MILWAUKEE – In the BIG EAST’s All-Access Game on FOX Sports, Marquette defeated DePaul 87-76 at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday. The game featured DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield and Marquette head coach Shaka Smart wearing live microphones throughout the commercial-free telecast.
The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-3 BIG EAST) pulled away midway in the second half from the Blue Demons (9-6, 0-5 BE). Marquette’s Greg Elliott came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points. Darryl Morsell added 16 points. Both players shot 7-of-11 from the field.
DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty, the BIG EAST’s top scorer with a 21.7 average, had 24 points and 10 rebounds. Yor Anei contributed 16 points and 11 boards. Seton Hall is the next opponent for both teams. DePaul hosts the Pirates on Thursday and Marquette plays the Pirates at home on Saturday.
Wednesday’s two games are an FS1 doubleheader. At 6:30 p.m. ET, Villanova plays at Xavier. It will be the fourth contest this season between ranked BIG EAST teams. The Wildcats (11-4, 4-1 BE) are ranked 14th by AP and the Musketeers (12-2, 2-1 BE) are 17th. The two teams met on Dec. 21 at Villanova with the Wildcats recovering from an eight-point halftime deficit to win 71-58.
At 8:30 p.m., UConn hosts St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion. The Johnnies (9-4, 1-1 BE) beat the Huskies (10-4, 1-2 BE) in last season’s only meeting, also at Gampel, 70-64. St. John’s Julian Champagnie ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 20.7 average and Posh Alexander is first in steals with a 2.4 mark. The Huskies will be playing its first game at Gampel since Dec. 4. R.J. Cole leads the team in scoring and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with a 16.2 average. The game also will be carried on Westwood One radio.