#MUBB Opens Homestand Tuesday Night Against Grambling

The Marquette University men's basketball team (7-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday, Dec. 17 when the squad welcomes Grambling State (6-5, 0-0 SWAC) to Fiserv Forum at 7 p.m. CT. FS Wisconsin features the television broadcast, with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) calling the action. Following Tuesday's game, the Golden Eagles will host North Dakota State on Friday, Dec. 20 before scattering across the country to spend Christmas with friends and family.

MU Turns Focus From Finals To Games

Marquette focused on first-semester finals last week, resulting in a 10-day break in the team's 2019-20 campaign.

The Golden Eagles return to action on Tuesday night to begin a season-long three-game homestand at Fiserv Forum. MU is 5-0 all-time against Grambling State, having most recently claimed a 95-49 win on Dec. 2, 2015 in the Bradley Center.

Marquette will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule during the homestand, hosting North Dakota State (Dec. 20) and Central Arkansas (Dec. 28).

Cain Makes Personal Bests A Habit

Junior forward Jamal Cain has appeared in 72 career games for Marquette, with a strong argument to be made that his two most recent outings have been the best of his career.

In wins over Jacksonville and Kansas State, Cain chipped in 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, while combining to shoot 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from the floor overall and 3-of-4 (75.0 percent) from long distance. He played 30.5 minutes per contest off the bench and followed up a career-best 12-rebound effort in the win over the Dolphins with a single-game high 17 points at KSU.

The Pontiac, Mich., native, who didn't reach double figures in points all of 2018-19, most recently accomplished the feat (11 points) in the team's National Invitation Tournament opener against Harvard in 2017-18.

Cain has already scored more points (53) in 2019-20 than he did all of his sophomore season in 29 appearances (50 points). Prior to last week, he had never grabbed more than seven boards (vs. Davidson, 11/28/19) in an outing.

Anim Becoming Consistent Scoring Option

Senior forward Sacar Anim has been a model for player development at Marquette, improving each season after redshirting in 2016-17 (played as a freshman in 2015-16).

The Minneapolis, Minnesota, native has been a consistent scorer for Marquette over the course of the past three seasons, collecting a total of 30 double-digit scoring games. However, he has only netted 20-or-more points on three occasions, including 21 points against Maryland in the Orlando Invitational title matchup.

In the last three outings, Anim has chipped in 17.7 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent (21-of-42) from the field overall and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from long distance. He finished with a team-best 19 points in the win over Jacksonville, including the team's first seven points of the game, and chipped in 13 points at Kansas State.

Anim has now scored double figures in points in three-straight games for the fourth time in his career and only once previously (2018-19) has he reached the 10-point mark in four-consecutive outings.