The Xavier Musketeers host the Marquette Golden Eagles today at the Cintas Center. This game will kick off the Big East season as both teams look to get off to a winning start in one of the top conferences in the country. Xavier comes into the game ranked number twenty-two and is off to a 10-1 start. This start includes wins over Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Cincinnati.
Xavier has impressed during this recent six game winning streak and winning by twenty in four of their last five. They have been led by Paul Scruggs and Jack Nunge and have been sharing the offensive load. One of the keys for Xavier in the non conference schedule was the balanced scoring the Musketeers have displayed. Four players have averaged double figures which leads to opportunities for all to step up.
How to watch Xavier vs Marquette
Time: 4:00 ET
TV: Fox Sports One
Watch Online: Fox Sports App
Marquette enters the game at 8-3 in Coach Shaka Smart’s first season and he is excited to dive into Big East play. “The great thing is, everybody starts league play 0-0. You play everyone in the league twice, once at home, once on the road,” Smart said. “Our mentality better be, as we say, confident underdogs, because if people are going to pick against us, you really can’t focus too much on what other people pick.”
Marquette had been led by Justin Lewis in both scoring and rebounding in the non conference schedule. This game comes after a loss to UCLA last week in a contest that saw Greg Elliot score a career high twenty-two points. He will look to build on this performance. “It starts in practice,” Elliott said. “Being able to go in there on a daily basis and battle against my teammates is what got me ready to play.” His growth can be a huge benefit for the Golden Eagles.
Additional Notes- This will be the 80th matchup between the two squads in this long rivalry. Marquette leads 54-25 in the series that dates back to 1958-59 season. Xavier is 6-2 in Big East openers. Marquette welcomes the University of Connecticut on Tuesday. Xavier travels to face Villanova in their next game on Tuesday.