March 8, 2006

NEW YORK -

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The no. 4 seed Marquette men's basketball, who recieved a bye in the first round of its first ever BIG EAST Conference tournament will face fifth seed Georgetown in quarterfinals on Thursday, March 9, at 2 p.m. EST. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

The Hoyas who missed their first 12 shots from the field overcame a slow start to defeat Notre Dame, 67-63, in the second game of the day. Brandon Bowman who registered 25 points - 17 in the second half - while also grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists led all scorers. Second Team All-BIG EAST honoree, Roy Hibbert, added seven rebounds to lead the Hoyas and also posted four blocks.

Georgetown boasts three players who average more than 10 points per game this season. Hibbert and Jeff Green - the Hoyas' other Second Team All-BIG EAST selection - are the Hoyas leading scorers at 11.9 and 11.8 points per game, respectively. Bowman has contributed 10.9 points per game.

Georgetown is known to be more of a defensive minded team scoring 68.5 points per game, while holding its opponents to a league leading 59.5 points per game. In the two teams last meeting in February, the Golden Eagles defeated the Hoyas, 57-51. Marquette's 57 points marks the lowest number of points the Golden Eagles have scored in a win this season. It was also the lowest number of points Georgetown has allowed in a loss this season.

Predicted in the preseason as the 12 seed, the Golden Eagles are one of the surprises of the conference this season and started their BIG EAST season with a bang, defeating no. 2 Connecticut at home, 94-79.

Behind the senior leadership of Steve Novak, who was a unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST selection, Joe Chapman and Chris Grimm, the Golden Eagles won 10 times in BIG EAST play, defeating three nationally ranked teams in the process, including the Georgetown.

Novak led the BIG EAST in three point shooting connecting on 45.6 percent from behind the arc and averaged 17.0 points per game this season was also recently named All-District V by the U.S. Basketball Writers of America.

Freshmen Dominic James - the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year - and Jerel McNeal, another All-Rookie Team selection, have bolstered the MU lineup en route to a fourth place league finish as each finds spots in the Marquette freshman record book.

Should the Golden Eagles defeat the Hoyas, Marquette will move on to face the winner of the no.1 Connecticut/ no. 9 Syracuse game in the semifinals of the tournament on Friday, March 10, at 7 p.m. EST.