The Big East season opens up on New Year's Day as the #15 Wildcats (13-1) travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette. The Golden Eagles (11-2) are unranked in the AP Poll and #25 in the USA Today/ESPN Poll. The game marks the first Big East matchup for Marquette's new head coach, Buzz Williams.
Marquette, like 'Nova, relies heavily on its guard play. Their inside threat Lazar Hayward has stepped up his play even at being listed at 6'6".
The Golden Eagles usually start guards Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, and Dominic James. Lazar Hayward and Dwight Burke fill the post positions. Matthews is averaging 19.2. Hayward and McNeal are scoring around 17 each. Marquette is one of 4 schools that features three 1,000-Point scorers.
Villanova leads the historical series 6-5, but is 1-2 since MU has entered the Big East in 2006.
Tip-off is slated for 2:30p ET and will be shown on ESPN. Jon Sciambi will provide the play-by-play and Fran Fraschilla will be the color commentator calling the action.
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