#MUBB Travels To Villanova on Tuesday Night

The No. 9/10 Marquette University men's basketball team (15-5, 6-3 BIG EAST) returns to the road in BIG EAST Conference action when the squad travels to Villanova (11-9, 4-5 BIG EAST) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Central time. FS1 features the national television broadcast, with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) calling the action. Following Tuesday's outing, the Golden Eagles will continue their run of six road games in eight outings with a trip to Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 3.

Series With Wildcats Dates Back To 1960

Villanova holds a 27-17 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 23 meetings against Marquette, including four matchups as the top-ranked team in the land.

The Golden Eagles have claimed each of the last five meetings with the Wildcats, most recently earning an 87-74 victory at Fiserv Forum on Jan. 15 in a MLK Day matchup. Guard Kam Jones led three players in double figures with 22 points and the Golden Eagles collected a season-high 60 points in the paint.

Marquette Pulls Away For Win Over Pirates

Marquette led 30-29 at the intermission on Saturday against Seton Hall, but took control early in the second half and never looked back in the 75-57 victory.

The Golden Eagles knocked down 61.3 percent (19-of-31) of their field goals in the second stanza, including a 5-of-10 effort from behind the 3-point line. MU's depth was on display as guard Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones (only played five minutes due to ankle injury) combined for just seven points.

Forward Ben Gold posted his second-straight nine-point performance and in wins over DePaul and Seton Hall, he combined to shoot 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from behind the 3-point line.

Offense Clicking In Current Win Streak

Marquette's current four-game win streak, its longest since beginning the season 5-0, is largely the result of consistent efficiency at the offensive end.

In the last four outings, the Golden Eagles are shooting 54.9 percent from the floor overall and 38.3 percent from long distance, with both being marks well above the team's season-long efforts.

Forward Oso Ighodaro leads four players averaging double figures during the recent run with 18.8 points per game and guard Tyler Kolek is chipping in 15.5 points and 10.0 assists per contest. Kolek's distribution leadership has Marquette averaging 19.8 helpers per outing in the last four games.

The Golden Eagles' field goal percentage has improved significantly in the last four games thanks to an average of 44.0 points per contest in the paint.

Ighodaro, Mitchell Picking Up Production

Marquette's Oso Ighodaro and Stevie Mitchell have both played key roles in the team's recent success, with each picking up his respective production in recent weeks.

In the last six outings, Ighodaro tops the roster in scoring (18.2 ppg.) and rebounding (8.0 rpg.) while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor and dishing out 4.0 assists per contest. His current run includes double-figure scoring in each outing, a pair of 20-point performances and a double-double at DePaul.

Since missing four games with a hamstring injury, Mitchell has been a catalyst at both ends of the floor. Since returning to action seven games ago, he is contributing 10.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 steals per contest while shooting 52.5 percent from the floor. He has reached double figures in 4-of-5 outings after scoring 10-or-more points just once in the first nine games this season.

The Reading, Pennsylvania, native scored a career-high 19 points in last year's matchup at Finneran Pavilion, finishing 8-of-13 from the floor and knocked down a trio of treys, all career-best marks.