No. 7/7 #MUBB Hosts Xavier Saturday at 1 p.m. CT

The No. 7/7 Marquette University men's basketball team (15-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) returns to Fiserv Forum to host Xavier (11-7, 3-4 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. CT. FOX features the national television broadcast, with Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) calling the action. The Golden Eagles will honor the 1993-94 Sweet 16 team during a halftime ceremony, celebrating a squad that won the Great Midwest Conference title under head coach Kevin O'Neill and defeated Southwestern Louisiana and Kentucky in the NCAA tourney.

Marquette Facing Xavier For 88th Time

Marquette and Xavier will meet for the 88th time on Saturday afternoon, continuing a series that spans nearly half of the program's 105-year history.

The Golden Eagles own a 60-27 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 five meetings, including a 72-70 win at Cintas Center on Dec. 21, 2024. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but trailed in the closing minutes, before holding off the Musketeers with late free throws.

Guard Kam Jones led four players in double figures with 20 points and added eight assists.

MU Continues Rare BIG EAST Start

Marquette, which is competing in its 20th BIG EAST campaign in 2024-25, has now started league play 6-0 on two occasions since joining in 2005-06 after Tuesday's win over DePaul.

The Golden Eagles opened the 2008-09 league campaign 9-0 and were 12-2 before dropping the final four regular-season outings to nationally ranked opponents, including three rated in the top-six.

Marquette has claimed as many as six-straight victories in BIG EAST play in each of the last four seasons (including 2024-25) and are 37-9 (.804) in league action since the start of 2022-23, which is the best mark (2nd - UConn, 36-10) in the conference during that time span.

Continuity Is Key To Recent Success

Since the 2022-23 campaign, Marquette is the only power conference team that hasn't signed a NCAA Division I transfer, leading to as consistent a starting lineup as any program in the country.

Through games of Jan. 15, Marquette is one of just 13 squads (355 total) to feature the same starting lineup (K. Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Ross, Gold). Two years ago, Marquette and Marshall were the only two teams in the country to utilize the same starting five the entire season.

Since the opening contest of the 2022-23 campaign (Kolek, Ighodaro, Prosper, Mitchell, Jones), just eight different players have started a game for MU, the lowest total in all of NCAA Division I.

Joplin Nets Career Best In Wintrust Finale

Senior forward David Joplin played his final game at Wintrust Arena on Tuesday night, capping a three-year run that made the court his second home.

The Milwaukee native finished with a career-high 30 points (previous high was 29 points vs. Georgia on Nov. 23) on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a 7-of-13 effort from behind the 3-point line. In 42 minutes of action in the overtime matchup, he also chipped in four rebounds, two steals, a pair of blocked shots and an assist.

In his final three games in Chicago, Joplin averaged 26.3 points per outing while combining to shoot 25-of-41 (61.0 percent) from the floor overall and 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from behind the 3-point line.

Starters Handle Scoring In OT Win

Marquette's starting lineup handled all of the scoring in the 85-83 overtime win at DePaul Tuesday night, with four of the five players netting 14-or-more points.

Forward Ben Gold matched career bests with 14 points and four 3-pointers and guard Chase Ross scored 11 of his 15 points after halftime, but DePaul finished with a 27-0 advantage in bench points.

The last time Marquette's bench failed to find the scoring column came against St. John's on Jan. 31, 2021 in a 75-73 loss at Fiserv Forum. Forward Dawson Garcia led five players in double figures with 20 points in that outing.

The overtime outing was the first for Marquette since the team defeated Villanova 71-65 in the quarterfinals of last year's BIG EAST tourney quarterfinals.