#MUBB Wins BIG EAST Tournament with 65-51 Victory Over Xavier

Box Score

NEW YORK – The Marquette University men's basketball team (28-6, 17-3 BIG EAST) claims its first BIG EAST Tournament title with a 65-51 victory over Xavier (25-9, 15-5 BIG EAST).

Tyle Kolek paced the Golden Eagles with 20 points, eight boards and three assists. Kolek was named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player, averaging 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three tournament games.

The Golden Eagles kept their foot on the gas in the second half, holding the Musketeers to a season-low 51 points. MU maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half to complete the wire-to-wire victory.

The defense set the tone for the Golden Eagles in the first half, holding the Musketeers to 24 points on 32% (11-34) shooting in the opening period. The MU defense also generated 10 points off six forced turnovers. On the offensive end, Tyler Kolek and David Joplin led the way with nine points. MU took a 39-24 advantage into the half.

Notables:

First league tournament title since 1996-97 Conference USA Championship
Marquette is the first No. 1 seed to win the tournament since Villanova in 2019
Kolek is the 13th athlete in the history of the BIG EAST to earn Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors in the season year.
Kam Jones and David Joplin were named to the All-Tournament Team
Now 15-16 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament
57-27 against Xavier all-time, 3-2 on a neutral court
MU extends its win streak to nine
28 wins ties the most in program history (28-1 in 1970-71)
Only four team turnovers, the season-low is three (Notre Dame 12/11/22)

Overall Notes

Tonight marks the first matchup between two Associated Press Top-15 teams in the BIG EAST Tournament title game since 2007, when No. 9 Georgetown topped 13th-ranked Pitt in the final.
Eight of the last nine AP Top-10 teams to play in the BIG EAST title game have won (Villanova in 2016 being the exception – fell to Seton Hall).
Tonight was just the 10th meeting all-time between the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds for the BIG EAST Tournament title and the first since 2004. The 10 meetings are split 5-5.
Marquette is the first No. 1 seed to win the tournament since Villanova in 2019.
All five sessions of the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament sold out (19,812).
Tournament's Most Valuable Player (Dave Gavitt Trophy): Tyler Kolek, Marquette
All-Tournament Team: Kam Jones, Marquette; David Joplin, Marquette; Colby Jones, Xavier; Adama Sanogo, UConn; Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton.
Before tonight, the last first-time winner of the BIG EAST Tournament was West Virginia in 2010.

Marquette (28-6) Notes

Tyler Kolek is the second straight player to earn BIG EAST Player of the Year and the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Tournament's Most Valuable Player in the same season. He averaged 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in three tournament contests.
Kolek is the 13th athlete in the history of the BIG EAST to earn Player of the Year and Tournament MVP honors in the season year.
Marquette captures its first BIG EAST Tournament title and first conference tourney crown since 1997 as a member of Conference USA. The Golden Eagles joined the BIG EAST for the 2005-06 season.
Marquette's four turnovers tonight tie a program-record low in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Golden Eagles' also had four turnovers on March 11, 2015 against Seton Hall.
Marquette has won a season-high nine straight games. Its 28 wins ties a school record (28-1 in 1970-71).