Marquette @ Georgetown preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Georgetown 86, Marquette 84

Marquette appears to have things straightened out after enduring its worst four-game start in the Big East since 2010, but another challenge awaits Saturday in a conference game at Georgetown. Markus Howard led the way in an 85-65 victory over Xavier for the Golden Eagles, who have won two straight games over the Hoyas in Washington, D.C., and five of the last seven overall in the series.

The Golden Eagles were coming off their worst performance of the season, a 14-point loss to Seton Hall in which they had season lows with 55 points and 17 made field goals, but were able to rebound in a big way against Xavier. Howard, the leading scorer in Division I with 27.3 points per game, recorded 35 points for the 24th 30-point game of his career and the fourth against the Musketeers, but it was the other starters that made up the difference. Theo John and Sacar Anim each scored in double figures, breaking streaks of four and three games, respectively, without scoring in double digits for Marquette. The Hoyas, who have held Howard to a pair of 20-point games in six career meetings and 16.6 points per game in the five contests he played a full complement of minutes, had five players in double figures, including sophomore guard Mac McClung, in snapping a five-game losing streak to Creighton 83-80 on Wednesday.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MARQUETTE (12-5, 2-3 Big East): With the scoring left to Howard and other teammates, senior Jayce Johnson is able to focus on hitting the glass and has done solid work in that department for the Golden Eagles. The 7-foot center from California has appeared in 14 games this season and has averaged 5.2 rebounds, but that number shoots up to 8.3 boards in his three Big East contests. Despite not playing in every game, Johnson leads Marquette with 31 offensive rebounds.

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (12-6, 2-3): Omer Yurtseven had struggled to score at his usual rate since Big East play began, but the 7-foot center broke out against Creighton. The junior averaged 10.8 points in the first four league games, well below his 18.2 points in non-conference action, but had points to go along with 13 rebounds in the win over the Bluejays. "I got to do my part and trust my teammates to do theirs," Yurtseven, who has nine double-doubles this season - tied for the second most among Big East players, told the media. "Terrell (Allen) and Mac, they really did a huge job. They had a big impact."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Golden Eagles are 7-0 when scoring 40 or more points in the first half.

2. Howard needs four points to move past Villanova's Scottie Reynolds (1,221) and into the top 10 in career points in Big East play.

3. Yurtseven was 13th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (3.89).

PREDICTION: Marquette 86, Georgetown 80