Golden Eagles Renew Jesuit Rivalry With Xavier
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2009
The Marquette University men's basketball team opens play at the 2009 Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday at 1 p.m. when the squad matches up with Xavier in the first round of the eight-team event. ESPN2 will feature Marquette's first national broadcast of the campaign, with Lou Canellis (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst) calling the action. Based on Thursday's result, the Golden Eagles will face either Michigan or Creighton Friday afternoon. The Thanksgiving event will mark the first road trip of the campaign for MU, which wrapped up a four-game homestand Tuesday night against South Dakota.
MU-XU A Familiar Matchup In Program History
Marquette's all-time series with Xavier is one of the longest and most successful in program history.
MU owns a 42-16 advantage in the previous matchups, including a run of 26-straight victories spanning from 1969 to 1983. Xavier has claimed seven of the last eight matchups, however, including a 75-59 decision on Dec. 16, 2000 in the most recent contest.
The two Jesuit Universities first met in 1958, with Marquette claiming an 86-71 decision over the ninth-ranked Musketeers. MU has faced only Creighton, DePaul, Detroit, Louisville, Loyola, Notre Dame and Wisconsin more times than Xavier.
Marquette Hoping To Continue Tourney Success
Marquette is hoping to continue a trend of recent success in regular-season tournaments when the team competes in the Old Spice Classic this weekend.
MU has claimed three titles since 2004-05 and advanced to the final game in two other events. Two of the wins have come in overtime and at one point the Golden Eagles had claimed 12-straight victories in those annual events.
The Golden Eagles are 15-2 overall since 2004-05 in multi-team events, including a trio of championships at the BCA Classic (2005), Great Alaska Shootout (2006) and CBE Classic (2007).
MU appeared in the championship contest of the EA?Sports Maui Invite (2008) and Chicago Invitational (2009).