After dishing a sweet assist to teammate Wesley Matthews to finish off a game-clinching 10-0 run in the second half, Jerel McNeal thumped his chest with his fist as he sprinted past a jubilant Marquette bench.

McNeal's spirited gesture reinforced what 17,468 in attendance had seen on the court Saturday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

Having defeated No. 24 Connecticut on the road earlier in the week, Marquette took the second step in restoring its swagger in the form of an 81-63 win over No. 21 West Virginia. The victory evened the Golden Eagles' Big East record to 2-2 after the team dropped its first two conference games and fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 last week for the first time all season.

Despite the Golden Eagles' return to form, sophomore guard Dominic James, who led four Marquette players in double figures by scoring a game-high 21 points and adding six assists, refused to admit that the team had blocked the double-digit losses to Providence and Syracuse out of its collective mind.

"We have to keep that in the back of our heads," James said. "Those two games that we lost have to be a constant reminder that if we don't play Marquette basketball, then there's going to be another 'L.' "

Marquette basketball Saturday constituted an offense with terrific ball movement (19 assists) and a defense that turned West Virginia over 17 times and limited the Mountaineers to 5-of-22 (22 percent) shooting from behind the arc.

"The way they played today, they would have beaten last year's team," said West Virginia coach John Beilein, referring to his 2005-'06 Sweet 16 squad that defeated Marquette 104-85 last season. "They really guarded us well."

West Virginia's perimeter shooting represents the teams' primary mode of attack, and the team has attempted more than 20 three-pointers in each game this season.

"We wanted to limit their three-point looks, and to hold them to five makes was really important for us," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said.

More importantly, the missed perimeter shots and turnovers led to long rebounds and fast-break opportunities for Marquette, which thrived in the open court.

"We knew coming into the game that if we were able to get stops defensively, then we would be able to get out in transition," McNeal said.

Marquette's defense did more than just create fast-break points. It also prevented West Virginia, which entering Saturday's game had held opponents to 51.8 points per game, from setting up its 1-3-1 zone that regularly throws opponents off their rhythm.

"We really didn't want to give them an opportunity to set up their zone," James said. "They do a great job in the 1-3-1 of taking you out of your offense. So every opportunity we got we tried to push it and not let them get a chance to set up their 1-3-1."

Even when Marquette faced the zone, its guards took advantage of gaps through dribble penetration and found open looks for teammates.

James found freshman guard David Cubillan, who scored 14 points off the bench and made 4-of-4 three-pointers, for an open three that capped an early 11-0 run that gave Marquette a 19-10 first-half lead. Toward the end of the half, Matthews kicked out to James for a trey that put the Golden Eagles up 38-30 before taking a 40-30 lead into halftime.

West Virginia, led by Frank Young's 11 points, never got within nine points in the second half.