Marquette @ Xavier preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2020 ) Xavier 65, Marquette 85

Marquette goes for a regular-season sweep of Xavier when the Big East teams square off Wednesday night in Cincinnati. Golden Eagles guard Markus Howard, the nation's leading scorer, enters the game eight points away from 2,500 for his career.

Howard torched Xavier in the first meeting, an 85-65 Marquette victory, with 35 points Jan. 15 in Milwaukee. It started a three-game winning streak for the Golden Eagles that ended Friday with an 89-85 loss at No. 17 Butler. Xavier has struggled since Christmas to find its way, losing four of its last five. The Musketeers' latest defeat came Sunday when Creighton took care of Xavier for the second time this season with a 77-66 decision.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MARQUETTE (14-6, 4-4 Big East): Howard, averaging 28.3 points per game, has received scoring help recently from fellow senior Sacar Anim, who is averaging 21.5 points in Marquette's last two games and 13 for the season. Koby McEwen is contributing 9.8 points per game after posting his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss at Butler. Theo John has come alive defensively in the past two games with a total of 13 blocked shots against Butler and St. John's to boost his career total to 139, sixth-best in school history.

ABOUT XAVIER (13-7, 2-5): The Musketeers went with a bigger lineup at times Sunday that helped on the boards with a 45-28 advantage but hurt them in transition against Creighton, which had 14 fast-break points to none for Xavier. Naji Marshall, Paul Scruggs and Tyrique Jones combined 14 of Xavier's 16 turnovers in the game. One of Xavier's inside guys, freshman Zach Freemantle, posted career highs of 18 points and nine rebounds while Jones had 11 points and 13 rebounds against Creighton.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Howard would become the 72nd player in NCAA history to reach 2,500 points and also would join his brother, Jordan, who finished his career at Central Arkansas in 2018 with 2,524 points.

2. Marquette leads the Big East and was seventh nationally entering Tuesday in 3-point shooting at 39.8 percent.

3. Xavier senior G Quentin Goodin, who leads the team with 72 assists, has missed the past two games with an apparent knee injury.

PREDICTION: Marquette 74, Xavier 73