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Fields set to return as Pittsburgh visits Marquette

Feb 15, 2008 - 12:35 PM No. 24 Pittsburgh (19-5) at No. 25 Marquette (17-6) 9:00 pm EST

MILWAUKEE (Ticker) - Levance Fields will make his first appearance on the floor in over a month when No. 24 Pittsburgh visits 25th-ranked Marquette in a key Big East clash Friday.

The junior guard, who is averaging 11.9 points and 5.4 assists per game, has been sidelined since December 29 with a broken left foot.

Fields initially was scheduled to miss eight to 12 weeks when the injury first occurred in a loss to Dayton, but was cleared for practice last week, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"I told you all that I'd be back, so I didn't surprise myself," Fields told the newspaper. "I'm looking forward to playing on Friday as long as the foot feels good. Everything is going as planned. I'm just going to try to go out there and give whatever boost I can to the team."

The Panthers (19-5, 7-4 Big East), who went 8-4 without Fields, have won their last two contests, including an 82-63 victory over Providence on Tuesday. Sam Young scored 22 points in the win and is averaging a team-high 17.9 points per game.

The Golden Eagles (17-6, 7-5) snapped a two-game skid with an impressive 89-64 trouncing of Seton Hall on Tuesday.

Lazar Hayward tied a season high with 23 points and leads four players averaging in double figures at 14.0 points per game.

Marquette won the two regular-season meetings last season - by a combined seven points - before Pittsburgh won, 89-79, in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament.