After dropping five spots in the AP Poll and coughing up a heartbreaking home finale to No. 6 St. John’s, No. 25 Marquette (22-9, 13-7 Big East) travels to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, starting with the five-versus-four seed matchup against Xavier (21-10, 13-7 Big East).
In the two teams’ regular season meetings, both sides won on the road. The Musketeers were awarded the four-seed due to winning more games against teams positioned higher in the Big East standings, with splitting the season series with UConn ultimately being the deciding factor for Xavier.
It’s been a while since the two squads matched up, with it just being under two months since Xavier’s 59-57 upset in Milwaukee, on Jan. 18.
Marquette looking to start the postseason on the right foot
The Golden Eagles have shown signs of marked improvement compared to the start of 2025, playing much more competitive basketball against UConn and the overtime loss to St. John’s, which was certainly progress from the first time around against those teams. The Golden Eagles convincingly defeated Georgetown on Mar. 1 in D.C., which was a completely different story than the matchup in Milwaukee where MU barely scraped past the Hoyas on Jan. 7.
Four Golden Eagles are averaging double figures per game this season. Those players are seniors Kam Jones (18.9 ppg), Stevie Mitchell (10.7 ppg) and David Joplin (13.9 ppg), additionally junior Chase Ross (10.6 ppg).
Jones, who was named unanimously to the All-Big East First Team, and the Wooden Award national ballot, tied a season-high in scoring with 32 points (set against Wisconsin and Stony Brook) in Marquette’s most recent loss to St. John’s. Furthermore, he averages just over six assists a game, which puts him at 17th in the country in that category, in addition to his big-time scoring capabilities.
A weak point for Marquette has been free throw shooting, whilst they’ve shot 72.4% from the line this season. The Golden Eagles fared 12-for-22 in that category in their most recent outing against St. John’s (including three misses in crucial spots at the end of regulation and in OT), which couldn’t be more telling of the Golden Eagles’ streaky shooting spells.
Xavier seeking quality win to boost NCAA Tournament resume
Xavier won seven straight contests to end the regular season, including a dominant 83-61 win at home against conference No. 2 seed Creighton, which puts it firmly in the mix to make the NCAA Tournament. Graduate forward Zach Freemantle leads the Musketeers in points per game with 17.4, scoring in double figures in 28 regular season games while also chipping in north of seven rebounds per game as well.
Freemantle gave Marquette fits in the Jan. 18 matchup in Milwaukee, posting his most recent double-double of 14 points and 10 boards to help lead Xavier to the upset road win. It’s worth noting that Freemantle did not play in the Dec. 21 game due to injury.
Junior guard Ryan Conwell is the Musketeers’ premier threat from deep, shooting over 40 percent from deep and having taken over 220 attempts from beyond the arc, over double of what the next-highest 3-point shots taken for the Musketeers (Marcus Foster and Dante Maddox Jr have 101 triples attempted each on the season).
A win in New York could go a long way in enriching the Musketeers’ NCAA tournament case, as a lot is on the line for both sides in the rubber match at Madison Square Garden. In both regular season contests, comebacks were had, but at Cintas Center, Marquette jumped out to an early lead and Xavier stormed back but came up short by two. But at Fiserv Forum for the rematch, the script was flipped as the Musketeers once led by 17 points, and Marquette’s comeback fell flat as they lost by two.
How to follow the game
Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. CST from Madison Square Garden.
Watch: The game will be streamed on Peacock, with Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Donny Marshall (analyst) and John Fanta (reporter) on the call.
Listen: Tune into Marquette Wire Radio where Trevor Hilson will have the call.
Live updates: Follow @MatthewBaltzMU, @RaquelRuizMU and @MUWireSports for live updates during the game.
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.
