#MUBB Hosts Villanova Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT

The Marquette University men's basketball team (6-10, 1-4 BIG EAST) wraps up a two-game homestand Saturday afternoon when the team hosts Villanova (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST) at 1:30 p.m. CT in Fiserv Forum. TNT/truTv feature the national television broadcast, with Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Grant Hill (analyst) and Andy Katz (reporter) calling the action. Following Saturday's action, the Golden Eagles travel to St. John's on Jan. 13 to begin a run of 4-of-6 games on the road.

Series With Wildcats Dates Back To 1960

Villanova holds a 28-20 advantage over Marquette in an all-time series that dates back to 1960.

Along with regular season and tournament matchups in league play, the two teams also squared off in the 1963 National Invitation Tournament and the 1980 NCAA Championship. Marquette downed the Wildcats 66-58 in the NIT, but fell 77-59 in the opening round of the NCAA's in Providence, R.I.

The Wildcats have been ranked in the top-15 in 19 of the last 27 meetings against Marquette, including four matchups as the top-ranked team in the land.

The two programs split the season series in 2024-25, with each team winning on its respective home court. In the most recent outing, the Wildcats posted an 81-66 win over No. 16 Marquette on Feb. 21, 2025. The victory snapped a run of eight-straight wins in the series by the Golden Eagles.

Gold's Dunk, Defense Secure Win Over Xavier

Senior forward Ben Gold, inserted back into the starting lineup for the first time in league play, made a pair of key plays in the final minute to help Marquette secure its first BIG EAST victory.

His dunk with 48 seconds left after an offensive rebound by freshman Nigel James Jr. proved to be the game-winning basket and he followed that up with tremendous defense on Xavier's final shot attempt as time expired.

The Wellington, New Zealand native finished with night with 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals in 32 minutes of action, despite being limited by an ankle injury suffered early in the second half.

James Jr. Off To Quick Start In League Play

Freshman point guard Nigel James Jr. has scored double figures in points in eight of the last nine outings, including each of the first five BIG EAST contests.

Early in league action, he leads the team with 15.4 points per game (top freshman and eighth among all BIG EAST players through games of Jan. 7). In an average of 28.1 minutes per contest in conference action, he is also contributing 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per outing.

For the season, James Jr. is second on the team with 12.4 points per game, which ranks 19th in the BIG EAST. He season-long averages of 1.6 steals and 3.9 assists per outing rank 16th and 23rd, respectively, among all freshmen nationally.

Ross Close To Joining Exclusive Club

Following his 12-point effort in the win over Xavier, senior guard Chase Ross is now just 23 points away from becoming the 55th player (see page 5) in Marquette history to collect at least 1,000 career points.

The Dallas native, who earlier this season moved into the program's top-10 list in steals (175), is currently in possession of 977 points at Marquette in 118 career appearances. He has reached double figures in 14-of-16 outings, a mark he hit 18 times in 34 outings in 2024-25.

When Ross scores 1K, he will become the fifth player under Shaka Smart to reach the total, joining Oso Ighodaro, Kam Jones, David Joplin and Tyler Kolek.