#MUBB Hosts No. 20/20 Xavier Sunday at 1 p.m. CT

The Marquette University men's basketball team (13-6, 5-3 BIG EAST) returns to Fiserv Forum to host No. 20/20 Xavier (14-3, 4-2 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Jan. 23. FS1 will feature the national television broadcast, with Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (analyst) calling the action. Marquette will honor its 2022 M Club Hall of Fame class, which includes former head coach Tom Crean and guard Dominic James, during a special halftime presentation.

Marquette Facing Xavier For 81st Time

Marquette and Xavier will meet for the 81st time on Sunday afternoon, continuing a series that spans nearly half of the program's 104-year history.

The Golden Eagles own a 54-26 overall lead in matchups that date back to the 1958-59 campaign. MU dominated the pairings during the Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds era, at one point claiming 26-straight victories between 1969 and 1983.

The Musketeers held off Marquette 80-71 in the league opener for both teams on Dec. 18 to claim the first meeting this season. MU trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half before closing the gap to 70-69 with just over two minutes left, but would get no closer. Guard Greg Elliott led the way with 18 points and forward Justin Lewis added 15 points.

Lewis 3-Pointer Seals First Win At Villanova

Marquette's BIG EAST season already includes rare winning margins in decisions over Providence and Georgetown, but Wednesday's narrow 57-54 at No. 11/11 Villanova was notable as well.

Prior to the latest matchup, the Golden Eagles had never won in nine previous tries at Finneran Pavilion and the loss by the Wildcats snapped the team's 29-game homecourt winning streak (dating back to 2018-19 vs. Furman). Since the arena was renovated in 2018-19, Nova is now 30-3 and Wednesday's loss was only the second at home to a BIG EAST team (Butler) since the 2013-14 campaign.

Marquette trailed by as many as nine points midway through the second half after a 12-0 run by Villanova game it a 45-36 advantage. MU battled back with back-to-back treys and forward Justin Lewis took over down the stretch, scoring the team's final seven points. His 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left proved to be the difference.

Elliott Picking Up Consistent Production

Guard Greg Elliott's highlights in recent outings include a career-best 25-point effort against DePaul and the game-winning free throw in a one-point win over Seton Hall, with his impact coming courtesy of consistent efficiency from the field.

In the last four games, the Detroit native is averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 54.8 percent (17-of-31) from the field overall and 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from behind the 3-point line. He has also shot 10-of-12 from the free throw line and one of the misses was intentional.

For the season, Elliott is shooting an impressive 52.0 percent (26-of-50) from distance and 83.3 percent (20-of-24) from the charity stripe.

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Players Mentioned

Greg Elliott

Justin Lewis