3:58 p.m. — Missouri likes to call its style of play “The Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball.” But the Tigers’ full-court pressure defense is a lot more disciplined than it looked.

Forward DeMarre Carroll calls it “organized chaos.”

Coach Mike Anderson calls it “a thing of beauty. I think the uglier the game, the better it is for us.”

Making organized chaos work requires a great deal of teamwork and discipline. It also requires players to pick up the complex system.

“Coach says you can learn it in an hour, in a day, in a month,” said guard J.T. Tiller. “The faster you pick it up, that’s who is going to be on the court.”

Forward Leo Lyons said the amount of effort required to play the defense is the hardest part. Even pressure teams typically make one trap before retreating into a half-court defense. But Missouri will attempt three or four traps on a possession, which means expending a lot of energy on the defensive end.

“Playing as hard as you can, a lot of people don’t’ know how to do that,” Lyons said. “It takes a long time to learn how to do that.”

Carroll, who often plays at the top of the Tigers’ 1-2-2 trap, said reading your teammates is the toughest part. Tiller and fellow guard Zaire Taylor have to read what Carroll does and react to it.

“I just run and I jump and they have to read off me,” Carroll said. “So it really shows their intelligence.”

3:06 p.m. — One of the most important players for Marquette in its second-round NCAA Tournament game against Missouri could hardly get off the bench a month ago.

Point guard Maurice Acker was a bench player for most the season, playing less than 10 minutes a game during the heart of Big East conference play.

But Acker, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, has been thrust into the spotlight due to an injury to starter Dominic James. James broke his left foot in the opening minutes against Connecticut on Feb. 25.

Acker has started every game since and seen his minutes jump to 30 minutes per game.

“It’s been tough, but at the same time, I’m thankful to be in this position — stepping into the shoes of Dominic James,” Acker said.

“It’s been a tough transition coming from playing 12 minutes a game to playing 30 to 35 minutes a game. But every game I just got to get better.”

Acker had five points and two assists in the Golden Eagles’ first-round victory against Utah State. Acker did not have a turnover, which will be key Sunday when Marquette meets Missouri and its pressure defense.

Marquette lost the Connecticut game in which James was injured and the next three and four of the next five with Acker at point guard. But those losses were to teams that are seeded No. 3 or better in the NCAA Tournament.

“He’s responded ever day in a much better way,” Marquette coach Buzz Williams said of Acker. “As he’s responded better, it’s allowed our team to respond better.”

STILL HELPING: Despite his injury, James is a presence for Marquette. He sat in the first chair on the bench during the Utah State game and was actively involved.

“He’s animated. He’s doing everything but playing on the court for us. He’s telling us what he sees. He’s coaching. He’s giving plays to coach. He’s cheerleading,” Marquette’s Wesley Matthews said. “He could have gone a completely different route about it and pouted and just been upset and felt sorry for himself. And instead he’s pulling for us like he’s playing.”

James averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game before being injured. James started 127 of 128 games in his Marquette career.