The No.2-seeded Xavier Musketeers (26-4) and Marquette Golden Eagles (20-12) meet in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10 and can be seen on FS1.
The Musketeers come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, topping Creighton 98-93 in their last matchup. Myles Davis was the game’s leading scorer with 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, are coming off a 101-93 win against St. John’s in the 1. JaJuan Johnson played well for Marquette, registering 23 points, five steals, and five rebounds.
Henry Ellenson and Johnson have upped their production over the last five games for the Golden Eagles. Ellenson has averaged 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer during that stretch, while Johnson has put up 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.4 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Xavier ranks 10th in the nation, allowing just 97.9 points per 100 possessions, while Marquette is 22nd (100.9).
The Musketeers have emerged victorious in both games against the Golden Eagles this year, including a 90-82 win the last time these two teams met. Trevon Bluiett had a stellar game with 23 points, five rebounds, eight assists, one steal, one block, and five three-pointers.
Notes
Ranked 22nd, the Marquette Golden Eagles have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 100.9 points per 100 possessions. The Xavier Musketeers rank 40th in offense, scoring 113.4 points in the same number of possessions.
The Marquette Golden Eagles average 72.7 possessions per game and 1.050 points per possession. The Xavier Musketeers earn fewer possessions with 71.4, but they score more points with 1.134.
The Marquette Golden Eagles average an effective field goal percentage of 52.4% this season. The Xavier Musketeers have a solid 5-3 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 52.4% or greater.
Xavier attempts an average of 20.0 three pointers per game and Marquette attempts 17.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Xavier Musketeers have a fantastic 17-3 record while the Marquette Golden Eagles have a 5-4 record.
Xavier ranks 57th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.28. Marquette is ranked lower at 143rd with an A/TO of 1.10.
Ranked 17th in the nation, Xavier averages 40.7 rebounds per game. Marquette ranks lower at 187th with 35.9 RPG.
Marquette ranks 279th in offensive rebounds, while Xavier ranks at 25th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Marquette forces a turnover rate of 19.5%, ranked 20th in the nation. When Xavier turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has an outstanding 8-1 record.
