The Marquette Golden Eagles (27-6, 19-3 Big East) face the Xavier Musketeers (25-8, 17-5 Big East) Saturday at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Conference Tourney Championship.
Xavier blew out the Creighton Bluejays 82-60 at Madison Square Garden yesterday in the semifinals, their fifth win in a row. Souley Boum was the standout player with 23 points and six assists. Marquette won their eighth in a row in a close one in the semifinals yesterday at Madison Square Garden, beating the UConn Huskies 70-68. Tyler Kolek had 17 points and six assists, carrying the team.
Xavier and Marquette split their two matchups this season. The Golden Eagles triumphed in the last meeting, beating the Musketeers 69-68 at Fiserv Forum on February 15. Boum topped all players in scoring with 24 points in the loss.
Stevie Mitchell had 17 points and six steals for the Golden Eagles. The Musketeers have been led this season by Boum and Colby Jones, who are averaging 17.0 and 15.0 points per game, respectively. Boum also has dished 4.5 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Jack Nunge is grabbing 7.8 rebounds per game.Kam Jones and Kolek have been the primary providers of the Golden Eagles’ offense, averaging 15.1 and 13.1 points per game, respectively. Kolek also has doled out 7.8 assists per game, second-most in the NCAA. Oso Ighodaro has collected 5.8 rebounds per game.
The Golden Eagles and the Musketeers are two of the most potent offenses in the nation, ranking 15th and 16th in offensive efficiency, respectively. Xavier is 7-3 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +10.1 (80.1-70.0).
For the season, the Musketeers are averaging 82.3 points per game, compared to 74.3 for opponents. Marquette has gone 9-1 over the last 10, scoring 76.3 points per game on average while allowing 72.5 (+3.8 margin). The Golden Eagles are averaging 80.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 71.2.
MUSKETEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Desmond Claude: 12.6 | 8.3 | +4.3
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 18.6 | -18.6
Points per game:
Colby Jones: 20.8 | 15.0 | +5.8
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 10.8 | -10.8
Rebounds per game:
Colby Jones: 7.0 | 5.3 | +1.7
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 5.8 | -5.8
Assists per game:
Colby Jones: 2.2 | 4.2 | -2.0
GOLDEN EAGLES HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Sean Jones: 2.4 | 5.5 | -3.1
Points per game:
Tyler Kolek: 19.4 | 13.1 | +6.3
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Xavier (+115)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our college basketball hub page for all your college basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
