Marquette @ Butler preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Butler 69, Marquette 79

A pair of Big East teams trending in opposite directions meet Friday at Butler, where the 12th-ranked Bulldogs try to snap their three-game losing streak against surging Marquette. After fading in the second half of a 78-70 loss to No. 10 Seton Hall at home Jan. 15, Butler dropped back-to-back road games by double digits to sink into the middle of the league standings.

"Was that our best basketball? Probably not, but we're going to get back to playing our best basketball," Bulldogs coach LaVall Jordan told reporters after Tuesday's 76-61 loss at 11th-ranked Villanova. Butler held each of its first 16 opponents to 67 points or fewer but has given up an average of 77.7 points during its three-game slide and now must contend with the nation's top scorer in senior guard Markus Howard. The sharpshooter is averaging 28.4 points, 31.7 in Big East play and 36.3 over his last three games after producing 32 in Tuesday's 82-68 victory over St. John's - the third in a row for the Golden Eagles. He also scored 60 points on 23-of-43 shooting in two games - both wins - against Butler last season.

TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MARQUETTE (14-5, 4-3 Big East): Senior guard Sacar Anim ranks second to Howard on the team in scoring at 12.5 after recording 21 to tie a season high against the Red Storm. "Sacar's one of the more underrated players in the Big East," coach Steve Wojciechowski told reporters. "And if he's underrated in the Big East, that means he's underrated nationally." Junior guard Koby McEwen chips in 9.6 points and a team-leading 3.2 assists, and had a season-high nine rebounds Tuesday.

ABOUT BUTLER (15-4, 3-3): Senior guard Kamar Baldwin paces the squad with 15.4 points per game after scoring 21 versus Villanova. Senior forward Sean McDermott is the only other player on the team averaging in double digits at 11, but is coming off a difficult performance against the Wildcats in which he was 1-of-11 from the floor - 0-of-7 from 3-point range. Sophomore forward Bryce Golden had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the loss while junior forward Bryce Nze - the team's top rebounder with seven per contest - notched his third double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Baldwin is averaging 18.7 points in Big East play.

2. Golden Eagles junior F Theo John had six blocked shots and zero shot attempts in 25 minutes versus St. John's.

3. Marquette ranks second-last in the Big East in steals per game (5.32), ahead of only Butler (4.79).

PREDICTION: Butler 75, Marquette 73