Game 10 | Dec. 23 | Marquette (5-4, 1-1 BIG EAST) vs. Villanova (7-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) TIP‐OFF: 6 p.m. CT LOCATION: Fiserv Forum - Milwaukee, Wis. MU SCOREBOARD TV: FS1 features the broadcast, with Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME Steve Lavin (analyst) calling the action. Nov. 25 UAPB W, 99-57 RADIO: 94.5 ESPN FM is the flagship of the MU Radio Network, with Steve Nov. 27 Eastern Illinois W, 75-50 “The Homer” True (play-by-play) and Tony Smith (analyst). Big 12-BIG EAST Battle MU CONTACT INFO: Scott Kuykendall handles the communications duties Dec. 1 Oklahoma State L, 70-62 for MU and can be reached at 414.807.3490 or [email protected]. Dec. 4 4/7 Wisconsin W, 67-65 he Marquette University men’s basketball team (5-4, 1-2 BIG EAST) Dec. 8 Green Bay W, 82-68 T returns home to continue BIG EAST Conference action on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at UCLA L, 69-60 Dec. 23 when the squad hosts No. 5/3 Villanova (7-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 9/9 at Creighton * W, 89-84 CT in Fiserv Forum. FS1 will feature the television broadcast, with Kevin Dec. 17 Seton Hall * L, 70-63 Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Steve Lavin (analyst) calling the action. Dec. 20 at Xavier * L, 91-88 Following the game, Marquette players will scatter across the country to Dec. 23 5/3 Villanova * 6 p.m. spend Christmas with their families before returning to campus in advance Jan. 2 at Georgetown * 6:30 p.m. of the team’s next game on Jan. 2 at Georgetown. Jan. 5 UConn * 8 p.m. Jan. 8 at Villanova * 8 p.m. Marquette Looks To Turn Series Trend Jan. 12 Providence * 8 p.m. Villanova holds a 25-12 advan- Series Snapshot Jan. 16 at St. John’s * 1 p.m. tage over Marquette in an all-time Jan. 20 Georgetown * TBA Overall VU leads 25-12 series that dates back to 1960. Jan. 23 DePaul * TBA Along with regular season and @ Marquette MU leads 7-7 @ Villanova VU leads 13-2 Jan. 27 at Providence * TBA tournament matchups in league Neutral VU leads 5-3 Feb. 2 Butler * TBA play, the two teams also squared RECENT RESULTS Feb. 6 Creighton * TBA off in the 1963 National Invitation F 27, 2016 H #1 Villanova 89, Marquette 79 J 7, 2017 A #1 Villanova 93, Marquette 81 Feb. 14 at Seton Hall * TBA Tournament and the 1980 NCAA J 24, 2017 H Marquette 74, #1 Villanova 72 Championship. Marquette downed J 6, 2018 A #3 Villanova 100, Marquette 90 Feb. 17 at Butler * TBA J 28, 2018 H #1 Villanova 85, Marquette 82 the Wildcats 66-58 in the NIT, but M 8, 2018 N #2 Villanova 94, Marquette 70 Feb. 20 St. John’s * TBA F 9, 2019 H #10 Marquette 66, #14 Villanova 65 Feb. 27 at UConn * TBA fell 77-59 in the opening round of F 27, 2019 A Villanova 67, #10 Marquette 61 the NCAA’s in Providence, R.I. J 4, 2020 H Marquette 71, #10 Villanova 60 Mar. 2 at DePaul * TBA F 12, 2020 A #15 Villanova 72, #18 Marquette 71 The Wildcats have been ranked Mar. 6 Xavier * TBA in the top-15 in 15 of the last 16 meetings against Marquette, including four BIG EAST Tournament matchups as the top-ranked team in the land. Mar. 10 First Round TBA Mar. 11 Quarterfinals TBA Marquette To Play Third Top-10 Opponent Mar. 12 Semifinals TBA The 2020-21 campaign will be just 10 games old for Marquette on Dec. Mar. 13 Championship TBA 23, but the outing will already mark the team’s third against a top-10 foe. MU rallied for an 89-84 win at No. 9/9 Creighton on Dec. 14 in the BIG * - indicates BIG EAST Conference game EAST opener, claiming the team’s second win against a top-10 opponent in AP/ESPN Top-25 rankings as of time game was played 2020-21. Freshman forward Justin Lewis’ tip-in at the buzzer gave the All times are Central Golden Eagles a 67-65 win over No. 4/7 Wisconsin on Dec. 4 at Fiserv Forum. Marquette last defeated a pair of top-10 opponents in the same season in 2016-17 when the Golden Eagles won at No. 7 Creighton (Jan. 21, 2017) in overtime and at home against No. 1 Villanova (Jan. 24, 2017) in back-to- back outings. Marquette Game Notes Page 2 INJURY REPORT LAST GAME STARTERS Player (Injury) Status NAME POS. PPG. RPG. APG. FG% FT% Gardiner (knee) Out Koby McEwen G 15.2 3.8 2.7 .484 .806 D.J. Carton G 12.0 3.3 3.8 .419 .778 MARQUETTE IN THE Jamal Cain F 9.6 6.6 1.3 .432 .688 Dawson Garcia F 13.1 6.6 0.9 .452 .813 BIG EAST STATS Theo John F 8.3 6.7 1.3 .643 .720 statistics through 12/20/20 Team John Moving Up Career Blocks List Senior forward Theo John is ranked among the league SCORING OFFENSE: . .8th (76.1) leaders (4th, 2.0 bpg.) in blocked shots this season and with Career Blocks SCORING DEFENSE: . .4th (69.3) every swatted attempt he continues to move up Marquette’s Name Total FT PERCENTAGE: . .1st (74.5) Jim McIlvaine 399 all-time list. FG PERCENTAGE: . .6th (45.8) Amal McCaskill 175 The Minneapolis, Minnesota, native is currently fourth in ASSISTS: . .5th (14.2) Faisal Abraham 172 program history with 169 blocks, right behind Amal McCaskill STEALS: . .7th (5.2) Theo John 169 (2nd, 175, 1991-92, 1993-96) and Faisal (fy-SELL) Abraham BLOCKED SHOTS: . .4th (4.3) Luke Fisher 153 (3rd, 172, 1993-97). FG PCT. DEFENSE: . .2nd (39.5) Unfortunately for John, second is as high as he will be able to climb in the record OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS: . .4th (11.3) book, courtesy of Jim McIlvaine’s four-year effort (1990-94) of 399, which still ranks the DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS: . .4th (28.2) 22nd-best total in NCAA history. 3-PT FG’S MADE: . .5th (73) McIlvaine’s blocked shots record and Tony Miller’s assist total (956) are likely to never even be threatened at Marquette. Dominic James is second all-time (636) in the Blue & Individual Gold in assists, more than 300 assists less than Miller. SCORING Koby McEwen . .12th (15.2 ppg.) Dawson Garcia . .19th (13.1 ppg.) Marquette Taking Advantage Of Charity D.J. Carton . .24th (12.0 ppg.) It’s the season of giving with Christmas right around the corner and Marquette has taken full advantage of its opponents generosity this year, especially with the start of REBOUNDING league play. Theo John . .12th (6.7 rpg.) The Golden Eagles are currently knocking down a BIG EAST-best 74.5 percent of their Justin Lewis . .t13th (6.6 rpg.) free throw attempts in 2020-21, a mark that jumps to 80.4 percent (41-of-51) in confer- Dawson Garcia . .t13th (6.6 rpg.) ence action, the best percentage of any league team with more than one outing. Jamal Cain . .t13th (6.6 rpg.) After not earning a trip to the foul line in the first half at Xavier, Marquette finished 16-of-17 (94.1 percent) from the charity stripe following intermission. BLOCKED SHOTS Theo John . .4th (2.0 bpg.) Elliott Dials Long Distance In Omaha Junior guard Greg Elliott was one of five players to finish with double figures in points ASSISTS at Creighton, chipping in a career-high 14 points in 27 minutes of action off the bench. D.J. Carton . .8th (3.8 apg.) The Detroit, Michigan, native finished 5-of-6 from the floor overall, including a per- sonal-best 4-of-4 effort from behind the 3-point line. He also chipped in four rebounds, STEALS three assists and a steal. D.J. Carton . .10th (1.4 spg.) Elliott, who has battled through a variety of injuries (hand, ankle) during his career, now owns 10 career double-figure scoring games in his 66 appearances. Record By Starting Lineup Torrence, McEwen......................2-1 McEwen’s Health, Shooting, Pain Free John, Cain, Garcia Senior guard Koby McEwen battled through a hand injury a majority of the 2019-20 Carton, McEwen ........................3-3 campaign and as a result, he struggled with his shooting touch in his debut campaign John, Cain, Carcia with the Golden Eagles after playing two seasons at Utah State. McEwen currently leads the roster and is 12th in the BIG EAST in scoring (15.2 ppg.), thanks in large part to an impressive 48.4 percent effort from the field overall and a 44.4 percent clip (6th in BIG EAST) from behind the 3-point line. He has also knocked down a team-best 80.6 percent of his free throws through the first nine outings. In 30 starts as a junior last season, McEwen connected on just 33.2 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from behind the 3-point line. Marquette Game Notes Page 3 Pronunciations 2020‐21 MARQUETTE ROSTER Dexter Akanno uh-CAN-oh NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. CL. HOMETOWN Ike Eke Eh-kay 2 Justin Lewis F 6-7 245 Fr. Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic HS Luke Fizulich FIZZ-uh-litch Consensus nationally ranked prep prospect ... member of three state title-winning teams Oso Ighodaro ig-uh-DAR-oh 4 Theo John F 6-9 245 Sr.