One of the most highly anticipated seasons for the Marquette men’s basketball program in its 106-year-old history will kick off Nov. 6.
Marquette released its non-Big East schedule Thursday with the season opening against Northern Illinois at Fiserv Forum.
2023-24 Non-conference schedule is set!
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— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) June 15, 2023
The Golden Eagles will face the Illinois Fighting Illini Nov. 14 as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games between the Big East and Big Ten. The last time Marquette played Illinois, the Golden Eagles upset the Fighting Illini 67-66 behind 21 points from former guard Darryl Morsell and a game-winning layup from guard Tyler Kolek with 18 seconds remaining.
Marquette’s annual in-state battle against rival Wisconsin will take place Dec. 2 at the Kohl Center. Turnovers down the stretch and a near 70% shooting performance in the first half led to the Badgers winning 80-77 in overtime last season and claiming their 70th victory in the all-time series.
Another highlight of the Golden Eagles’ non-conference schedule is their three games at the Maui Invitational against a strong slate of opponents. Kansas, Purdue, Gonzaga, UCLA, Tennessee, Syracuse and Chaminade make up the field along with Marquette. The bracket is expected to be released in the coming months.
Two high profile games at home come against Texas Dec. 6 and Notre Dame Dec. 9.
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart has a history with the Longhorns. Smart was at the helm of Texas for six seasons before coming to Marquette. Texas is coming off a Big 12 Tournament Championship win over Kansas and an Elite Eight exit in last season’s NCAA Tournament to Miami.
Marquette and Notre Dame will play the final game of the home-and-home series. In last year’s matchup at Purcell Pavilion, the Golden Eagles took down the Fighting Irish 79-64 behind 25-points from guard Kam Jones and a double-double from forward Oso Ighodaro. But Notre Dame has a new head coach, Micah Shrewsberry, who replaced Mike Brey earlier this year.
“I challenge you to find a harder schedule than the one we’re about to play,” Smart said during a media availability last week.
The non-conference schedule also includes home games against Rider (Nov. 10), Southern (Nov. 28) and St. Thomas (Dec. 13).
The Big East schedule is expected to be released sometime in the month of September.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JackAlbrightMU.
