PHILADELPHIA – The charity for troubled youths started by Jerry Sandusky more than three decades ago – and through which the retired Penn State assistant football coach met the boys he is charged withFORT WAYNE –
Marquette at Notre Dame
Records: Notre Dame 14-8, 6-3 Big East, No. 15 Marquette 19-4, 8-2
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend
TV: CBS
Radio: 1480 AM
Notre Dame leaders: Eric Atkins (12.9 ppg), Jerian Grant (4.8 apg), Jack Cooley (8.4 rpg)
Marquette leaders: Darius Johnson-Odom (18.3 ppg), Junior Cadougan (5.5 apg), Jae Crowder (7.6 rpg)
Key matchup: The Irish’s 6-foot-9 Cooley will have his hands full again against the Golden Eagles’ 6-6 Crowder. Cooley grabbed all seven of his rebounds after halftime in Notre Dame’s 50-48 win over Connecticut on Sunday to help the Irish win the rebounding battle 33-29. Crowder leads Marquette in rebounding and is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points.
The skinny:
Notre Dame will try to defeat a ranked conference foe for the fifth time this season. Syracuse was No. 1, Louisville No. 11, Pittsburgh No. 22 and Connecticut No. 24 when those teams lost to the Irish. … The Eagles have won their last seven games, and the Irish are on a three-game winning streak.
IPFW at IUPUI
When: 1 p.m.
Where: Indianapolis
Records: IPFW 10-12, 4-9 Summit League; IUPUI 9-15, 3-9
Radio: 1380 AM
IPFW leaders: Frank Gaines (19.8 ppg), Gaines (5.7 rpg), Jonny Marlin (3.7 apg)
IUPUI leaders: Alex Young (20.3 ppg), Young (6.2 rpg), Stephen Thomas (3.8 apg)
Key matchup: Young is IUPUI’s version of Gaines, only left-handed. Like Gaines for the Mastodons, Young leads the Jaguars in scoring and rebounding. In IUPUI’s 72-67 loss to IPFW this season, Young had 25 points, while Gaines had 22. The difference the last time around came off the IPFW bench. Mario Hines scored 14 points and Justin Jordan had 12.
The skinny: Both teams are flirting with the bottom of the standings. IUPUI just ended a seven-game losing streak (it began in Fort Wayne) with a 79-75 home win over Oakland. IPFW has had its own share of problems, losing six of its last seven and nine of its last 12. In the previous matchup, defense was the problem; now it’s scoring. In the last four losses, IPFW has scored 54, 56, 43 and 52 points – an average of 51 per game.
