No. 9 Notre Dame Vs. Marquette: Golden Eagles Swipe Irish, 79-57

GAME NOTES: Big East Conference foes meet at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee tonight, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come calling on the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Notre Dame has won 14 of its first 16 games, which includes a 3-1 mark in Big East play. The Irish have won their last two games since suffering a 70-58 loss at Syracuse on New Year's Day, and wins over UConn (73-70) and St. John's (76-61) have restored some lost confidence. This is just the second true road game of the season for Notre Dame.

Marquette suffered its first Big East loss of the campaign on Saturday, as the Golden Eagles fell at Pittsburgh in an 89-81 final. The setback snapped a modest two-game win streak for Marquette, which has topped West Virginia (79-74) and Rutgers (73-65) last week to open league play at 2-0. The Golden Eagles currently sit at 11-5 on the year, and nine of those victories have come at home.

Notre Dame owns a commanding 78-35 advantage in the all-time series with Marquette, and the Irish won the most recent meeting in overtime last March. However, when looking back a bit further, the Golden Eagles have been victorious in three of the last five and nine of the last 14 meetings overall.

Ben Hansbrough nailed four treys on his way to a career-high 26 points, in leading Notre Dame past visiting St. John's on Saturday. That effort came just a few days after Hansbrough held UConn's Kemba Walker in check in what was another solid win for the Fighting Irish. Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin tallied 12 points apiece in the victory over the Red Storm, as Notre Dame shot 51 percent from the field while limiting St. John's to 38.2 percent efficiency. The Red Storm made good on just 2-of-11 three-point attempts and the Irish won the game despite being outscored in the paint (32-24), in second-chance points (13-5) and in bench points (13-10). Hansbrough has scored in double figures a team-best 15 times this season, including in each of the last 10 games, and his scoring average now sits at 16.3 ppg. Abromaitis is hot on his heels at 16.2 ppg, and both are shooting at least 44 percent from the field for a team that is hitting 45.3 percent of its total shots and 37.7 percent of its three-pointers. Three others are currently averaging double figures in scoring, and the Irish are putting up 78.2 ppg while permitting 63.6 ppg.

Darius Johnson-Odom poured in 20 points and Dwight Buycks added 19, but it wasn't enough as Marquette dropped an eight-point decision at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Jimmy Butler scored 17 points and Jae Crowder chipped in 10 for the Golden Eagles, who shot a lackluster 41.5 percent from the floor and were beaten on the glass by a 38-29 margin. Marquette committed just two turnovers in the game, but Pitt shot a season-high 60 percent from the floor and converted 10-of-18 three-point tries. For the season, Marquette is lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of 80.8 ppg, doing so by connecting on 49.8 percent of its field goal attempts. The three-point shot is falling at just a 35.3 percent clip, but favorable margins in both rebounding (+4.4) and turnovers (+3.1) have helped the team considerably. Johnson-Odom is MU's leading scorer with 15.9 ppg and he has nearly twice as many three-point tries (80) as his nearest teammate (47), and Butler and Crowder round out the unit's double- digit scorers with 15.1 and 12.7 ppg, respectively. Buycks (9.9 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Vander Blue (9.3 ppg, 2.7 apg) have performed well for the Golden Eagles, who need to start picking up some wins against quality opponents if they are to be taken seriously come postseason tournament time.

Notre Dame is the better team in this matchup, but expect Marquette to play well in front of the hometown faithful. The Irish will wear down the Golden Eagles and claim a hard-fought victory.

GAME NOTES: Big East Conference foes meet at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee tonight, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come calling on the Marquette Golden Eagles.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bradley Center (18,600) -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Television: ESPN2. Home Record: Notre Dame 11-0, Marquette 9-1. Away Record: Notre Dame 0-1, Marquette 2-2. Neutral Record: Notre Dame 3-1, Marquette 0-2. Conference Record: Notre Dame 3-1, Marquette 2-1. Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 78-35.

Notre Dame 77, Marquette 72