Preview: No. 1 UConn men’s basketball vs. No. 4 Marquette | 3:00 p.m. ET, FOX

This is arguably the biggest game of the regular season, as No. 4 Marquette will come to a sold-out XL Center for the 10th AP Top 5 matchup in program history for No. 1 UConn men’s basketball. The Huskies have won 13-straight games and Marquette has taken victory in eight consecutive outings. If UConn defeats the Golden Eagles, it’ll be three ahead in the loss column with five games to go, but if the visitors come out on top, that difference will be just one with the return trip to Milwaukee still looming March 6.

UConn, which has only been the lower-ranked squad twice, is 4-5 in top-five vs. top-five games in the regular season and lost the last matchup, a 69-65 loss in Lawrence to then No. 5 Kansas. The Huskies are 2-3 as the No. 1 team in these matchups, with wins over No. 5 Louisville on Feb. 2, 2009 and No. 4 Stanford on Feb. 6, 1999. The Huskies are also 1-1 in such contests played at home, as seven have been in true road environments.

TV: FOX

Radio: UConn Sports Network

Odds: UConn -7, over/under 147.5

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 77, Marquette 70 (74 percent win percentage)

Series History

This will be the 17th game between UConn and Marquette all time, each of which have come since the Golden Eagles joined the Big East. Each program has won eight times. Just five of the 15 regular season matchups haven’t featured a ranked team, with four ranked-on-ranked games.

The Huskies are 5-2 since returning to the Big East, but the Golden Eagles took victory in the semifinals of the 2023 Big East Tournament and are 2-3 inside XL Center, but have won the last two matchups.

What to Watch For

Tyler Kolek vs. Tristen Newton

The Big East has two players in the top 10 of KenPom’s player of the year rankings in Tyler Kolek and Tristen Newton. The league’s preseason player of the year and 2022-23 player of the year averaged 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game last season against the Huskies as Marquette had a 2-1 record. He scored 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting with four rebounds and six assists in the Big East Tournament semifinal.

Kolek has been one of the conference’s best players again this season, shooting 41 percent from 3-point range and has the nation’s seventh-highest assist rate (40.3 percent). He also defends without committing fouls (1.2 fouls per 40 minutes) and shoots 87.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Newton has been tremendous for UConn this season. He’s also in the top 100 in assist rate (29.6 percent) and is one of the best at drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line, as he draws 5.6 fouls per game and has a 54.0 free-throw rate, which is just outside the top 100 nationally.

These players each lead their team in usage rate, play more than 32.0 minutes per game and have the ball in their hands a ton. This matchup will be key throughout the afternoon.

Oso Ighodaro vs. Donovan Clingan

The other key matchup is on the opposite end of the lineup. Both centers are elite and have NBA prospects in Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro and UConn’s Donovan Clingan. The Golden Eagles and Huskies are each elite inside and they’re a big reason why.

UConn and Marquette are fourth (59.4 percent) and 12th (57.2 percent), respectively, in offensive 2-point percentage, while they’re a respective sixth (43.4 percent) and 111th (48.9 percent) defensively.

Ighodaro is in the top 75 nationally in both true shooting percentage (63.0 percent) and effective shooting percentage (61.9 percent) and Clingan has similar numbers, at 62.0 percent and 63.5 percent, respectively, but hasn’t played enough minutes to qualify.

Clingan has the edge defensively, as he blocks shots at a significantly higher rate (11.5 percent and No. 10 nationally to 4.5 percent), but Ighodaro draws more fouls and limits his foul trouble. He hasn’t dipped below 28 minutes since Nov. 28 and has yet to foul out, reaching four fouls just four times this season.

While Clingan hasn’t been disqualified for a game this season, he has also been whistled four times in a quartet of contests, despite missing five due to injury, and has been frequently limited due to foul trouble.

Gaining the edge against an elite post player like Ighodaro, and doing so without fouling, would be a big feather in Clingan’s cap and could be an important reason why his team claims victory.

Don’t let Marquette speed the game up

The Golden Eagles are comfortable with tempo. Marquette’s games have an average of 69.5 adjusted possessions, which is in the top 75 nationally. The team’s average possessions last just 15.0 seconds, which is seventh nationally and second among power-conference teams. Shaka Smart’s team gets into its set quickly and strikes while the iron is hot. It’s worked for the Golden Eagles, as they’re No. 23 in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.

Meanwhile, UConn is among the most methodical. Dan Hurley’s offensive possessions last an average of 18.4 seconds, which is just above No. 300. Interestingly, this is exactly how Marquette plays defense, as its defensive possessions are the second-longest in the country at 19.2 seconds.

The Huskies can be successful in transition and did so early in the season against low-major opponents or when turnovers are aplenty, but Marquette’s defense excels at pushing teams deep into the shot clock and forcing bad shots.

If they’re preventing Marquette from taking quick shots and being in their comfort zone, then UConn will have the advantage at home.