No. 24 #MUBB Hosts No. 12 Villanova Wednesday Night

The 24th-ranked Marquette University men's basketball team (15-7, 7-4 BIG EAST) returns home to Fiserv Forum to host No 12/12 Villanova (16-5, 9-2 BIG EAST) on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. CT. FS1 will feature the national television broadcast, with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) calling the action. Marquette is currently in a stretch of the schedule that features four road contests in five outings and will travel to No. 17/17 UConn on Feb. 8 in the team's next outing.

Marquette Looking To Reverse Series Trend

Villanova holds a 27-13 advantage over Marquette in an all-time series that dates back to 1960.

Along with regular season and tournament matchups in league play, the two teams also squared off in the 1963 National Invitation Tournament and the 1980 NCAA Championship. Marquette downed the Wildcats 66-58 in the NIT, but fell 77-59 in the opening round of the NCAA's in Providence, R.I.

The Wildcats have been ranked in the top-15 in 18 of the last 19 meetings against Marquette, including four matchups as the top-ranked team in the land.

Justin Lewis' 3-pointer with 11.9 seconds left proved to be the difference in a 57-54 win at Villanova on Jan. 19, the program's first victory at Finneran Pavilion. MU has swept the season series with the Wildcats on just one occasion, winning both matchups in 2011-12.

Historic Win Streak Snapped At Providence

Marquette's impressive seven-game BIG EAST winning streak came to an end on Sunday with a narrow 65-63 setback at No. 17/17 Providence, but not before the streak was able to earn a spot in league history.

Since the BIG EAST was founded in 1979-80, no team had opened conference action 0-3 before rattling off seven-straight wins. The last team to do so from a current major conference was Vanderbilt in 1987-88.

Marquette Ranked For Second-Straight Week

Marquette's recent seven-game winning streak vaulted the team into the top-25 and both national polls have the Golden Eagles ranked 24th in the land on Jan. 31.

MU is ranked in both polls for the first time since Feb. 17, 2020, also the last time the BIG EAST featured five ranked programs. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll and are currently in fourth place.

The BIG EAST is tied with the Big Ten and Big 12 for most teams currently in the top-25.

Another Game, Another Ranked Opponent

MU, which has already faced 10 nationally ranked squads in 2021-22, is in the midst of a stretch that could feature 6-of-7 outings versus top-25 opponents.

Wednesday's 11th top-25 matchup of the year against No. 12/12 Villanova will mark 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. No. 17/17 UConn is up next for Marquette on Feb. 8 after Wednesday's matchup with Villanova.

MU is 132-211 all-time against top-25 teams, including 49-127 effort against the top-10. The team is 5-5 against squads in the national polls, with wins over No. 10/10 Illinois, No. 16/17 Providence, No. 20/18 Seton Hall, No. 11/11 Villanova and No. 20/20 Xavier.

Through games of Jan. 31, Marquette and Alabama topped all of college basketball with five victories versus nationally ranked foes in 2021-22.

Earlier this year, for the first time in school history, MU claimed three-straight against AP Top-25 opponents (Seton Hall, Villanova, Xavier) in consecutive outings during the regular season.