NEW YORK CITY − Xavier men’s basketball beat Marquette, 89-87, in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 11.
Xavier led for nearly 29 minutes Wednesday night and had a pair of double-digit leads throughout the game, but there was no lack of drama in the final minutes as the Musketeers held off several Marquette surges down the stretch.
Jovan Milicevic led a quartet of Musketeers in double figures with 21. Malik Messina-Moore and Tre Carroll had 18 and Filip Borovicanin had 10.
Xavier (15-17) advances to play No. 2 seed UConn in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
Here’s how the action unfolded in Manhattan
Xavier holds off Marquette 89-87 in Big East Tournament | Replay
Xavier 89, Marquette 87, FINAL | Xavier advances to Big East Tournament quarterfinals
Xavier advances to the Big East Tournament quarterfinals after its first win outside of Cintas Center in 2026. Xavier will face No. 2 seed UConn on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. (Fox Sports 1).
Xavier 88, Marquette 86, 3.5, 2H | Marquette takes final timeout
Shaka Smart just took his last timeout after a Nigel James Jr. layup. Xavier ball.
Xavier 88, Marquette 84, 8.6, 2H | Musketeers take final timeout
Richard Pitino just took his last timeout after a pair of Isaiah Walker free throws. Marquette ball.
Xavier 84, Marquette 81, 14.9, 2H | Xavier at the free-throw line
Tre Carroll’s bucket in the lane made it 84-81. Xavier got a stop at the other end. Filip Borovicanin going to the line with Xavier in the single bonus.
Xavier 82, Marquette 81, 46.2, 2H | Xavier with the lead and the ball
A layup by Jovan Milicevic put Xavier up 82-80. Nigel James Jr. made 1 of 2 free throws. A Xavier turnover in the backcourt didn’t prove costly as the Musketeers got a steal, followed by a Richard Pitino timeout.
Xavier 78, Marquette 75, 3:43, 2H | Can Xavier hold on?
Marquette cut the lead to 2 at 72-70 but Xavier has had an answer. The Musketeers will try to finish down the stretch with Tre Carroll going to the line after the final media timeout of the night.
Xavier 68, Marquette 61, 7:59, 2H | Jovan Milicevic picks up 4th foul
Jovan Milicevic just hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night but then picked up his fourth foul (third in the second half) on an and-1 by Marquette’s Royce Parham.
Parham’s going to the free-throw line after the media timeout. Milicevic has four of Xavier’s eight fouls tonight.
Xavier 60, Marquette 50, 11:39, 2H | Xavier matches largest lead
Tre Carroll got his first bucket since the opening minutes of the game with a turnaround jumper. He was then found in transition to give Xavier a 60-50 lead with 11:39 remaining. This matches Xavier’s largest lead of the night (29-19). It’s a 15-2 run for Xavier over the last 3:48.
Xavier 54, Marquette 48, 13:12, 2H | Musketeers on a 9-0 run
Malik Messina-Moore just knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Xavier a six-point lead and force a Shaka Smart timeout. Messina-Moore has a game-high 17 points.
Marquette 48, Xavier 47, 15:07, 2H | Royce Parham puts Golden Eagles in front
Marquette forward Royce Parham scored six straight points to give the Golden Eagles the lead. Xavier got buckets by Filip Borovicanin and Roddie Anderson III and trails by a point.
Xavier 38, Marquette 38 − HALF
We’ll start from scratch in the second half as Xavier and Marquette go into the locker room tied at 38-38. Each team got just one bucket over the final 3:32 of the first half.
Xavier’s offense cooled off after a hot start. The Musketeers are shooting 41.2% overall and just 5 of 14 from 3-point range. Jovan Milicevic leads Xavier with 13 and Malik Messina-Moore has 10.
Marquette is shooting just 38.5% overall and 5 of 20 from downtown. Royce Parham leads the Golden Eagles with 9 and Chase Ross has 8. Marquette has a slight edge (23-22) on the boards.
Xavier 36, Marquette 36, 3:09, 1H | Jovan Milicevic ties it with another 3
Marquette took the lead at 34-31 after a 15-2 run. Jovan Milicevic hit a pair of free throws and just connected on a corner 3-pointer to tie it at the U-8 media timeout. Milicevic (13) and Messina-Moore (10) have combined for 23 points. It’s Xavier ball when we come back.
Xavier 29, Marquette 27, 7:15, 1H | Golden Eagles on an 8-0 run
Xavier took a 10-point lead on a Malik Messina-Moore 3-pointer at the 9:09 mark. Marquette responded with triples by Nigel James Jr. and Michael Phillips II. A layup by Adrien Stevens just forced a Richard Pitino timeout.
Xavier 23, Marquette 14, 10:29, 1H | Xavier off to hot start
Xavier is 9 of 17 from the field so far and got two step-back 3-pointers from Jovan Milicevic to take a nine-point lead. Marquette is just 5 of 18 from the field but going back to the free-throw line after the media timeout.
Xavier 9, Marquette 6, 15:30, 1H | Tre Carroll gets Xavier started
We’re off and running in Manhattan. Xavier opened in a zone defense and forced a pair of early Marquette misses from deep. Tre Carroll went to work right away, knocking down back-to-back buckets to begin the night.
A 3-pointer by All Wright and a layup by Jovan Milicevic gave Xavier a 9-6 lead. It’s Xavier ball coming out of the game’s first media timeout.
Xavier vs. Marquette starting lineups
Xavier starters: All Wright, Malik Messina-Moore, Tre Carroll, Filip Borovicanin, Jovan Milicevic
Marquette starters: Nigel James Jr., Chase Ross, Adrien Stevens, Ben Gold, Royce Parham
Providence opens Big East Tournament with win over Butler
The Big East Tournament opened with No. 9 Providence beating No. 8 Butler, 91-81. Butler led by as many as 16 in the first half, but Providence stormed back behind a 28-point performance from Stefan Vaaks.
Vaaks tied a Big East Tournament record with 8 3-pointers. Providence shot 52.3% for the game and got 23-point performances from Jaylin Sellers and Ryan Mela.
Providence will play top-seeded St. John’s in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12.
What to watch for as Xavier plays Marquette in Big East Tournament
Since February, Marquette has had the No. 10 defense in the country (No. 2 in the Big East behind St. John’s), according to BartTorvik. The Golden Eagles rank No. 7 in the nation in steal percentage and ball security will go a long way in deciding if Xavier can get a win.
The Musketeers shot 46.5% from 3-point range (27 of 58) in two regular season meetings vs. Marquette. Can they keep those numbers up?
Xavier is giving up 80 points per game, the highest since 1980 when it was in the Midwestern City Conference. That presents a problem against Marquette guard Nigel James Jr., the Big East Freshman of the Year, who had 30 points and 12 assists last month at Cintas Center.
Xavier-Marquette Big East Tournament history
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Xavier and Marquette in the Big East Tournament. Xavier won quarterfinal tilts in 2014 and 2016. Marquette beat Xavier in the 2023 championship game and in last year’s quarterfinals.
Marquette leads the all-time series against Xavier, 63-28, and have won seven of the last nine meetings.
Marquette-Xavier preview with Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ben Steele, the Marquette beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Xavier beat writer Shelby Dermer preview Wednesday’s Big East Tournament matchup between the Musketeers and Golden Eagles.
Xavier, Marquette split regular season series
Both Xavier and Marquette defended home court against each other in the regular season. In January, Xavier gave up just 66 points (tied for the lowest in Big East play) but committed 15 turnovers and allowed 15 offensive rebounds in a one-point loss at Fiserv Forum.
In the rematch at Cintas Center Feb. 14, Xavier shot 47% from 3-point range (16 of 34) and Marquette shot 51% overall as the Musketeers prevailed in a shootout, 96-88.
Xavier Musketeers, Marquette Golden Eagles rankings
KenPom: Xavier is No. 97 and Marquette is No. 84.
NCAA NET Rankings: Xavier is No. 97 and Marquette is No. 81.
Xavier Musketeers vs. Marquette Golden Eagles betting odds
Spread: Marquette is a 3.5-point favorite over Xavier, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
Total (over/under): 156.5 points
Money line: Marquette -180, Xavier +150
Xavier Musketeers vs. Marquette Golden Eagles prediction
Despite its fewest wins in 35 years (11-18 in 1991), Marquette enters the Big East Tournament playing its best basketball of the season. The Golden Eagles ended the regular season on a 3-1 stretch that included a pair of road wins (Georgetown, Providence) and a 68-62 upset of No. 4 UConn at Fiserv Forum.
Xavier heads to New York City having dropped five of six since a home win over Marquette on Valentine’s Day.
The biggest problem for Xavier comes on defense. Head coach Richard Pitino said, “we guard nobody” after the Musketeers regular season finale loss to Villanova. The defensive woes have followed Xavier all year long, so I don’t expect a remedy to arrive in the Big East Tournament. Marquette is simply playing better basketball right now and has a defense that can cause enough headaches to slow down a Xavier squad that needs to win via shootout. Marquette holds off Xavier, 85-80.
Xavier’s Tre Carroll not on Big East injury report
Xavier leading scorer Tre Carroll was not listed on the Big East Availability Report for tonight’s game against Marquette. Carroll is set to return after suffering a glute sprain in Xavier’s loss to Seton Hall March 3.
How to watch Xavier Musketeers vs. Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East Tournament
All three first-round games, including Xavier vs. Marquette, will air on Peacock on Wednesday, March 11. Fans can listen to Xavier-Marquette on 700 WLW.
There will be four quarterfinal matchups on Thursday, March 12. The day session matchups will also air on Peacock. The evening doubleheader will air on FS1.
Fox and FS1 will each have a semifinal matchup on Friday, March 12. Fox will carry the championship game on Saturday, March 13.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier Musketeers beat Marquette in Big East Tournament | Replay
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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