It’s one and done for the Marquette Golden Eagles in the Big East Conference Tournament, falling to Xavier 68-65 last night in New York. The result leaves the Golden Eagles waiting for the NCAA selection committee to make its picks so the N.I.T. can pick up the leftovers.
Freshman Deonte Burton scored a career high 23 points and Todd Mayo added 21, but it wasn’t enough to keep Marquette (17-15) from its 15th defeat this season.
The Golden Eagles lost, despite shooting 57.8% from the field. They got only 14 free throw attempts in the game and made eight.
The loss means Marquette’s streak of eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances will come to an end.
The Muskateers (21-11) would appear to be a safe bet to land a spot int he NCAA Tournament field when the brackets are made known on Sunday evening.