Feb. 23, 2009

Milwaukee -

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The No. 8/10 Marquette University men’s basketball team returns home for a BIG EAST Conference showdown with first-place Connecticut Wednesday night at the Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles will put their 17-game home court winning streak on the line against the No. 2/2 Huskies. ESPN will feature Marquette’s 10th national broadcast of the season, which tips at 6 p.m. CT. Dan Shulman (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst) and Allen Hopkins (reporter) will call the action from courtside.

Ranked Opponent Nothing New For MU In League Play
The fourth-ranked Huskies will mark the eighth nationally ranked opponent for the Golden Eagles and the first of three-straight games against programs currently ranked in the top-10.

Connecticut owns the second spot in the latest Associated Press poll, which was released Monday afternoon. The Golden Eagles will face No. 6 Louisville on March 1 and top-ranked Pittsburgh on March 7. Both of those contests will come on the road.

UConn is the highest ranked opponent to visit the Bradley Center since the Huskies came to Milwaukee as the nation’s No. 2 program during the 2005-06 season. The matchup as the first ever for MU in the BIG EAST Conference and resulted in a 94-79 Marquette victory. Former standout Steve Novak led the way with 41 points and 16 rebounds in that game.

Home Court Winning Streak Among Best In Nation
Dating back to last season, Marquette has claimed 17-straight victories at the Bradley Center.

The team’s winning streak is the fourth-longest active victorious run in the nation through games of Feb. 22 (courtesy of Stats, Inc.). The last team to defeat MU at home was Georgetown (70-68, March 1, 2008).

The current streak began on March 4, 2008 with a 67-37 victory over Florida Gulf Coast and includes a perfect 16-0 mark in 2008-09. The Golden Eagles own an impressive 271-76 (78.0 winning percentage) at the Bradley Center since the 1988-89 campaign.

Utah State’s 32-game run at home is currently tops in the nation. Fellow BIG EAST member Pittsburgh is second with 19 straight. MU visits the Panthers on March 4.