#MUBB Travels to Butler Friday Night

The Marquette University men’s basketball team (7-13, 2-7 BIG EAST) heads to Butler (12-7, 3-5) on Friday, Jan. 23 for a 7 p.m. CT matchup at Hinkle Fieldhouse to continue BIG EAST action. FS1 features the national television broadcast, with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Dickey Simpkins (analyst) calling the action. Following Friday’s outing, the Golden Eagles will return home to host Creighton on Tuesday, Jan. 27 to conclude the home-and-home series.

Series With Butler Spans Program History

The all-time series dates back to the 1922-23 campaign and the Golden Eagles now own a 28-25 advantage.

MU claimed the first-ever meeting, 18-17, on Dec. 16, 1922, only to see the Bulldogs claim the next nine matchups. Marquette also collected a nine-game win streak between 1942 and 1990, with the last two contests during that run coming when both programs were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.

Following Marquette’s move to the Great Midwest Conference in 1991-92, the two teams wouldn’t meet until Butler beat the Golden Eagles at the buzzer in the opening game of the 2012 Maui Invitational. MU would return the favor in the 2013 NCAA tournament, downing the Bulldogs, 74-72, in the closing seconds to earn a trip to the squad’s third-straight Sweet 16.

The Golden Eagles swept the home-and-home series in 2024-25 and have claimed nine of the last 11 matchups overall dating back to 2019-20.

Marquette Rallies For OT Win Over Friars

Marquette led by as many as 10 points in Monday’s game against Providence, but it was a late rally in the second half that allowed the team to hold on for a 105-104 overtime victory at Fiserv Forum.

The Golden Eagles trailed by four points with 37 seconds left, but a 3-pointer by freshman Nigel James Jr. with 21 seconds on the clock and three clutch free throws by him with two seconds left in regulation forced the extra session.

Overtime was a one-possession game the entire way and the difference proved to be a free throw by Ben Gold with four seconds left after PC’s final attempt of the night bounced off the back of the rim as time expired.

James Jr. Has Record-Setting Night In Win

Guard Nigel James Jr. set a Marquette true freshman single-game scoring record on Monday night with his 38-point performance in the team’s 105-104 victory over Providence.

The Huntington, N.Y., native finished 13-of-20 from the floor overall and 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. In 42 minutes of action, he also found time to chip in a personal-best eight assists, three rebounds, two steals and also drew six fouls to finish 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Highlights of Monday’s performance include:

• James Jr.’s 38 points are the most by a MU true freshman since Marcus Howard scored 34 against Xavier on Feb. 18, 2017.
• James Jr.’s 38-point performance was the most by a BIG EAST player this season and is the most since Xavier’s Ryan Conwell had 38 against Marquette on March 13, 2025.
• It is also the most points by a BIG EAST freshman since UConn’s Liam McNeeley had 38 at Creighton on Feb. 11, 2025.
• First 38-point/8-assist BIG EAST game since Dominique Jones (USF) had 46 points and eight assists against Providence on Jan. 23, 2010.

Ross Makes Jump On All-Time Steals List

Senior guard Chase Ross entered Monday’s game 10th all-time at Marquette in steals and by the time the game concluded, he was in sole possession of seventh in the program record book.

The Dallas native finished with a career-high seven steals and is now in possession of 191 thefts at Marquette. He ranks first in the BIG EAST and 18th nationally in steals per game (2.5) through games of Jan. 20.

Ross also collected 15 deflections against the Friars, the second-best mark by a Marquette player under Shaka Smart, a total Ross collected against Purdue last season. He also owns the program’s best single-game total (18), posted vs. Central Michigan in 2024-25.

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.