NEW YORK – Boy, did the Marquette men’s basketball team need this one.
After two tough losses to end the regular season, the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles pulled out a gritty 89-87 victory over fourth-seeded Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
MU (23-9) earned a date with league champion St. John’s in the semifinals on Friday night on the Red Storm’s home court.
More: Box score | MU schedule | Big East
The Golden Eagles have reached the tournament title game in each of the last two seasons.
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MU’s Kam Jones went into takeover mode in the second half, scoring 16 of his 28 points and hitting multiple clutch buckets.
MU shot 5 for 15 on three-pointers in the first half, and Xavier took its biggest lead at 53-39 not long after halftime.
The Golden Eagles’ offense got out of the mud when Jones, Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell hit consecutive three-pointers that got MU within 55-48.
Mitchell had a steal and a layup that cut the deficit to 62-60, then Jones hit a three that gave MU its first lead since the opening minutes.
The game was back and forth after that.
Jones hit another three for a 72-71 lead and Mitchell had another swooping layup.
David Joplin knocked in a three that gave MU a 77-73 advantage, but then immediately picked up his fourth foul with 3:53 remaining.
Jones had another clutch bucket on a twisting layup for a 79-77 lead.
Xavier briefly took the lead with a three-pointer by Ryan Conwell, then Jones immediately answered with another tough layup.
MU stole the ball from Xavier’s Zach Freemantle, then the Golden Eagles’ David Joplin hit a three for an 84-80 lead.
Marquette’s probable starters
Guards: Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell, Chase Ross
Forwards: Ben Gold, David Joplin
Xavier’s probable starters
Guards: Dayvion McKnight, Marcus Foster, Ryan Conwell
Forwards: Dailyn Swain, Zach Freemantle
Marquette vs Xavier odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday
- ODDS: Marquette by 1.5
- O/U: 144.5
Marquette vs Xavier prediction
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 home-court advantage for either team, and made shots could be hard to come by for both teams in a new environment.
The guess here is that the Golden Eagles get the victory they are looking for.
Prediction: Marquette 76, Xavier 72
What channel is Marquette vs Xavier on today?
- Stream: You can stream the game on the Peacock app with a subscription.
- Announcers: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Donny Marshall (analyst) and John Fanta (reporter) will call the game.
Marquette vs Xavier start time today
- Date: Thursday, March 13
- Time: 1:30 p.m. CT
The Marquette vs. Xavier game starts at 1:30 p.m. Thursday from Madison Square Garden in New York.
Marquette’s last five games
- Feb. 21: Villanova 81, Marquette 66 | Box score | 20-7, 11-5
- Feb. 25: Marquette 82, Providence 52 | Box score | 21-7, 12-5
- March 1: Marquette 76, Georgetown 61 | Box score | 22-7, 13-5
- March 5: UConn 72, Marquette 66 | Box score | 22-8, 13-6
- March 8: St John’s 86, Marquette 84 | Box score | 22-9, 13-7
