MEN'S BASKETBALL

All you need to know about men's basketball matchup between Marquette and Notre Dame

Tom Noie
ND Insider
Dec 3, 2022; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Shaka Smart gestures during the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
  • WHO: Notre Dame (7-2) vs. Marquette (7-3) 
  • WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (9,149). 
  • WHEN: Sunday at 4 p.m. 
  • TICKETS: Available. 
  • TV: ESPN2. 
  • RADIO: WSBT (960 AM). 
  • ONLINE: Follow every Notre Dame game with live updates from Tribune beat writer Tom Noie at twitter.com/tnoieNDI 

What once should have been stunning news now is the college football standard

Notes: Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw honored with Pat Summitt Award; Thursday game postponed

NOTING

Power forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 25 points with four rebounds and fellow power forward Oso Ishodaro added 10 points, seven assists and three blocks as Marquette never trailed in Tuesday’s 90-78 home victory over North Carolina Central. The Golden Eagles shot 63.2 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from 3 and 56.3 percent from the free throw line. They scored 18 points off 16 turnovers and finished with 52 points in the paint. … Marquette, like Notre Dame, opened its season with a home win (79-69) over Radford. … This is Marquette’s second true road game (lost 75-70 at No. 4 Purdue). … The Golden Eagles also have played power conference games against Mississippi State (loss), Georgia Tech (win), Wisconsin (loss) and a home win over then-No. 6 Baylor. … Four Eagles average double figures for minutes led by sophomore guard Kam Jones (15.5). Eight average double figures for minutes, and nobody plays more than 29.7 per game. … Marquette ranks 26th in the NCAA for scoring offense (82.5 ppg.) and 184th for scoring defense (68.9). … Bill Scholl, a 1979 Notre Dame graduate who spent 23 years in the Notre Dame athletic department, has served as Marquette athletic director since 2015. … Marquette returned two starters off last year’s team that finished 19-13 overall, 11-8 and tied for fifth in the Big East. Coach Shaka Smart’s first season in Milwaukee featured a roster that had four transfers and six freshmen. The Golden Eagles advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, where it lost in the first round to eventual NCAA runner-up North Carolina. … Marquette was picked this preseason to finish ninth in the 11-team Big East. … Notre Dame leads a series that dates back to 1920, 81-37 overall, 48-13 at home. Marquette won six of 11 matchups as Big East colleagues (2006-13). … This is the first game between the former Independent rivals since March 14, 2013, a 73-65 Notre Dame victory in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. … Sunday is the first non-Big East regular-season game between the teams since a 71-58 Notre Dame loss in Milwaukee on Dec. 1, 2003. Notre Dame’s last home win over Marquette was Feb. 4, 2012 (76-59). … The Irish have won three of the last four in the series after the Golden Eagles had won three of the last four. … This is the first of a two-game series between the teams, who meet next season at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. 

Bill Scholl, Marquette University vice president and director of athletics, gifts Shaka Smart with a jersey at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee on Monday. Smart is the 18th head coach of Marquette. Mjs Marquette Smart Ec05932

QUOTING

Great opportunity, man. They’re pressing and up on you and playing fast and driving you. Really, this is (St.) Bonaventure-like. Here’s our challenge. They’re going to come and Bonaventure us. I may text that tonight to the group.”  — Irish coach Mike Brey on playing Marquette  

— Tom Noie