11-rebound outing against West Virginia last Monday were two baseline jumpers he nailed during the second half. If Drummond can expand his offensive repertoire to include occasional mid-range/post scoring to compliment his explosiveness and pick-and-roll prowess, Connecticut may emerge as the second best team in the Big East by season’s close.

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1.  Kentucky fans may compare Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to Superman, but he’s not completely immune to injury. Kentucky coach John Calipari says that Kidd-Gilchrist went to the locker room with a chest injury that he sustained during the Louisville game. “I don’t know if it is a pulled muscle or what in his chest area,” Calipari said in his postgame press conference. “It was last game that it happened but we are going to get him checked up and he didn’t feel right at halftime. I told them to give him some medicine to see if they could loosen it up. We will check on him tomorrow, but I think he will be fine.” Kidd-Gilchrist was injured in the Louisville game, but still suited up to play against Arkansas-Little Rock last night. The Superman comparison may not be too off base.
2. Made free throws were a huge factor in Kentucky’s 69-62 win over Louisville. The Wildcats are not normally known for their accuracy at the charity stripe, but Calipari has made the team run sprints for every missed free throw the Cats shoot in a game. It obviously worked as Kentucky was a solid 32-42 from the line against the Cardinals. Over the last four games, the fear of running has propelled the Cats to shoot 77.2% from the stripe. An Achilles heel for almost every Calipari-coached team has turned into a positive for UK as of late. With Calipari’s critics no longer able to make fun of Kentucky’s free throw shooting, they are frantically writing new jokes as you read this.
3. LSU lost on Monday night to a Top 25 Virginia team, but the Tigers received good news with the return of senior guard Andre Stringer. Stringer had sat out the previous five games with a head injury sustained in practice three weeks ago. He started the game, but was somewhat limited with 24 minutes of play and just eight points. “It was great to get back,” Stringer said. “I felt great afterward, but obviously it doesn’t feel too good right now.” Stringer admitted to feeling winded, and will work on improving his conditioning before SEC play. Stringer was LSU’s leading scorer before his departure. He is averaging 11.7 points, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
4. Somewhat quietly, Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli recently broke the school record for career blocks. Ezeli broke former Commodore Will Perdue’s former mark with the 158th block of his career against Miami (Ohio). Last season, Ezeli averaged 2.6 blocks per game, setting the single season record for the Commodores with 87. His defense will have a major impact on Vanderbilt’s ability to rebound, guard the post, and alter shots in the lane. Ezeli could give the ‘Dores some much needed consistency on both ends of the court as he is slowly working his way back into the lineup.
5. Kenny Gabriel’s career night was mentioned in yesterday’s M5, but his 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots deserves some more love here today. Gabriel accomplished a feat that nobody at Auburn before him has been able to do. “It’s pretty special, a triple-double,” coach Tony Barbee said. “When you consider the type of talent that has come out of this program, the Chuck Persons, the Charles Barkleys, the Wesley Persons, the Mike Mitchells, you can go down the line and this is the first triple-double in Auburn history? It’s special.” And to think, Gabriel almost didn’t play because of stomach issues. His 24 points and 13 rebounds both tied his career highs, and his 10 blocks was a career high by itself. Gabriel is averaging 12.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game on the season.

The SEC Full Court Press is a quick hitting review of my thoughts and observations from the last week, as well as a look ahead.

The Week That Was:

• Anthony Davis scored all 18 of his points and grabbed six of his rebounds in the second half of Kentucky’s win over Louisville.
• Kentucky shot 29.8% and turned the ball over 21 times in that game. And the Wildcats still won.
• 52 fouls were called in the annual rivalry game making the game choppy from start to end.
• Florida lost to Rutgers on Thursday night, and the Scarlet Knights turned around and lost to USF on Sunday. That’s just how college basketball goes.
• Is it ever too early to start the Bubble Watch? At least two surprise SEC teams could be in contention for an NCAA bid with a couple of quality wins. LSU currently has an RPI of #79 while Ole Miss is at #42. You may remember that Alabama was left out last year with an RPI of #80. LSU and Ole Miss have significant work left to do, but will have plenty of chances in conference play.
• Vanderbilt held Marquette to 32.2% shooting in its 74-57 win. And people (myself included) said the Commodores couldn’t play defense? They obviously can, but will they show up every game?
• Vanderbilt’s Jeffery Taylor has performed well above his averages in the month of December. This past month, Taylor averaged 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game. Can he keep it up?
• The Commodores beat top-15 team Marquette last week, and turned around and struggled at home against 4-8 Miami of Ohio. It appears that this is just the type of team that Vanderbilt will be this year — terribly inconsistent. That’s a bad habit to have going into NCAA tournament time.
• Renardo Sidney was 5-of-6 from the field when he was on the court for Mississippi State against Baylor on December 28. He was limited to only 19 minutes of action. As has been said all season long, Sidney needs to find a way to be in the game for his team but that means overcoming both conditioning and attitude issues.

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Saturday’s Kentucky and Louisville game at Rupp Arena didn’t leave me with the impression that I was watching the best annual game college basketball has to offer. While many proclaimed Kentucky and Louisville to be the best rivalry in the nation (Here. Here. And here.), Kentucky’s seven-point victory on Saturday showcases exactly what is wrong in this series. The passion and intensity are there, but Louisville hasn’t been on the same level as Kentucky for a few years now. Even though just 76 miles separate the two schools, close proximity and basketball-crazy fan bases do not alone make this the nation’s best rivalry. Kentucky has once again become one of college basketball’s elite teams on a regular basis, and at least over the past three years, Louisville hasn’t met its Bluegrass State counterpart at the top. Kentucky has had a better on-court rivalry recently with North Carolina or even Florida, and the Cardinals are to blame.

The Pitino and Calipari feud has more drama then the actual basketball games in recent years

Why has Kentucky-Louisville fallen short of being the nation’s best rivalry?

First, the game hasn’t had the national relevance historically to make it the sport’s best rivalry. Saturday’s matchup was the first top five meeting between the two schools in its history. For comparison’s sake, Duke and North Carolina have played 11 times (over six different seasons) while both were ranked in the top five. The problem is that Louisville simply hasn’t maintained the same level of success as Kentucky over the years.  The Cardinals have been ranked in the top five for a total of 101 weeks while UK (more on par with Duke and North Carolina) has spent 404 weeks there. A number one ranking would surely boost the national presence of the rivalry. Kentucky has spent a whopping 83 weeks at the top spot in the rankings throughout its history. Louisville has spent just one lonely week there in 2009. Kentucky and Louisville is a great game for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but if college basketball fans from around the country are going to tune in, then it needs to become a bigger game of national significance. And outside of a semi-public feud between John Calipari and Louisville coach Rick Pitino, it hasn’t been nearly as significant on the national landscape as Duke and North Carolina.

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1. Kenny Gabriel had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocks for the first triple-double in Auburn history. Gabriel added three assists and four steals in the Tigers’ 67-41 win over Bethune Cookman. Gabriel’s 24 points were a career-high that he achieved on an 11-13 shooting night. The triple-double occurred with seven minutes remaining in the game. Auburn has improved tremendously from last season, but finishes up non-conference play with a big test against Florida State on Wednesday. The match-up with the Seminoles should be a good indicator of how far Tony Barbee’s team has come.
2. A new SEC Player of the Week was crowned this week, and the honors go to Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist has elevated his play to a whole new level this week. First, he scored a career-high 18 points against Lamar. Then, he topped that by adding 24 points and 19 rebounds against rival Louisville. His 19 records was a new record in the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry series. On the week, Kidd-Gilchrist averaged 21 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Anthony Davis was named SEC Freshman of the Week giving Kentucky a sweep of the awards this week. Davis averaged 14 points, 11.5 rebounds, six blocks, 1.5 steals, and 1 assist. Davis had 18 points and 6 rebounds in the second half of the Louisville game.
3. Alabama guard Andrew Steele has been medically cleared to rejoin the team and will begin playing as soon as tonight against Georgia Tech. The junior suffered four concussions in his football and basketball career, but feels as though the lingering symptoms have disappeared. “I’m excited to finally get back on the court,” Steele said. “At one point, I thought I might not get the chance again, so to get back out there with my teammates and do something I love to do is one of the best feelings ever.” Steele averaged 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season in limited action. The big question for Crimson Tide fans has to be can Steele hit a three-pointer for Alabama’s struggling perimeter game? Steele was 5-19 (26.3%) last year from beyond the arc.
4. Ole Miss forward Murphy Holloway will not play against Southern Methodist on Tuesday as  he is still recovering from a high ankle sprain suffered on December 21. “He’s progressing about as well as we would have hoped,” coach Andy Kennedy said. “It’s been 11 days and our hope is that he continues to improve and we’ll have him when we start SEC play.” Holloway is averaging 9.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. His 9.6 rebounds is good enough for third in the SEC. The Rebels have lost three games in a row and look to break the streak without their leading rebounder in the lineup again.
5. Kentucky plays its annual game in Louisville on Tuesday night, and no we’re not talking about a game against the Cardinals. Kentucky plays Arkansas-Little Rock in Freedom Hall, but coach John Calipari is not sure how long the Wildcats will continue to play a game outside the friendly confines of Rupp Arena. “People have got to come to it and make it something they want us to do,” Calipari said. “I know this, Little Rock at home, there would be 24,000 people there.” Kentucky had a near sellout in Freedom Hall in 2004-05 against Indiana, but other games have left plenty of seats. You may remember that Kentucky has expressed its desire to shift the annual home-and-home series with Indiana to neutral sites alternating between Indianapolis and Louisville beginning next season.

1. Mississippi State point guard Dee Bost broke the school’s all-time assist record on Saturday. Bost recorded four assists in the two=point win over Utah State giving him 515 in his career. He broke the career mark set by former Bulldog Derrick Zimmerman. “That’s quite an accomplishment when you consider all the guys that have played at Mississippi State,” head coach Rick Stansbury said. Otherwise, it wasn’t a banner night for Bost. He was just 1-10 from the field scoring just five points as the Bulldogs struggled to put the Aggies away.
2. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist thrived in a physical and rough win for Kentucky as the Wildcats defeated intra-state rival Louisville Cardinals. “He wasn’t bothered as much as some of the other players by the physical play,” coach John Calipari said. “He almost relished it and just went after it, and that’s why he played the way he did. […] He was vicious today.” Kidd-Gilchrist agreed with Calipari’s assessment. “I’m built for this,” he said after Kentucky’s 69-62 victory. “I just love the challenge. I’ve always been that way. I’ve got a lot of heart.” Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 24 points and 19 rebounds, both career highs, in 39 minutes of play. Kidd-Gilchrist has showed up for big games. He scored 17 points and 11 rebounds against UNC, and 18 points and nine rebounds in a one-point loss at Indiana. He is quickly becoming not only the best freshman in the country, but one of the best players overall in the nation.
3. The Lexington Herald Leader had more love for Kidd-Gilchrist, but Kidd-Gilchrist was giving all his love to his mother. She was in the hospital last week, but was healthy enough to make it to Lexington to watch her son play. “My mom was here,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “She smiled at me,” he said admitting he was looking at her in the stands. “I had to smile back.” With the way he played on Saturday, Calipari should find a way to get Kidd-Gilchrist’s mother in Rupp Arena more often. Kentucky won by seven despite shooting just 29.8%. Kidd-Gilchrist’s play was a big reason why the Wildcats were able to preserve the victory.
4. Tennessee’s coach Cuonzo Martin turned to the bench on Saturday to beat The Citadel. Reserve center Yemi Makanjuola had a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. His coach knew it was possible. “I’m not surprised. I knew eventually it would come at some point, maybe next year,” Martin said. “I just think you’re happy for a guy who puts the work in and doesn’t complain and puts his head down and works every day and doesn’t make excuses.” The Citadel’s coach may have been a bit surprised by Makanjuola’s performance. He didn’t even know his name. “The guy coming off the bench killed us. We did not expect that,” coach Chuck Driesell said. The Volunteers needed a comfortable victory after several close calls. This 86-55 win gives Tennessee a three-game winning streak
5. Vanderbilt’s defense is usually the subject of scorn and criticism, but in the their win over Marquette it was the defense that led the way. Vanderbilt switched its defenses several times confusing the Golden Eagles’ offense. Marquette was held to 32.2& shooting, a season’s best for the Commodores’ defense. In fact, they have only held one other opponent under 40% percent on the season, a 37.8% shooting night for Xavier in an 82-70 Musketeers win. Vanderbilt’s backcourt, not normally known for its stellar perimeter defense, held its own against Golden Eagles’ guard Vander Blue. The sophomore guard averages 9.4 points per game, but was held to one of seven shooting for only three points.