Marquette men’s basketball is heading to the Big Dance for the fourth year in a row.
The Golden Eagles (23-10, 13-7 Big East) heard their name called during the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night, earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA South Regional while at the team’s watch party at The Mecca Sports Bar across the street from Fiserv Forum in the Deer District.
Marquette men’s basketball reacts to being named a No. 7 seed in its fourth trip to the Big Dance in four years.
The Golden Eagles face New Mexico in the first round in Cleveland on Friday. #mubb pic.twitter.com/FYQ1PdM6rt
— Kaylynn Wright (@KaylynnWrightMU) March 16, 2025
They will travel to Cleveland, Ohio to face the No. 10 New Mexico Lobos (26-7) Friday in the First Round.
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart continues his Big Dance appearance streak, as he has now taken his team to the national tournament in all four years that he has been at the helm of the Golden Eagles.
How they got here
Marquette went 9-2 in non-conference play, winning its first eight games of the regular season to get out to its best start since the 2011-12 season. Some of the highlights of its slate included a 78-74 victory at Maryland, a 76-58 home win against then-No. 6 Purdue and another 88-74 MU win against in-state rival then-No. 11 Wisconsin.
Heading into Big East play, the Golden Eagles continued its hot streak, winning its first six games to get out to its best start in conference play since 2008-09 before dropping its first contest against Xavier at home.
After earning three more conference wins, Marquette went 0-3 against UConn, St. John’s and Creighton, marking the first time it had lost three straight since Smart’s first season.
The Golden Eagles got back on track shortly after, notching wins against DePaul and Seton Hall — until they lost to Villanova on the road by 15 points. The Wildcats shot 80% from beyond the arc to go up by 13 points after the first half.
Marquette earned another two wins against Providence and Georgetown before falling again to UConn and St. John’s to end the regular season. It finished conference play with a 13-7 record and earned a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament.
In the quarterfinals, the Golden Eagles rallied for a two-point win over the No. 4 Xavier Musketeers after being down by as many as 14 points. However, they weren’t so lucky the next day, as they were routed 79-63 by No. 1 St. John’s in the semifinals.
Jones was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team after averaging 26 points, 4.5 rebounds and three assists per game over the weekend. The Memphis, Tennessee native has now netted 23 career 3-pointers at the conference tournament, which ranks fourth in Big East history.
All-Tournament Team honors for K1#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/kKQkRGMSka
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) March 16, 2025
This article was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at kaylynn.wright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @KaylynnWrightMU.
