How far will Marquette go in Big East tournament 2025? Our expert predictions, picks

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NEW YORK – March Madness is here for the Marquette men’s basketball team.

The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (22-9) will face fourth-seeded Xavier (21-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Here is what to watch in the game:

Who does Marquette play in Big East tournament?

MU and Xavier split the regular-season series, with each team winning on the road.

The Golden Eagles have struggled since Feb. 1, losing six of 10 games. The Musketeers enter the Big East tournament on a seven-game winning streak that put them back in the NCAA tournament conversation.

Marquette guard Kam Jones (1) scores on Xavier guard Marcus Foster (1) during the second half of their game Saturday, January 18, 2025 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Xavier beat Marquette 59-57.

Matchup to watch: Xavier’s Zach Freemantle has frustrated Marquette

Xavier’s 6-foot-9 Zach Freemantle is the type of rugged, veteran presence – he’s been at Xavier since the 2020-21 season – who gives MU trouble.

Freemantle sat out the first matchup with a leg injury that many feared would end his season. But he was back in the lineup in the second meeting and put up 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Musketeers handed the Golden Eagles their first conference loss.

Numbers to watch: Three-point shooting for Xavier’s Ryan Conwell and Dante Maddox

MU is not a good three-point shooting team at 32.5% for the season. The Golden Eagles also hoist a lot of them, with 46.1% of their field-goal attempts coming from beyond the arc.

Xavier doesn’t shoot as many – just 31.5% of their attempts are threes – but the Musketeers knock them down at 38.5%.

Ryan Conwell (40.7%) and Dante Maddox (40.6%) can both get hot, and sometimes postseason games just come down to who is knocking down shots.

Marquette predictions for Big East tournament

Xavier doesn’t want to mess around and have any more losses for the NCAA Tournament committee to examine.

But MU is desperate for a win, too. There won’t be any…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/far-marquette-big-east-tournament-101300005.html

Author : Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Publish date : 2025-03-13 10:13:00

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