Marquette University
Seton Hall
#MUBB Welcomes No. 20/18 Seton Hall Saturday
1/14/2022 11:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball
1996-97 C-USA Tourney Champions honored at halftime
The Marquette University men's basketball team (11-6, 3-3 BIG EAST) wraps up its two-game homestand at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 15 when the squad hosts No. 20/18 Seton Hall (11-4, 2-3 BIG EAST) at Fiserv Forum. FS1 will feature the national television broadcast, with Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Dickey Simpkins (analyst) calling the action. Following Saturday's action, the Golden Eagles will travel to No. 14/14 Villanova on Jan. 19 to continue a potential run against six-straight top-25 opponents.
Series With Seton Hall Dates Back To 1956
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series with Seton Hall, 19-13, with all but one of the matchups coming after MU joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2005-06.
SHU opened the series with a 96-78 victory over Marquette on March 17, 1956 in MU's first-ever appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in New York. The next meeting wouldn't come until 50 years later when Marquette moved to the BIG EAST. Â
After SHU's 57-51 victory on Feb. 14, 2021 at the Prudential Center, the Pirates have now claimed six-straight wins over the Golden Eagles. Shaka Smart has faced SHU on just one occasion in his head coaching career, falling to the Pirates 69-54 in the opening game of the 2011 Charleston Classic.
Golden Eagles Enter Heart Of BIG EAST Slate
Marquette, which has already faced five nationally ranked squads (four in non-conference action) in 2021-22, begins a stretch on Saturday against Seton Hall that could begin a run to six-straight outings versus top-25 opponents.
The Pirates are currently No. 20/18 in the nation and the next five matchups for MU come against No. 14/14 Villanova (twice), No. 17/21 Xavier and at SHU on Jan. 29.
Should Marquette end up playing at least 11 top-25 contests, it would be the most since the team competed in 11 games during the 2010-11 regular season. That year, including postseason (five straight to end the year), the Golden Eagles played 17 total outings versus the nation's best.
MU is 129-209 all-time against top-25 teams, including 50-127 effort against the top-10. The team is 2-3 this year against squads in the national polls, with wins over No. 10/10 Illinois and No. 16/17 Providence at Fiserv Forum.
Elliott Nets Career Best In Latest Win
Guard Greg Elliott, who will play in his 100th career game on Saturday, provided a much-needed offensive spark off the bench in Tuesday's win over DePaul.
The Detroit native netted a career-high 25 points in just 23 minutes versus the Blue Demons, knocking down 7-of-11 attempts from the field overall and 4-of-6 from long distance. He also finished 7-of-7 from the charity stripe after collecting just 12 total attempts through his first 12 appearances in 2021-22. Elliott also dished out a career-high five assists, grabbed two rebounds and created a pair of steals.
Prior to Tuesday's outing, Elliott had only reached double figures 15 times in 98 appearances and had scored more than 20 points just once, netting his previous career best of 22 points against UCLA in the non-conference finale this year.
Offense Picks Up Production In Latest Run
Marquette has picked up its efforts at both ends of the court during the team's recent three-game winning streak, with the production on the offensive side showing a significant increase in efficiency.
In the last three outings, the Golden Eagles are averaging 89.0 points per game while shooting a red-hot 55.9 percent from the floor as a team. That percentage improves to 65.5 percent (74-of-113) on shots from inside the 3-point line. MU is also shooting significantly better from deep and the charity stripe in the last three contests as compared to the season-long numbers.
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