Marquette @ Xavier preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2019 ) Xavier 52, Marquette 70

Even on off-nights for scoring sensation Markus Howard, No. 11 Marquette continues to excel as it defeated DePaul 79-69 on Wednesday for its sixth consecutive victory. The win was the Golden Eagles’ 14th in as many tries at home, but they are just 3-3 outside Milwaukee this season and will play five of their next eight games on the road - starting Saturday against Xavier.

Howard scored 13 of his team-high 23 points in the last six minutes to help Marquette secure a victory on Wednesday but was just 4-for-10 from the floor while hitting all 15 of his free-throw attempts. The junior guard dished out a season-high nine assists, but they came with eight turnovers - the second-highest amount he has committed this season (nine against Creighton on Jan. 9). Xavier has played much better at home this season (9-3) but dropped a tough one to Providence on Wednesday, as it rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining but came up just short in a 64-62 setback. Paul Scruggs scored a team-high 14 points for the Musketeers – the team-leading 15th time he’s reached double digits this season – but missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer that would have extended their chance at a 10th home victory.

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

ABOUT MARQUETTE (17-3, 6-1 Big East): Theo John scored a career-high 16 points on Wednesday and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Howard has gone 29-for-31 from the foul line over his last two games and leads the conference’s top free-throw shooting team (77.2 percent) with a Big East-best 91.2 percent success rate. The Golden Eagles' biggest improvement this season has been on the defensive end as their overall field-goal percentage defense (40.1) and 3-point range defense (32.1) lead the conference while they also block more shots than any other Big 12 team (4.8).

ABOUT XAVIER (11-9, 3-4): The Musketeers have five players averaging double digits in scoring, with sophomore forward Naji Marshall leading the way with 13.1 (16th in Big East). Kyle Castlin chipped in with a game- and career-high 10 rebounds in Wednesday’s loss but couldn’t get it going offensively, missing all three of his 3-point attempts and finishing with four points on 1-for-6 shooting. Providence’s depth was an issue for the Musketeers, whose bench managed 11 points in 50 minutes while the Friars' reserved scored 30 in 89.

TIP-INS

1. Marquette leads the Big East in scoring margin (10.4 points) while Xavier ranks last (2.4).

2. The Golden Eagles leads the all-time series 50-24 but have lost nine of the 13 meetings since the Musketeers joined the Big East in 2013.

3. As part of the awareness campaign for the Coaches vs. Cancer effort, Xavier coach Travis Steele and his staff will participate in Suits and Sneakers Week by wearing Nike sneakers with their suits during Saturday’s game.

PREDICTION: Marquette 79, Xavier 66