On Wednesday the college basketball fans will assist to a NCAA Basketball Matchup when the Marquette Golden Eagles will take on Seton Hall Pirates in the first round at Madison Square Garden.

Game: Seton Hall Pirates (17-14) vs Marquette Golden Eagles (22-8)
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 12 - 9:00 PM EST
Spread: Golden Eagles 10½ Total: 149
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Jerel McNeal was sidelined for Marquette during last season's Big East tournament, which helped contribute to the team's early exit.

Because of an injured right thumb, McNeal missed Marquette's final four games last season, including two conference tournament games and a loss to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. McNeal, who ranked second for the Golden Eagles last season with 14.7 points per game, is leading the team this season with 13.6 points and a Big East-leading 2.3 steals per contest.

He scored 22 points and added six rebounds in Marquette's final game of the regular season - an 87-72 loss at Syracuse on Saturday, as 1-point road underdogs. The combined score made it OVER the posted total of 150. Wesley Matthews added 14 points, but the Golden Eagles couldn't overcome 58 percent shooting from the field by the Orange, as they lost for the second time in three games.

Jerel McNeal shot 7-for-13 from the field with a game-high 22 points in the loss.

Marquette, which is holding Big East opponents to 68.4 points this season, has given up an average of 77.3 in the last three games.

Marquette comes into the Big East tournament as the No. 6 seed for the second straight season. In 2007, the Golden Eagles defeated St. John's in the first round, but lost to Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. They are 13-17 all-time in league tournaments, and 1-2 since joining the Big East for the 2005-06 season.

Crean said his team is excited about playing at the Garden, and is taking things one game at a time.

Marquette has beaten Seton Hall (17-14) twice this season and four straight times as part of the Big East, including an 89-64 rout on Feb. 12 in the last meeting.

Seton Hall has lost three straight and eight of 10, including a 64-61 loss to Rutgers in its regular season finale on Sunday, as an 8-point favorite. The combined score fell UNDER the posted over/under total (143). Despite shooting just 31.4 percent from the field, the Pirates blew a 17-point lead and lost on JR Inman's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Jeremy Hazell scored 19 points and Brian Laing added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Laing, who was named first team All-Big East on Monday, is averaging 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds this season.

Seton Hall gave up a league-high 76.3 points during the conference season. The Pirates are 17-27 all-time in the Big East tournament, including 7-12 in the first round. They've lost in the first round the last three times they were in the tournament.

The winner of this game will face 14th-ranked Notre Dame on Thursday.

NCAA Basketball Oddsmakers currently have the Golden Eagles listed as 10½-point favorites versus the Pirates, while the game's total is sitting at 149.

Team records:
Seton Hall: 17-14 SU, 11-15-1 ATS
Marquette: 22-8 SU, 13-11 ATS

Seton Hall most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 5-5
After playing Rutgers are 5-5
After a loss are 3-7

Marquette most recently:
When playing on Wednesday are 7-3
After playing Syracuse are 1-0
After a loss are 7-3

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Seton Hall's last 5 games
Seton Hall is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games
Seton Hall is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
Marquette is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games

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