March 8, 2010

Marquette BIG EAST Postseason Guide (PDF)  | Championship Central

The Marquette University men’s basketball team opens postseason play on Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT when the squad begins play in the 2010 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by New York Life. The Golden Eagles will face No. 13 St. John’s seed in Madison Square Garden, with the winner of Wednesday’s contest advancing to face No. 4 seed Villanova in the quarterfinals. ESPN will feature Marquette’s 11th national broadcast of the campaign, with Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Doris Burke (analyst) calling the action.

Tournament Schedule Familiar For MU
Marquette has earned the fifth seed in the league tournament for the second-straight season and has never been seeded lower than sixth during its five-year affiliation with the league.

In 2009, MU defeated St. John’s in the second round, a possibility Wednesday as well, before falling to No. 4 seed Villanova (potential quarterfinal opponent this season) in the closing seconds.

Marquette is 4-4 all-time in BIG EAST tourney action and owns an overall record of 16-19 in conference events. MU’s lone postseason title came in the 1997 Conference USA Championship.

Hayward, Butler Collect All-League Accolades
Senior forward Lazar Hayward and junior forward Jimmy Butler have earned BIG EAST Conference accolades for their respective efforts in 2009-10, the league office announced Sunday afternoon.

Hayward, a Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection this year, earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team roster. The Buffalo, N.Y., native currently ranks among the league leaders in a total of five categories and is contributing 18.0 points (6th) and 7.8 rebounds (7th) per game. He was named to the second team in 2007-08 as a sophomore.

Butler was tabbed to the All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team after enjoying a breakthrough campaign this season. He is chipping in 15.2 points (19th) and 6.5 rebounds (19th) per outing and is ranked among the league leaders in four categories.

Now in its 21st season of conference affiliation, Marquette has had at least one player garner all-conference accolades every year. MU has featured two-or-more honorees in each of the team’s five campaigns in the BIG EAST.

Wednesday’s Opponent Will Keep Close Eye On Butler
While the Golden Eagles must wait to find out if they will face UConn or St. John’s in the second round of the league tourney, one thing the team can be certain of is that both squads remember junior Jimmy Butler.

The Tomball, Texas, native knocked down a game-winning baseline jumper with 2.8 seconds left in regulation at UConn on Jan. 30. Butler’s hoop was the deciding bucket in a 70-68 Marquette victory.

Feb. 24 at St. John’s, Butler’s shot from nearly the same spot hit nothing but net as time expired in Marquette’s 63-61 overtime victory on the road. That game was the second of three-straight extra-session outings for the team.