No. 10/9 #MUBB Hosts DePaul On "Gold Out" Saturday

The No. 10/9 Marquette University men's basketball team (22-6, 14-3 BIG EAST) returns home to host DePaul (9-19, 3-14 BIG EAST) at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 25 as the squad hosts a "Gold Out" at Fiserv Forum. FS1 features the television coverage, with Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) calling the action. Following Saturday's outing, the Golden Eagles travel to Butler on Feb. 28 to conclude the road portion of the regular-season schedule.

Series With DePaul Spans Program History

Marquette's all-time series with DePaul dates back to the 1917-18 season (second year of MU's varsity history) and includes 132 previous meetings, the highest total against any single opponent in team history.

The Golden Eagles own an 82-50 advantage in the series and the extensive series history has been aided by the fact the two programs have been in the same league dating back to the 1991-92 campaign. Since that season, the teams have shared affiliation in the Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA and BIG EAST.

Marquette claimed an 89-69 win at DePaul on Jan. 28, courtesy of David Joplin's career-best 28-point night. He finished 10-of-14 from the floor overall, including an 8-of-11 mark from behind the 3-point line in just 25 minutes of action.

MU Exceeding Preseason Expectations

Picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll and without a player on the all-league roster, MU (14-3) is currently in sole possession of first place and is the league's top-ranked squad in the Associated Press poll.

No. 10/9 Marquette, off to its best league start since 2002-03 (14-3), is one of five BIG EAST programs (Xavier - 16, Creighton - 19, UConn - 18, Providence - 24) in the latest rankings. MU's ranking matches its best of the season and is the program's highest since climbing to No. 8 late in the 2011-12 campaign.

A victory Saturday night against DePaul would clinch at least a share of the regular-season title for the Golden Eagles. Marquette's last regular-season league trophy came in 2012-13 (shared with Louisville and Georgetown) and the team also claimed the Great Midwest Conference championship in 1993-94 and the Conference USA crown in 2002-03.

Kolek Emerges As BIG EAST POY Candidate

Guard Tyler Kolek has emerged as a strong candidate for the BIG EAST Player of the Year Award, courtesy of an impressive performance on the court during the heart of the league campaign.

The Cumberland, R.I. native's latest effort was an 18-point, six-assist, four-rebound, three-steal effort in the win at No. 19/19 Creighton, which included scoring or assisting on 12-of-17 baskets (scored last two) to finish the game.

Over the course of the last 10 outings, Kolek is averaging 17.2 points, 6.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from behind the 3-point line. He has reached double figures in points in nine of the 10 outings.

Kolek is ranked among the national leaders in assists per game (2nd, 7.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 3.21) and is among the BIG EAST's best in five-different categories.