Marquette will open Big East play at home against presumptive conference favorite, Creighton
In its second year under head coach Shaka Smart, the Marquette men's basketball team will have the chance to make a statement right out of the gate in Big East play.
Marquette opens the season at home against a team that should be regarded as the favorite in the Big East this year, Creighton, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. local time. Friday, Dec. 16. The Big East released its men's basketball schedule in full Friday.
The Bluejays boast a trio of returnees who made the All-Freshman team last season and five of its top seven scorers overall, including junior 7-foot center Ryan Kalkbrenner, an honorable-mention all-conference pick last season. On top of that, the program brings in of the most notable transfers in the country, South Dakota State's Baylor Scheierman, last year's Summit League Player of the Year.
Marquette hits the road Dec. 20 for its first Big East road test at the home of reigning Big East champion, Providence, a 6 p.m. game tipping on CBS Sports Network, with the majority of other games airing on Fox Sports 1.
The Golden Eagles get another spotlight test on New Year's Eve against Villanova on the road, and the team's Jan. 15 game at Xavier will air on FOX.
Marquette defeated Nova twice last season and Providence once, authoring three of the teams' combined seven league losses. Marquette qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time in three years and fell in the opening round to eventual national runner up, North Carolina.
After consecutive seasons playing 19 Big East games, with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on schedules across the country, Marquette is scheduled to play the full 20 games this time around. Here's the list, with all games airing on Fox Sports 1 unless otherwise indicated:
Dec. 16 vs. Creighton, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Providence, 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Dec. 27 vs. Seton Hall, 7 p.m.
Dec. 31 at Villanova, 1 p.m.
Jan. 3 at St. John's, 5:30 p.m.
Jan. 7 vs. Georgetown, 1 p.m.
Jan. 11 vs. UCONN, 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Jan. 15 at Xavier, 11 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. (FOX)
Jan. 18 vs. Providence, 8 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Jan. 21 at Seton Hall, TBA (CBS Sports Network)
Jan. 28 at DePaul, 1 p.m.
Feb. 1 vs. Villanova, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 4 vs. Butler, 1 p.m.
Feb. 7 at UCONN, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 11 at Georgetown, 11 a.m.
Feb. 15 vs. Xavier, 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Feb. 21 at Creighton, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 25 vs. DePaul, 6:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 at Butler, 5:30 p.m.
March 4 vs. St. John's, TBA (FOX or FS1)
March 8-11 at Big East Tournament in New York
Marquette opens its nonconference schedule Nov. 7 with a 7:30 p.m. tip at Fiserv Forum against Radford.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's Big East schedule includes big games out of the gate
