Xavier @ #16 Marquette

What will be the GAME RESULT?

Xavier: Wins or Single Digit Loss

@ #16  Marquette: Wins By Double Digits

Current odds:

Xavier Muskateers: (TBD)

Marquette Golden Eagles: (TBD)

• The line for this game is Marquette by 8 points.

• Marquette will have its perfect 10-0 home record on the line when the No. 18 Golden Eagles host Xavier Sunday afternoon. Marquette saw its eight-game win streak end in Tuesday’s 89-69 defeat to St. John’s in the Golden Eagles’ Big East opener. Markus Howard failed to reach double figures in scoring for the first time this season as the Marquette junior finished with eight points on 2-of-15 shooting versus the Red Storm after averaging 35.5 points over his previous two games. Howard cooled off considerably after one of the best back-to-back scoring performances in recent memory after the 5-11 guard scored 40 second-half points in a Marquette win over No. 20 Buffalo on Dec. 21 and followed that up by hitting all eight of his shots on his way to 23 first-half points in a victory over Southern exactly one week later.

• Xavier is coming off an 80-70 home loss to Seton Hall on Wednesday, but the Musketeers have won seven straight conference road games dating back to last season after opening their Big East schedule with a 74-65 win over DePaul last Saturday. Graduate transfer Zach Hankins had his best game in a Xavier uniform during Wednesday’s loss as he scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half and finished the game 10-for-13 from the floor.

• Paul Scruggs scored in double figures for a team-high 11th time Wednesday, as the sophomore guard led Musketeer scorers with 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Junior Quentin Goodin played all 40 minutes against Seton Hall and finished with 11 points, six reboundsaand six assists but also committed six of the Musketeers’ 14 turnovers. Xavier boasts one of the most balanced offenses in the country as Goodin’s team-leading 13.5 points per game makes him one of five Musketeers averaging at least 10 points, while graduate transfer Ryan Welage contributes 9.5 points per game.

• The Golden Eagles entered conference play ranked in the top 30 nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.7) but allowed the Red Storm to shoot 53.6 percent from the floor – the second-highest for a Marquette opponent this season. Freshman Joey Hauser had a team-high 15 points in the loss while his brother, junior Sam Hauser, added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Foul trouble and an early deficit led to the Golden Eagles’ bench outscoring St. John’s reserves by a 27-2 margin, led by redshirt junior Ed Morrow, who tallied 12 points in 22 minutes.

• Marquette leads the series 49-24, but Xavier has won nine of 12 games since moving to the Big East in 2013-14.

• Howard and the Hauser brothers have combined to shoot 88.4 percent (145-of-164) from the free-throw line, while the rest of the team has shot 57.5 percent (73-of-127).

• Sophomore F Naji Marshall leads Xavier with eight rebounds per game and sits second in points (12.6) and assists (3.4).