No. 9/9 #MUBB Travels To Xavier Saturday Morning

The No. 9/9 Marquette University men's basketball team (10-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) opens the road portion of its BIG EAST Conference schedule on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. CT when the squad travels to Xavier (8-4, 0-1 BIG EAST) for a matchup at Cintas Center. FOX features the national television broadcast, with Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) calling the action. Following Saturday's outing, the Golden Eagles will scatter across the country to spend Christmas with friends and family before returning to action New Year's Eve at Providence.

Marquette Facing Xavier For 87th Time

Marquette and Xavier will meet for the 87th time on Sunday night, continuing a series that spans nearly half of the program's 105-year history.

The Golden Eagles own a 59-27 overall lead in matchups that date back to the 1958-59 campaign. MU dominated the pairings during the Al McGuire and Hank Raymonds era, at one point claiming 26-straight victories between 1969 and 1983.

The Golden Eagles have claimed each of the last four meetings, including both in the home-and-home series in 2023-24. The two teams met twice in a five-game span to conclude the regular season, with MU securing an 86-80 victory on the road in the finale on March 9, 2024 in the most recent matchup.

MU Rebounds To Win Over Butler

Marquette shot just 42.7 percent from the floor overall and 20.0 percent from behind the 3-point line against Butler, but rebounded its way to an 80-70 victory.

The Golden Eagles finished with a 38-27 advantage on the boards, including a 20-4 margin on the offensive end. MU's work on the glass allowed the team to collect 28 more shot attempts than the Bulldogs and 28 total second-chance points. Guard Stevie Mitchell led the way with five offensive caroms and six players had at least two rebounds after missed MU shots.

The 20 offensive rebounds marked a single-game high since MU grabbed 21 at Providence in an overtime matchup on March 4, 2014. Wednesday's outing was the highest regulation-game total since facing St. John's (21) on Feb. 1, 2014.

Golden Eagles Not In Holiday Giving Spirit

Marquette, which has made visits to the Salvation Army and hosted Shopping With The Golden Eagles this month, wasn't in the giving spirit Wednesday night in the win over Butler.

Marquette turned the ball over on just a pair of occasions, both in the first half, and went the final 24 minutes of the game without a single miscue. The two turnovers marked a single-game low since just a pair at No. 5 Pittsburgh on Jan. 8, 2011 in an 89-81 loss.

Through games of Dec. 18, Marquette ranks seventh in the nation with just 9.1 turnovers per outing.

Mitchell Sparks Rally Wednesday Night

Guard Stevie Mitchell was active at both ends of the court on Wednesday night, narrowly missing his first-career double-double for the second time.

Mitchell finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes of action, shooting 6-of-6 from the floor and five of his boards came at the offensive end.

The Reading, Pennsylvania native is ranked among the league leaders in steals (3rd, 2.3 spg.) and field goal percentage (7th, .565) and is shooting 50.0 percent (9-of-18) of his chances from behind the 3-point line. He finished just 26.5 percent (18-of-68) from distance in 2023-24.

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Players Mentioned

Stevie Mitchell