By: Ryan Chichester

The Quinnipiac men’s basketball team will look to complete its second season sweep in five days as they travel to meet Marist in Poughkeepsie on Thursday night. After downing Siena on Sunday to claim both regular season games against the Saints, they will look to do the same against the Red Foxes, after claiming a thrilling overtime win at home over Marist two weeks ago.

Interestingly enough, the similarities between the Siena and Marist storylines are strikingly similar. The Bobcats have a chance to sweep both teams after claiming narrow one-point wins over each opponent in the first game, behind a game-high 26 points from Cam Young in each victory. If that narrative continues, the Bobcats could find themselves with a two-game winning streak if they can steal a win on Marist’s home floor.

Here is what you need to know before the Bobcats begin their quest for their second winning streak of the season:

Containing Brian Parker II: Electric Bugaloo

This headline should sound familiar. In our preview for the first matchup with Siena, keeping Brian Parker somewhat contained was a top priority. That hasn’t changed much in the past two weeks, especially after his 25 points almost downed the Bobcats in their first meeting.

Parker didn’t exactly torch the Quinnipiac defense from the field, but the Bobcats’ interior defense consistently looked a split-second behind Parker, who had endless quality looks at the rim that resulted in a handful of Quinnipiac fouls. Parker finished the night shooting 13-of-15 from the free throw line, where he might as well have pitched a tent.

Parker’s 18.3 points per game is currently fourth-best in the MAAC, and the Bobcats currently hold the unfortunate label of the worst field goal percentage defense in the conference, so they will have to dig a little deeper to slow down Parker, which should slow down the Red Foxes’ offense as a whole.

A new dawn for the Bobcats’ defense?

The Bobcats may be the worst defense in the MAAC in terms of field goal defense, but they could move quickly up the ranks if they play the way they did against Siena on Sunday.

Daniels lead a defensive renaissance for the Bobcats, who outscored the Saints 42-18 in the paint while drawing three offensive fouls in the first two minutes of the first half, and forcing four shot clock violations overall. The Saints were a beleaguered offense without Nico Clareth, but Daniels did a masterful job shutting down their best remaining offensive presence in Evan Fisher, who dropped 21 points on the Bobcats in their first meeting.

Marist isn’t exactly an electrifying offense sans Parker (they rank seventh in the MAAC in scoring as a team), so as long as the Bobcats carry over the defensive intensity they had on Sunday and keep steady tabs on Parker, they could leave New York with a winning streak, and have their heads back over the .500 mark in MAAC play.