Who's Playing

Western Carolina Catamounts @ Marquette Golden Eagles

Current Records: Western Carolina 2-3, Marquette 7-0

How To Watch

  • When: Saturday, November 30, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
  • Where: Fiserv Forum -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • TV: Fox Sports 2
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)

What to Know

The Western Carolina Catamounts' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Marquette Golden Eagles at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Fiserv Forum. The Catamounts are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 75.8 points per game this season.

The experts figured Western Carolina would be stumbling into the contest after a tough loss to Florida State, and, well: they nailed that call. Western Carolina took a serious blow against Florida State on Tuesday, falling 91-57. The Catamounts were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 49-26.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Western Carolina struggled to work together and finished the game with only eight assists. They were destroyed by their opponents in that department as Florida State posted 19.

Meanwhile, Marquette had already won six in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 16.7 points) and they went ahead and made it seven on Wednesday. They blew past the Skyhawks, posting a 94-59 win. The Golden Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three matches by 19 points or more this season.

David Joplin was the offensive standout of the matchup as he went 10 for 12 en route to 27 points plus seven rebounds. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in field goal percentage (83.3%). Another player making a difference was Damarius Owens, who went 5 for 8 en route to 14 points.

Western Carolina dropped their record down to 2-3 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Marquette, their victory bumped their record up to 7-0.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's game: Western Carolina has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 9.8 threes per game. However, it's not like Marquette struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.6. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Western Carolina was dealt a punishing 90-44 defeat at the hands of Marquette when the teams last played back in November of 2016. Can Western Carolina avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.

Series History

Marquette won the only game these two teams have played in the last 8 years.

  • Nov 30, 2016 - Marquette 90 vs. Western Carolina 44