Marquette @ Butler preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 31, 2018 ) Butler 92, Marquette 72

Marquette has climbed into the top 10 for the first time in seven years and has matched its longest win streak in Big East Conference play entering Wednesday night's matchup at Butler. The ninth-ranked Golden Eagles are on a tear, winning seven in a row since dropping their league opener at St. John's but they have not won at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse since 1989-90.

Marquette earned its seventh consecutive victory with another strong performance on the road, holding off Xavier 87-82 behind 31 points from Markus Howard. "We've been used to being in games like that where we take teams' best," Howard said. "Our response has been really good in those. If we can take that on the road, I think we're a tough team to beat." Butler lost its second in a row, following an eight-point loss to conference-leading Villaova by fading down the stretch in Friday's 75-61 setback at Creighton. The Bulldogs swept the season series from Marquette in 2017-18 and have won all five meetings at home between the teams since joining the Big East.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, FS1

ABOUT MARQUETTE (18-3, 7-1 Big East): Howard, who is averaging 26 points over the past three games, scored 14 of his 31 over the final nine minutes to help the Golden Eagles stave off Xavier. "One of the things people don't talk about with Markus is his conditioning," coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "He's in elite condition. You can run different bodies at him and deny the ball and all those things, but what he's able to do at the end of the game is on par with what he's able to do at the start of the game." Joey Hauser added 21 points to earn conference freshman of the week honors for the fourth time.

ABOUT BUTLER (12-9, 3-5): Forward Sean McDermott, who has started all 21 games and is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game, is a question mark for Wednesday after suffering a sprained right knee in the waning stages of the loss to Creighton. McDermott is the Bulldogs' top deep threat, knocking down a team-high 54 3-pointers and shooting 43.9 percent from long range after connecting on 12 of 23 attempts over the past five games. Junior guard and leading scorer Kamar Baldwin, the only player in double figures last time out with 23 points, has averaged 15 points in the last four versus Marquette.

TIP-INS

1. Brothers Joey and Sam Hauser are combining to average 37.8 points and 13.3 rebounds over the last four games.

2. Baldwin is averaging 20.9 points over the past eight games.

3. Marquette is shooting a Big East-leading 77.6 percent from the free throw line.

PREDICTION: Marquette 80, Butler 77