In 'Big' East, Marquette could come up short

There is a Mutombo who plays for Western Carolina.

But his first name isn't Dikembe.

The Golden Eagles' bigs have little answer for the trees from other teams. (US Presswire)

And he only averages 4.8 rebounds per game.

And Buzz Williams really should be thrilled about all this, because 6-4 guards aren't a menace to Marquette, regardless of their name. It's the giants (like Dikembe Mutombo) who are built to cause fits, which is why the Golden Eagles will be fine when they host Western Carolina on Friday night. The Catamounts' top rebounder is 6-8, 205-pound forward Jake Robinson, who is a fine Southern Conference player but not a physically imposing post presence capable of taking advantage of the guard-heavy roster Williams inherited from Tom Crean.

"We are size deficient, and we have to do some things to disguise it as best we can," Williams said. "But you can't disguise the fact that we're suiting up nine players, the tallest of which is 6-6½."

No, you cannot.

And that's one of the reasons Tennessee's Wayne Chism went bananas on the Golden Eagles earlier this week and finished with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds in the Vols' 80-68 victory over Marquette. You see, Chism is 6-9, 242 pounds and a legitimate high-major big man. Marquette has nobody who fits that description. Bruce Pearl noticed it on film and exploited it on the court.

"Wayne had a favorable matchup," Tennessee's coach said, "and he took advantage of it."

So the question is simple: How many more will take advantage of it?

Remember, Marquette plays in the Big East, and that name has taken on a literal meaning this season. There is Pittsburgh with DeJuan Blair (6-7, 265 pounds and averaging 13.1 rebounds), Notre Dame with Luke Harangody (6-8, 251 pounds and averaging 12.4 rebounds), Connecticut with Hasheem Thabeet (7-3, 261 pounds and averaging 12.1 rebounds), Syracuse with Arinze Onuaku (6-9, 275 pounds and averaging 7.6 rebounds), Louisville with Samardo Samuels (6-8, 240 pounds and averaging 6.1 rebounds), and Georgetown with Greg Monroe (6-11, 250 pounds and averaging 5.8 rebounds).

Marquette's best post threat?

Try Lazar Hayward.

Sure, Hayward is having a nice junior season (averaging 15.9 points and 10.2 rebounds). But he's listed at 6-6 and is probably closer to 6-5, and when he stands next to Thabeet it looks like Teller standing next to Penn. Also worth noting is that Marquette ranks 315th nationally in average height, according to KenPom.com, meaning the Golden Eagles are the second smallest team from a BCS-affiliated conference, ahead of only Nebraska (ranked 343rd).

This is significant because there is usually a correlation between a team's size and the effectiveness of its interior defense. That's why nobody should be surprised that opponents are making 50.1 percent of their 2-point field goal attempts through 10 games against Marquette.

That number ranks 201st nationally.

(Tennessee made 66.7 percent of its 2-point attempts against Marquette.)

"We've just got to fight; we don't have a choice," Williams said. "We've just got to work and get better and find ways to keep the ball out the paint."

That's easier said than done. And if Marquette limps into Selection Sunday you'd be wise to assume this'll be the reason, because in a bit of a scheduling nightmare, the Golden Eagles close the regular season with consecutive games against Georgetown (Monroe), Connecticut (Thabeet), Louisville (Samuels), Pittsburgh (Blair) and Syracuse (Onuaku).

Holy moly, that's going to be tough.

Or as I like to call it, a tall task for a short team.