#MUBB Hosts No. 17/16 St. John’s Wednesday on Al’s Night

The Marquette University men’s basketball team (9-17, 4-11 BIG EAST) continues BIG EAST Conference play on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. CT when the team hosts No. 17 St. John’s (20-5, 13-1 BIG EAST) on Al’s Night in Fiserv Forum.  TNT features the television broadcast, with Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Robbie Hummel (analyst) and Andy Katz (reporter) on the call.  Following Wednesday’s action, the Golden Eagles will enjoy their second bye week in league action, not returning to play until traveling to Georgetown on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Al McGuire Ties Marquette And St. John’s 

The all-time series (Marquette leads 29-20) began in 1959-60 and prior to the clinching of the BIG EAST title on the last day of the regular season in 2012-13, the series’ top highlight was a 65-53 Marquette victory in the championship game of the 1970 NIT.

MU claimed the NIT title under the direction of legendary head coach Al McGuire, who played for three seasons at St. John’s (1948-51). In his first season with the Redmen, he finished third in scoring (8.1 ppg.).

McGuire’s coaching career at Marquette included the 1977 national title, nine NCAA tournament appearances and a 295-80 overall record.  Marquette celebrates “Al’s Night” each season when the Red Storm visit Milwaukee.

BIG EAST Honors Black Fives Era 

During February, the BIG EAST will celebrate Black History Month by partnering with the Black Fives Foundation, a nonprofit public charity whose mission is to research, preserve, showcase, teach, and honor the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball, to host 22 games honoring black athletes, coaches, and communities who played a critical part in America’s basketball history.

Prior to the integration of the National Basketball Association in 1950, a nationwide-barnstorming circuit was created of independent African American teams. This era, which ran from the early 1900s to 1950, became known as the “Black Fives” Era, referring to the five starting players on a basketball team whose skill, athleticism, and innovative style of play helped shaped and popularize the game.

Marquette will represent the Milwaukee Colored Panthers with special pregame shooting shirts, while St. John’s will honor the St. Christopher Club.

James Jr. One Of BIG EAST’s Top Performers

A three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honoree, including Feb. 16, guard Nigel James Jr. is proving to be one of the league’s top players, regardless of class.

The BIG EAST Freshman of the Year candidate’s week was highlighted by a 30-point, 12-assist effort at Xavier on Feb. 14, marking his first-career double-double.

The Huntington, N.Y., native has reached double figures in scoring in 14-of-15 league outings and ranks among the conference’s top-10 in five-different categories (season long and BIG EAST only).

Through games of Feb. 15, James Jr. is just one of four freshmen (AJ Dybantsa – BYU, Darius Acuff Jr. – Arkansas, Kavair Kennedy – Merrimack) in the country to lead his respective league in scoring (19.2 ppg.) in conference games.

James Jr. is also one of just two freshmen (Keaton Wagler – Illinois) in the nation to contribute at least 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per outing in conference matchups through games of Feb. 15.

Parham Continues Surge With Double-Doubles

Sophomore forward Royce Parham collected a pair of double-doubles last week, continuing his scoring surge since joining the starting lineup in the league opener.

In outings at Villanova and Xavier, Parham contributed 25.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 73.9 percent (17-of-23) from the field and 13-of-14 (92.9 percent) from the charity stripe.  He scored a career-high 26 points at Villanova and is the first player to post back-to-back double-doubles since Tyler Kolek in 2023-24 (three-straight games in NCAA tourney).

A starter in each league game, he is second on the team with 14.8 points per contest (12th in BIG EAST through Feb. 15) and is shooting 56.8 percent (83-of-146) from the floor (2nd in BIG EAST) while contributing 4.9 boards per contest.

In the last eight outings, Parham contributed 18.0 points per game while shooting 64.8 percent (57-of-88) from the floor overall and in all 15 BIG EAST outings from inside the 3-point line, Parham is converting on 66-of-99 (66.7 percent) of his shots from the field.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.