Marquette @ Butler preview
Hinkle Fieldhouse
Last Meeting ( Feb 2, 2021 ) Butler 67, Marquette 70
On a long road trip, Marquette will reach the midway point Wednesday evening when the Golden Eagles visit Butler for a Big East Conference matchup at Indianapolis.
It will be the third of five consecutive road games for the Golden Eagles (9-12, 5-10 Big East), who have lost three straight games overall and most recently won on Feb. 2, a 70-67 victory at home against Butler. Marquette also has lost six of its past seven.
The Bulldogs (7-11, 6-9) won two of three games after falling at Marquette, although they will enter Wednesday's game off a 78-63 defeat at Georgetown on Saturday.
Marquette's most recent defeat was 57-51 at Seton Hall on Sunday, when D.J. Carton led the Golden Eagles with 16 points. Theo John added 14, but Marquette shot just 30.0 percent from the field and only 12.0 percent from 3-point range.
Justin Lewis, averaging 8.1 points per game, missed his second consecutive contest with an ankle sprain, and there is no timetable for his return, according to coach Steve Wojciechowski.
"Every game is a gift, and every time you step on the floor it is a gift, especially in these days and times," Wojciechowski said when asked how the team can turn it around. "You have a choice: You can fight and stand your ground or you can flee. I believe our group is going to continue to fight."
Sunday's loss to Seton Hall came after Marquette lost to two ranked teams in then-No. 15 Creighton on Feb. 6 and then-No. 5 Villanova last Wednesday. The Golden Eagles were crushed 96-64 at Villanova.
Butler has lost four of its past six games and has three upcoming games against unranked teams before closing the regular season against Villanova and Creighton.
Down by 18 points with 12:20 remaining at Marquette, Butler pulled to 69-67 on a 3-pointer by Jair Bolden with 18 seconds remaining before absorbing the loss.
Chuck Harris scored 16 points in the defeat, while Bo Hodges had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bryce Nze added 13 points and Bolden 12. Butler was outrebounded 33-24.
In Saturday's loss at Georgetown, Butler shot just 34.6 percent from the field in the first half while scoring 22 points, and the team didn't reach 30 points until 11:21 remained in the game. The Hoyas had a 23-point lead by that point.
"We didn't come out with the energy or the effort we needed to," Butler coach LaVall Jordan said. "Our early turnovers led to three-pointers for them, and that dug a really big early hole. Credit to Georgetown. They came out and set the tone."
--Field Level Media