Miller, Jaguars excited to play No.17 Marquette

 
Southern Jaguars forward Malcolm Miller isn’t fazed by all the hype surrounding No.17 Marquette.
The Golden Eagles are favorites to win the Big East title with two returning starters, including senior forward Davante Gardner, who was named to the preseason All-Big East First Team at Big East media day in New York City last month. The Eagles also know that Miller and the Jaguars nearly upset no.1 seed Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament last season and is ready to play the role of David again.
“I feel like we can compete with anybody in the country,” said Miller, who scored 15.5 points per game last season. “This is a big opportunity for us. We not really nervous but we care about playing them.”
The Golden Eagles (0-0, 0-0) are 13-0 all-time against opponents from the Southwestern Athletic Conference and will also take on the Grambling State on Nov. 12. However, this Friday they’ll tip-off against the Jaguars (0-0, 0-0) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Miller, who played in every game last year, is also a preseason all-conference team member. He led the SWAC in 3-point percentage (45.2) and was the fifth leading scorer last season.
For Marquette, coming fresh off the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since 2003, are on a 12-game wining streak in season openers.  In each of the last three seasons, the Golden Eagles have advanced to at least the Sweet 16.
“It’s just a big opportunity for me to go out there and show that I can play with the best of the best,” said Miller, who will start in his first game for the Jaguars Friday. “I’m ready to help my team get off to a good start. I feel like we can compete with anybody.” 
Florida Gulf Coast became the first No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 last season, but the Jaguars nearly accomplished something even more impressive when they almost upset Gonzaga before falling 64-58. A victory would’ve made the Jaguars the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1. Southern should be a scary team again this season.
 “We’re just focusing on making sure everybody knows what they’re doing,” Miller said.
The defending SWAC tournament champion Jaguars could ruin a few nonconference seasons for some of the country’s best teams. They’ll also face Florida in Gainesville a few weeks later. Then, they have back-to-back road matchups against Arizona and Baylor in December. The Jaguars, who defeated Texas A&M in a nonconference game last season, will likely be challenged in the SWAC by Mike Davis’ Texas Southern squad. Texas Southern won last season’s SWAC regular-season title with a 16-2 record but was ineligible for the postseason.
The Jaguars have six players returning from a 23-10 team, including second-team All-SWAC team member Javan Mitchell, who will miss some games to start the season.
“He hasn’t officially been released yet so I don’t anticipate having him as we get on the road to go play against Marquette and Middle Tennessee,” head coach Roman Banks announced Tuesday. “It’s a new situation for us.”
Junior Frank Snow will most likely replace Mitchell.
Banks also projects junior transfer Calvin Godfrey to start alongside Snow.
Banks’ only concern so far is that the Golden Eagles may have the height advantage underneath the rim and that Mitchell’s massive size allows him to compete against taller nonconference opponents.  
“The teams that we’re playing out of conference are so big in size Frank is our next tallest player,” said Banks. “He (Mitchell) usually plays well out of conference because he has a chance to play against bigger guys.”  
Center Chris Otule, who’s a projected starter for the Golden Eagles, is the tallest player on the roster at 6 foot 11.