#MUBB Heads to DePaul Friday Night

The Marquette University men’s basketball team (6-12, 1-6 BIG EAST) wraps up a two-game road swing on Friday night when the squad travels down I-94 to face DePaul (10-7, 2-4 BIG EAST) at 7:30 p.m. CT in Wintrust Arena.  FS1 features the national television broadcast, with Trent Rush (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst) calling the action.  Following Friday’s outing, the Golden Eagles return home on Monday, Jan. 19 to host Providence for a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day matchup at Fiserv Forum.

Series With DePaul Spans Program History

Marquette’s all-time series with DePaul dates back to the 1917-18 season (second year of MU’s varsity history) and includes 137 previous meetings, the highest total against any single opponent in team history.

The Golden Eagles own an 87-50 advantage in the series and the extensive series history has been aided by the fact the two programs have been in the same league dating back to the 1991-92 campaign.  Since that season, the teams have shared affiliation in the Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA and BIG EAST.

The Golden Eagles have won eight of the last nine contests and six straight, most recently posting a 68-58 win at Fiserv Forum on Feb. 11, 2025 to sweep the home-and-home series in 2024-25.

Ross Joins Exclusive Marquette Club

With a 3-pointer midway through the second half at St. John’s, senior guard Chase Ross became the 55th player in Marquette history to score 1,000 career points.

Ross finished the night with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting and also chipped in four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 37 minutes of action.

The Dallas native, who earlier this season moved into the program’s top-10 list in steals (10th, 182), is currently in possession of 1,005 points and leads the league in steals per game (2.2) through games of Jan. 13.  He has reached double figures in 15-of-18 outings, a mark he hit 18 times total in 34 outings in 2024-25.

With Ross scoring 1,000 points, he became the fifth player under Shaka Smart to reach the total, joining Oso Ighodaro, Kam Jones, David Joplin and Tyler Kolek.

Phillips Hitting The Glass In Extended Minutes

Freshman forward https://urbanmilwaukee.com/people/michael-phillipsMichael Phillips II has seen extended playing time (double figures in minutes in 3-of-4 games) in recent outings, including a personal-best 16 minutes at St. John’s on Tuesday night.

In the last three games, he is averaging 5.0 rebounds per contest in just 12.2 minutes per night, the second-best mark on the roster.  He grabbed a personal-best six caroms against the Red Storm and also knocked down a late 3-pointer.

All 11 of Phillips’ made field goals this season are from behind the 3-point line.

James Jr. Off To Quick BIG EAST Start

Early in league action, Nigel James Jr. leads the team with 17.9 points per game (third among all BIG EAST players through games of Jan. 13).  In an average of 29.8 minutes per contest in conference action, he is also contributing 4.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per outing while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor overall and 48.3 percent from long distance.

For the season, James Jr. is second on the team with 13.7 points per game, which ranks 14th in the BIG EAST.  He season-long averages of 1.6 steals and 4.0 assists per outing rank 18th and 21st, respectively, among all freshmen nationally through games of Jan. 13.

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.