The Golden Eagles ended last season ranked No. 20 by the Associated Press, and began this year No. 11 in the AP poll before settling into the No.,”Jerel McNeal and the Marquette men's basketball team know what it feels like to have a target on their collective back.

The Golden Eagles ended last season ranked No. 20 by the Associated Press and began this year No. 11 in the AP poll before settling into the No. 13 spot. But as an early season loss by then-No. 20 Kentucky (84-68 to mid-major Gardner Webb) and a close call from No. 1 North Carolina (a late 72-68 win over Davidson) show, not even the highest ranked teams in college basketball can afford to overlook opponents.

That fact has not been lost on the Golden Eagles as they prepare for Friday's match-up against cross-town competitor Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

"It's definitely something that we think about, but not just because it's UWM," McNeal said. "Any team that isn't ranked, or isn't as highly touted as we are, it's going to make their season to beat us."

Marquette began the season with a four-game winning streakbefore losing to No. 7 Duke in the finals of the Maui Invitational. UWM has a 3-3 record this year that includes a 21-point loss to Drake.

The Golden Eagles have made the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons, averaging 21 wins over the last three years. While UWM made the NCAA tournament in 2004-'05 and 2005-'06, the Panthers have seen their win totals drop from 26 in 2004-'05 (their last year under former head coach Bruce Pearl), to just nine in 2006-'07.

Any attempts to turn this game into a "Battle for Milwaukee," or any other significant rivalry seem to be lost on this Marquette team, as well as head coach Tom Crean. It has been nine years since the Panthers and Golden Eagles last squared off, and it isn't too much of a stretch to say Marquette has dominated the overall series, holding a 34-0 record.

"We're still trying to get better and make corrections from what we did do and what we didn't do in Maui," Crean said. "We're just getting ready to play the next game…I'm sure (the players) are aware of it."

Crean added that he "wasn't sure," if the game would mean anything to Milwaukee, a thought that McNeal said could likely be attributed to the current team's lack of experience against UWM.

"It's something that none of us have experienced since we've been here, so it's kind of hard to just go off of what all the people are telling us that makes it a rivalry," he said. "I guess there's some significance, but the fans will get caught up in it more than we do. For us it's another game, another game that we got to win.

"We just want to win the next games on our schedule…instead of worrying about rivalries."

Friday night's game will be held at the Bradley Center, possibly making it a home game in name only for Marquette. The Panthers play their home games just across the street at U.S. Cellular Arena, but whatever partisan support for Marquette exists will be welcome for a team who hasn't played in Milwaukee since Nov. 12.

"Everybody's going to pick their sides," said junior Dominic James. "For us, we're not going to get caught up in what everyone else is saying about the game…ever since we've been here, we've heard a lot about the rivalry but we haven't had a chance to play against them. We're excited."

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