If basketball were a language and the final eight seconds of Marquette's Tuesday night game against Air Force were translated into English, it might look something like this.

"Good sir," Air Force junior Nick Welch would have said to Marquette senior forward Marcus Jackson, "Do you think that I might possibly be allowed to shoot this basketball at yon basket, perchance?"

To which Jackson probably would have replied, "I am afraid not, sir, as I have contemplated the matter and decided that you shall not be allowed to score, and that the ball shall be kept as far away from yon basket as is possible."

Instead, with his team holding on to a 69-64 lead, the 6'8" big man from Peoria, Ill., jumped up and swatted away Welch's jump shot, exiling the ball to the stands and ruining whatever fading chances Air Force had at getting back into the game.

"To tell the truth," Jackson said of the play, "I was expecting them to go with a three from down there, but I did hear them say to just go right away. (Welch) made a move, I just kind of tried to time it, and got the block. I knew he was a good player, so I just tried to do my best to make sure he didn't get an easy bucket."

The block sealed Marquette's well-played victory over the Falcons and capped off a weekend of outstanding effort, both defensively and on the boards, from Jackson.

He collected seven rebounds, four points, one assist and one block Tuesday night, and his defense was integral in helping ground Air Force's famed Princeton offense.

"Do the dirty work, hope we win," Jackson said of his playing style. "That's me."

If by doing the 'dirty work' he means averaging 10 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, as he did throughout the Black Coaches Association Classic, then Marquette should buy him a pair of hip-waders and wade right in, because the 'dirty work' has thus far been an important key in the other two Marquette victories as well.

He had 13 rebounds and one block in the season opener against Western Carolina Sunday and 10 rebounds and two blocks in the defensive win versus Illinois State Monday, and was named to the All-Tournament team Tuesday.

"Marcus was a tremendous leader for us," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said. "He's been that way all preseason.

Jackson looks radically different from the player who last year was hampered by an ankle injury.

"We're seeing the real Marcus Jackson," Crean said.

Senior forward Todd Townsend agreed with Crean.

Jackson is "just one of the best defensive players, you're going to see it," Townsend said. "Defensively, he's probably the best on our team, and he can definitely block shots because of his wingspan."

Jackson said that when he's guarding someone on the floor, stopping the score is first and foremost on his mind.

"I just try to get an upper hand on them (opponents), and stop them from scoring," he said. "I get frustrated if I let someone get an easy bucket on me. If I block it, it's just an extra benefit. I just want to make sure my man doesn't score. I just try to stand straight up and get at my man, don't let him get the shot off either.

"Whatever it takes defensively to get at my man, that's what I'm going to do."