Feb. 26, 2010

Milwaukee -

MU-SHU Game Notes (PDF)  | Television Info

The Marquette University men's basketball team wraps up its seven-day, three-game road swing Sunday morning when the squad travels to Seton Hall for an 11 a.m. CT opening tip at the Prudential Center. The BIG EAST Network will feature the broadcast, with Bob Picozzi (play-by-play) and Jim Spanarkel (analyst) calling the action. MU remains in the hunt for a postseason bid, thanks in large part to a current run that has seen the team win seven of its last eight outings in league action. Following Sunday's outing against the Pirates, Marquette will host Louisville at 8:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 2.

MU Works OT For Second-Straight Game
Considering that 11 of Marquette's 27 games this season have been decided by four-or-fewer points, it's somewhat surprising that the team's first overtime contests of the season didn't come until the last pair of outings.

Junior Jimmy Butler's baseline jumper as time expired at St. John's allowed Marquette to post its second-straight extra-session victory (MU won at Cincinnati on Feb. 21) on the road. The Golden Eagles haven't played back-to-back overtime games since the 1989-90 campaign. The team lost (63-58) to Wisconsin at home that year before defeating Loyola three days later, 75-69.

Marquette is now 47-49 in program history in overtime matchups and hasn't played three 40-plus minute games in a year since 2004-05.

MU's first extra-session outing came during the 1923-24 campaign when the team dropped a tough 19-18 decision to Franklin in double overtime.

Butler Does It Again With Baseline Game Winner
For the second time this season, junior Jimmy Butler drained a contested, game-winning baseline jumper, this time defeating St. John's with no time left on the clock.

MU ran the exact same play Wednesday night as it did in the last-second win over Connecticut and the result was precisely the same. Butler knocked down a tough shot from a similar position on the court, but against the Red Storm the ball was knocked away before he gathered himself for the shot.

Butler's fadeaway jumper with 2.8 seconds left allowed MU to claim a 70-68 victory over No. 19/19 UConn on Jan. 30. He finished with a game-high 21 points and also chipped in seven rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

The victory was the first on the road for the Golden Eagles against a top-25 opponent since they defeated Pittsburgh 77-74 in overtime in 2006-07.

Value Of Every Possession Clear In Team Results
Head coach Buzz Williams stresses the importance of every possession in a game and the team's results in 2009-10 do nothing but validate that focus.

Of the team's 27 games, 11 (41.0 percent) have been decided by four-or-fewer points, including a pair of overtime contests. MU's margin of defeat tops out at nine points (L, 62-53 @ Wisconsin) and on five occasions the final score has been separated by just a single possession. Four of those games have come in BIG EAST Conference play.

Through games of Feb. 25, only George Mason and William & Mary (13 games) have played in games decided by four-or-less points on more occasions than Marquette (11 - group also includes Austin Peay, Detroit, South Alabama, St. Francis, UT-Arlington and Troy).

Marquette is one of just seven teams (Kansas, Kentucky, Purdue, Baylor, Dayton, Northern Iowa) in the nation to have not suffered a double-digit setback this year.