Although the men's basketball team often has used points off turnovers to ignite its attack this season, Marquette executed a sound halfcourt offense Tuesday night in a 65-48 win against Delaware State.

Marquette balanced a mix of inside and outside shots on offense to shoot 50 percent. When Delaware State paid too much attention to Marquette's penetration, junior Dan Fitzgerald, who scored a season-high 13 points, buried open looks from outside.

"Dan opens up the floor and creates more driving angles for all of us," sophomore Jerel McNeal said.

McNeal and Wesley Matthews reaped the benefits of those opened driving angles, finishing with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Both were under control when they drove into the lane, kicking it out when Delaware State's zone collapsed and creating high-percentage shots for others. Marquette finished 9-of-14 from long range, and kept its turnovers low (13).

Matthews ran the point for most of the game, and the role fit him well, as he paired five assists with only one turnover. Marquette looked more comfortable than it has all year in its halfcourt offense. The team's ball reversals rarely were interrupted.

"If we're not trying to score on the perimeter, then our driving game isn't going to work," said head coach Tom Crean. "I thought we reversed the ball extremely well – we made the next pass extremely well, and when you do that usually you're going to shoot the ball well."

New-look defense

Marquette applied a halfcourt-trap defense throughout much of the game. Delaware State never looked comfortable against the Golden Eagles' pressure. The Hornets' offense was stagnant, and the team settled for outside jumpers predominantly. The strategy did not work – the team shot 34.8 percent from the field, including 5-of-21 from outside.

"Defense is what we want to hang our hats on," Matthews said.

McNeal's disruptive defense helped the Golden Eagles beat the Hornets 23-8 in points off turnovers.

Gotta take the bad with the good

McNeal's four steals kept him at 3.9 per game – almost double what he averaged last season (2.1) when he finished second in the Big East in steals per game.

His high turnover rate has not improved, though. He is averaging four turnovers per game. That's a slightly higher clip than he had his freshman season, when he tied Syracuse's Gerry McNamara for a Big East-leading 117 turnovers.