#MUBB Hosts Villanova Monday at 1:30 p.m. on MLK Jr. Day

The No. 11/12 Marquette University men's basketball team (11-5, 2-3 BIG EAST) wraps up its two-game homestand on Monday, Jan. 15 when the squad faces Villanova (11-5, 4-1 BIG EAST) at 1:30 p.m. for a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee at Fiserv Forum. FOX features the national television broadcast, with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) calling the action. Following Monday's outing, the Golden Eagles travel to St. John's on. Jan. 20 to begin a stretch of 4-of-5 outings on the road.

Marquette Looking To Reverse Series Trend

Villanova holds a 27-16 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 19 of the last 22 meetings against Marquette, including four matchups as the top-ranked team in the land.

The Golden Eagles have claimed each of the last four meetings with the Wildcats, most recently earning a 73-64 win on Feb. 1, 2023 at Fiserv Forum. Guard Tyler Kolek led three players in double figures with 20 points and six assists and Kam Jones chipped in 18 points.

Kam Jones Joins Exclusive List At MU

Junior guard Kam Jones scored 11 points in the opening seven minutes of Wednesday night's game against Butler, reaching 1,000 career points in the process.

The Memphis native currently owns 1,009 career points (50th at MU), the 51st player in Marquette history with 1,000 points, and first since Marquette's all-time leading scorer Markus Howard (2016-20 - 2,761), who ranks 23rd in NCAA history.

Jones has reached double figures in 15-of-16 outings this season and through games of Jan. 11 is ranked 13th in the BIG EAST in scoring (14.9 ppg.).

Mitchell Has Impact At Both Ends Of Court

Playing in his third game after missing four outings with a hamstring injury, guard Stevie Mitchell contributed one of his best all-around efforts of the season against Butler.

The Reading, Pennsylvania, native finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes. His 10 points marked his second double-digit effort of the year and the eight boards matched a personal best (3/19/23 vs. Michigan St.).

Mitchell, who is ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in steals (1.8 spg.) through games of Jan. 11, scored a career-high 19 points against Villanova on Dec. 31, 2022.

Marquette Winning Turnover Battle

MU forced 18 turnovers against Butler, continuing a season-long trend.

Through games of Jan. 11, the Golden Eagles rank first in the BIG EAST and fourth in the nation in turnover margin (+6.1). MU has forced 10-or-more turnovers in each of the 16 outings this season and converted those miscues into an average of 20.8 points per outing.

Through games of Jan. 11, three Marquette players (Tyler Kolek, Stevie Mitchell and Chase Ross) are ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in steals.