Monday, November 3
Milwaukee, WI
7 P.M. CT
Marquette University
vs
Albany
#MUBB Hosts UAlbany Monday At 7 p.m. CT In Season Lidlifter
10/30/2025 9:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ESPN+ features broadcast as MU begins 109th season
The Marquette University men's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens its 109th season of competition on Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. CT when the team hosts Albany (0-0, 0-0 America East) at Fiserv Forum in the first meeting between the two programs.
ESPN+ features the broadcast, with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Tre Demps (analyst) calling the action. Following Monday's outing, the Golden Eagles will continue their season-opening two-game homestand against Southern on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Fifth-year head coach Shaka Smart returns a pair of starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's 23-11 squad, which made the program's fourth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
Marquette Hoping To Continue Opening Success
Marquette has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success on opening night and hopes to continue that trend in 2025-26 when the team faces Albany on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles are 92-16 (.852) all-time in campaign lidlifters and have claimed 32 of their last 34 overall, including each of the last nine openers. Marquette had an impressive streak of 29 years in which it started 1-0, dating from 1960-61 to 1988-89.
Opposing Bench Features Familiar Faces
While Monday's meeting with Albany will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs, Marquette fans will recognize some familiar faces on the Great Danes' bench.
Fifth-year head coach Dwayne Killings spent three seasons (2018-21) at Marquette under Steve Wojciechowski, first as an assistant coach, before being promoted to associate head coach. UAlbany's staff also features Marquette alum Dan Madhavapallil, who joined the Great Danes' program as director of basketball operations prior and was recently promoted to assistant coach.
Madhavapallil started as a student manager for four seasons with the Golden Eagles before climbing the ladder to program assistant, assistant video coordinator and director of basketball operations under both Wojciechowski and Buzz Williams.
Ross Earns Preseason League Accolades
Senior guard Chase Ross was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team in a survey of the league's head coaches, the first league-wide recognition of his career.
Ross averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Golden Eagles last year. His 61 steals (1.79/game) ranked fifth in the league. One of the BIG EAST's top defenders, he is poised to move into the top-10 all-time at Marquette in career steals (see page three)
Jones Set To Make Long-Awaited Return
Marquette guard Sean Jones is poised to return to action on Monday night in the campaign lidlifter after missing all of the 2024-25 campaign recovering from a knee injury suffered on Jan. 10, 2024 (663, nearly 22 months ago) in the closing minutes of a matchup with Butler at Fiserv Forum.
The Columbus, Ohio native has appeared in 49 games off the bench for the Golden Eagles in his career, serving as the backup point guard. Jones and freshman Nigel James Jr. are the two true point guards on the 2025-26 roster.
Continuity Is Key To Recent Success
Since the 2022-23 campaign (last four seasons including 2025-26), 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.
In 2024-25, Marquette was one of just two squads (St. Mary's College) to feature the same starting lineup (Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Ross, Gold) for the entire season. In 2023-24, Marquette and Marshall were the only two teams in the country to utilize the same starting five for 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. Of the eight, the four players (Kolek, Ighodaro, Prosper, Jones) who have completed their respective eligibility are competing in the NBA.
Gold and Ross are expected to be on the court for the opening tip in Monday's opener, but will be joined by three first-time starters.
ESPN+ features the broadcast, with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Tre Demps (analyst) calling the action. Following Monday's outing, the Golden Eagles will continue their season-opening two-game homestand against Southern on Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Fifth-year head coach Shaka Smart returns a pair of starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's 23-11 squad, which made the program's fourth-straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
Marquette Hoping To Continue Opening Success
Marquette has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success on opening night and hopes to continue that trend in 2025-26 when the team faces Albany on Monday night.
The Golden Eagles are 92-16 (.852) all-time in campaign lidlifters and have claimed 32 of their last 34 overall, including each of the last nine openers. Marquette had an impressive streak of 29 years in which it started 1-0, dating from 1960-61 to 1988-89.
Opposing Bench Features Familiar Faces
While Monday's meeting with Albany will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs, Marquette fans will recognize some familiar faces on the Great Danes' bench.
Fifth-year head coach Dwayne Killings spent three seasons (2018-21) at Marquette under Steve Wojciechowski, first as an assistant coach, before being promoted to associate head coach. UAlbany's staff also features Marquette alum Dan Madhavapallil, who joined the Great Danes' program as director of basketball operations prior and was recently promoted to assistant coach.
Madhavapallil started as a student manager for four seasons with the Golden Eagles before climbing the ladder to program assistant, assistant video coordinator and director of basketball operations under both Wojciechowski and Buzz Williams.
Ross Earns Preseason League Accolades
Senior guard Chase Ross was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team in a survey of the league's head coaches, the first league-wide recognition of his career.
Ross averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Golden Eagles last year. His 61 steals (1.79/game) ranked fifth in the league. One of the BIG EAST's top defenders, he is poised to move into the top-10 all-time at Marquette in career steals (see page three)
Jones Set To Make Long-Awaited Return
Marquette guard Sean Jones is poised to return to action on Monday night in the campaign lidlifter after missing all of the 2024-25 campaign recovering from a knee injury suffered on Jan. 10, 2024 (663, nearly 22 months ago) in the closing minutes of a matchup with Butler at Fiserv Forum.
The Columbus, Ohio native has appeared in 49 games off the bench for the Golden Eagles in his career, serving as the backup point guard. Jones and freshman Nigel James Jr. are the two true point guards on the 2025-26 roster.
Continuity Is Key To Recent Success
Since the 2022-23 campaign (last four seasons including 2025-26), 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.
In 2024-25, Marquette was one of just two squads (St. Mary's College) to feature the same starting lineup (Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Ross, Gold) for the entire season. In 2023-24, Marquette and Marshall were the only two teams in the country to utilize the same starting five for 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. Of the eight, the four players (Kolek, Ighodaro, Prosper, Jones) who have completed their respective eligibility are competing in the NBA.
Gold and Ross are expected to be on the court for the opening tip in Monday's opener, but will be joined by three first-time starters.
Players Mentioned
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