NCAAB

Marquette Golden Eagles at Xavier Musketeers

· NCAA Men's Basketball
Final
72 - 70
8-5, 7-1 Home

Kam Jones scores 20 points as No. 9 Marquette holds off Xavier 72-70

Marquette (11-2, 2-0 Big East) led by as many as 15 points in the second half, but the Musketeers fought back with a 12-0 run to take a 64-63 lead with 2:07 left.

Jones made one of two free throws to put Marquette ahead 72-70 with 3.6 seconds left. Conwell went to floor but no foul was called on Chase Ross as the buzzer sounded.

Marcus Foster led Xavier (8-5, 0-2 Big East) with 16 points.

A pair of 3-pointers by Ben Gold helped the Golden Eagles build a 27-22 lead at halftime.

They led despite Jones, who combined for 64 points in two games against Xavier last season, not recording a field goal until 5:46 remained in the first half.

Jones had five points in the half on 2-of-9 shooting, but scored 15 points in the second half.

Joplin, who had only four points in the first half, also had 15 after halftime. His 3-pointer made the score 48-35 with 11 minutes remaining.

Takeaways Marquette: Joplin's shot selection has been an issue at times, but he was 8 of 15 from the field on Saturday. He eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career.

Xavier: The Musketeers are still coping with the loss of second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Zach Freemantle, who injured his knee in a loss to Cincinnati on Dec. 14. Marquette took advantage with 44 points in the paint.

Key moment The Musketeers had the ball trailing by one point when Stevie Mitchell had a steal and Joplin scored at the other end to put the Golden Eagles ahead 67-64 with 1:09 left.

Key stat The Golden Eagles had only two turnovers in Wednesday’s win over Butler. They had seven turnovers in the first half on Saturday, just two below their season average, and finished the game with 10.

Up next Marquette plays at Providence and Xavier hosts Seton Hall, both on Dec. 31.

How can I watch Marquette vs. Xavier?

  • TV Channel: Marquette at Xavier 2021 College Basketball, week 7, is broadcasted on FOX.
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Matchup Prediction

Xavier: 39.6%
Marquette: 60.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

2nd 0:00 End of Game 72 - 70
2nd 0:00 End of 2nd half 72 - 70
2nd 0:03 Kam Jones made Free Throw. 72 - 70
2nd 0:03 Marquette Offensive Rebound. 71 - 70
2nd 0:03 Kam Jones missed Free Throw. 71 - 70

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/269.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMARQ https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2752.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originXAV
29-59 FG 24-52
49.2 Field Goal % 46.2
7-19 3PT 6-19
36.8 Three Point % 31.6
7-11 FT 16-20
63.6 Free Throw % 80.0
30 Rebounds 31
5 Offensive Rebounds 6
25 Defensive Rebounds 25
16 Assists 16
10 Steals 7
4 Blocks 3
10 Turnovers 14
0 Team Turnovers 1
10 Total Turnovers 14
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
16 Points Off Turnovers 4
14 Fast Break Points 6
44 Points in Paint 30
20 Fouls 14
15 Largest Lead 6

Game Information

Cintas Center

Location: Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 10,452 | Capacity:

2024-25 Big East Conference Standings

TEAM CONF GB OVER
Marquette 2-0 - 11-2
Georgetown 2-0 - 10-2
St. John's 2-0 - 10-2
UConn 2-0 - 10-3
Creighton 1-1 1 8-5
Villanova 1-1 1 8-5
Providence 1-1 1 7-6
DePaul 0-2 2 8-4
Xavier 0-2 2 8-5
Butler 0-2 2 7-6
Seton Hall 0-2 2 5-8
Full Standings