Tuesday, February 7
Hartford, CT
5:30 P.M. CT
Marquette University
at
UConn
No. 10 #MUBB travels to No. 21 UConn
2/6/2023 1:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FS1 features 5:30 p.m. CT national television broadcast
The No. 10/10 Marquette University men's basketball team (19-5, 11-2 BIG EAST) opens a two-game BIG EAST road swing at No. 21/21 UConn (18-6, 7-6 BIG EAST) Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. CT from the XL Center. FS1 features the television broadcast, with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) calling the action. Following Tuesday's outing, the Golden Eagles will travel to Georgetown on Feb. 11 to complete the home-and-home series.
Short Series Has Plenty Of Highlights
Marquette has faced UConn on just 14 occasions all-time, but the limited series has already provided a number of memories.
The all-time series dates back to the program's first year in the BIG EAST in 2005-06. MU hosted the Huskies at the Bradley Center on Jan. 3, 2006 in the team's first home game as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Steve Novak finished with 41 points and 16 rebounds and Jerel McNeal chipped in 19 points and 12 boards in a 94-79 Marquette victory over No. 2 UConn to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season.
Other series highlights include a game-winning shot by Jimmy Butler with three seconds left in a 70-68 win on the road on Jan. 30, 2010 and an overtime win by Marquette at home on Jan. 1, 2013 when Junior Cadougan forced the extra session on at 3-pointer as time expired in regulation.
Marquette defeated UConn, 82-76, on Jan. 11 at Fiserv Forum in the first meeting to snap a four-game losing streak against the Huskies. Forward Oso Ighodaro scored a season-best 19 points in the victory and forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper chipped in 17 points and six rebounds.
MU Exceeding Expectations Entering February
Picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll and without a player on the all-conference roster, MU starts February in a share of first place with Xavier with an 11-2 record and is the league's top-ranked squad in the Associated Press poll.
No. 10 Marquette, off to its best league start since 2018-19 (12-2), is in possession of its highest ranking since it was 10th on Feb. 25, 2019. MU has already surpassed last year's total of four road victories (5), the most recent coming Jan. 28 at DePaul. Of the team's next six outings, four will come on the road.
Kolek Named Cousy Award Candidate
Guard Tyler Kolek has been named one of 10 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, distributed by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kolek, one of two BIG EAST players (Souley Boum, Xavier) on the list, currently leads the league and is second in the nation in assists per game (7.9) through outings of Feb. 5. He is on pace to become just the fourth player in Marquette history to dish out 200 assists in a season (see below) and has already surpassed his season total from 2021-22. He was tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 30 and has been named to the league's weekly honor roll on four occasions.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 20th year, recognizes the top point guard in Division I men's college basketball. In March, five finalists will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Former guard Markus Howard was one of five finalists in 2019-20.
Short Series Has Plenty Of Highlights
Marquette has faced UConn on just 14 occasions all-time, but the limited series has already provided a number of memories.
The all-time series dates back to the program's first year in the BIG EAST in 2005-06. MU hosted the Huskies at the Bradley Center on Jan. 3, 2006 in the team's first home game as a member of the BIG EAST Conference. Steve Novak finished with 41 points and 16 rebounds and Jerel McNeal chipped in 19 points and 12 boards in a 94-79 Marquette victory over No. 2 UConn to hand the Huskies their first loss of the season.
Other series highlights include a game-winning shot by Jimmy Butler with three seconds left in a 70-68 win on the road on Jan. 30, 2010 and an overtime win by Marquette at home on Jan. 1, 2013 when Junior Cadougan forced the extra session on at 3-pointer as time expired in regulation.
Marquette defeated UConn, 82-76, on Jan. 11 at Fiserv Forum in the first meeting to snap a four-game losing streak against the Huskies. Forward Oso Ighodaro scored a season-best 19 points in the victory and forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper chipped in 17 points and six rebounds.
MU Exceeding Expectations Entering February
Picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches poll and without a player on the all-conference roster, MU starts February in a share of first place with Xavier with an 11-2 record and is the league's top-ranked squad in the Associated Press poll.
No. 10 Marquette, off to its best league start since 2018-19 (12-2), is in possession of its highest ranking since it was 10th on Feb. 25, 2019. MU has already surpassed last year's total of four road victories (5), the most recent coming Jan. 28 at DePaul. Of the team's next six outings, four will come on the road.
Kolek Named Cousy Award Candidate
Guard Tyler Kolek has been named one of 10 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, distributed by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kolek, one of two BIG EAST players (Souley Boum, Xavier) on the list, currently leads the league and is second in the nation in assists per game (7.9) through outings of Feb. 5. He is on pace to become just the fourth player in Marquette history to dish out 200 assists in a season (see below) and has already surpassed his season total from 2021-22. He was tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 30 and has been named to the league's weekly honor roll on four occasions.
Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor, now in its 20th year, recognizes the top point guard in Division I men's college basketball. In March, five finalists will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
Former guard Markus Howard was one of five finalists in 2019-20.
Players Mentioned
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