Big East Game Thread: Marquette Golden Eagles vs #16 Providence Friars

THE VITALS: Marquette Golden Eagles (8-6, 0-3 Big East) vs #16 Providence Friars (13-1, 3-0 Big East)

THE DATE: Tuesday, January 4, 2022

THE TIME: 8pm Central

THE LOCATION: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

ATTENDANCE UPDATE: Facemasks are required for entry to Fiserv Forum and must be worn at all times inside the building.

THE TELEVISION: FS1, with Lisa Byington and Brian Butch on the call

THE STREAMING: FoxSports.com/live

THE RADIO: 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee, listenable online at Wisconsin On Demand, with Steve “The Homer” True and Tony Smith on the call.

THE LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats

THE LINE: Marquette -1.5 from our friends at Draft Kings.

THE PROJECTION: KenPom.com says that Providence has a 55% chance of victory with a predicted score of 71-70.

THE EXCITEMENT LEVEL: KenPom.com gives this game a Thrill Score of 62.1, making it the sixth most potentially exciting game out of the 32 Division 1 games scheduled for the day.

MARQUETTE PROJECTED LINEUP

• Tyler Kolek (6.8 pts, 4.1 rebs, 5.9 ast, 1.8 stl)
• Darryl Morsell (13.8 pts, 3.7 rebs, 2.7 ast)
• Justin Lewis (15.2 pts, 8.0 rebs, 1.4 ast, 1.1 stl)
• Olivier-Maxence Prosper (5.1 pts, 3.8 rebs, 1.0 ast)
• Kur Kuath (5.2 pts, 4.1 rebs, 2.9 blk)

MARQUETTE LINEUP NOTE: Kam Jones was held out of Marquette’s most recent game due to health and safety protocols. The freshman from Tennessee had started each of the six previous games for the Golden Eagles.

PROVIDENCE PROJECTED LINEUP

• Al Durham (13.1 pts, 2.8 rebs, 3.3 ast)
• A.J. Reeves (10.7 pts, 3.1 rebs, 2.1 ast)
• Justin Minaya (5.3 pts, 5.5 rebs, 1.3 ast)
• Noah Horchler (10.5 pts, 8.3 rebs, 2.2 ast)
• Nate Watson (13.9 pts, 5.9 rebs, 1.0 blk)

PROVIDENCE LINEUP NOTES: A.J. Reeves started but played just eight minutes in Providence’s win over DePaul on Saturday, all while having two fingers taped together. Jared Bynum started Providence’s first seven games before missing four straight with a foot injury. He has played at least 25 minutes in each of the last three games while coming off the bench in each one.