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No. 16 Marquette looks to pin first Big East loss on Notre Dame

Jan 12, 2008 - 2:22 PM Notre Dame (12-2) at No. 16 Marquette (12-2) 2:00 pm EST

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) -- No. 16 Marquette will look to pin the first conference loss on Notre Dame when the teams meet in a Big East game on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles (12-2, 2-1) rebounded from a 15-point loss at West Virginia with a 61-56 home victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday.

Four starters average in double figures for the Golden Eagles, led by junior guard Dominic Jones at 14.8 points per game. Jones also leads the team with 4.3 assists per contest.

Junior guard Jerel McNeal averages 13.2 points, sophomore forward Lazar Hayward 12.9 and junior guard Wesley Matthews 10.9 for Marquette, which returned eight of the top nine scorers from last season.

The game will be the first in a week and the first conference road game for the season for the Fighting Irish (12-2, 2-0).

Notre Dame, which has won 10 straight games since consecutive losses in November, is off to a 2-0 start for the fourth time since joining the conference in 1995-96. The Fighting Irish are seeking to start 3-0 in conference play for the first time in school history.

Junior forward Luke Harnagody averages 18.2 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Irish. Junior guard Kyle McAlarney, coming off a career-high 32 points in Notre Dame's 73-67 victory over Connecticut last Saturday, averages 14.9 points.

The Golden Eagles are 6-3 in their last nine games against Notre Dame.