After two days of watching other Big East Conference men's basketball programs on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden, the Marquette Golden Eagles finally get their chance to play in the league tournament. The Golden Eagles, the tournament's No. 2 seed, face off against the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals (7 p.m. ET on ESPN) with the winner advancing to the semifinals to play either No. 6 South Florida Bulls or No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals (23-9) defeated the Seton Hall Pirates, 61-55, in the second round of the Big East Tournament. The victory ended a two-game losing streak for Louisville and helped them earn a rematch with the Golden Eagles, who defeated the Cardinals in the regular season, 74-63, on Jan. 16.
Marquette enters the game with the Big East's Player of the Year honoree, senior forward Jae Crowder. On Monday, Crowder was the only unanimous All-Big East First Team selection, which led to Tuesday's announcement of him winning the POY.
Crowder averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds to aid Marquette to a second-place finish in the Big East standings, while teammate, senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom, leads the team with 18.3 ppg.
The duo helped the Golden Eagles finish the regular season in second place in the Big East standings and earn a double-bye in the conference tournament.
Louisville is paced by senior forward Kyle Kuric who nets 12.9 ppg, while senior guard Peyton Siva lead the team with 5.3 assists per game.
If you'd like to catch the contest, here's the information:
Game Time: 7 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Betting odds: Marquette is a 3-point favorite.
— For complete coverage of the Big East Tournament, check back to this SB Nation New York StoryStream. For more on the Big East Conference, visit the SB Nation blog Big East Coast Bias.