It's been an early pattern in the battling Big East, with underdog sides provingd their worth. A continuation at the Cintas Center would not surprise, especially as Marquette needed a late push to repel double-digit dog Butler at midweek after losing outright last Saturday at Dayton. Meanwhile, the X chased UConn into OT at Hartford, and also covered in its previous game last weekend at crosstown Cincy. Two straight close losses but covers vs. ranked foes suggests Sean Miller has things on the right track with the Musketeers, who stayed close vs. the Huskies minus key cog F Zach Freemantle, who remains out. Miller will now be giving more minutes to capable sr. Jerome Hunter plus 6-11 transfer John Hugley IV, who was a 14 ppg scorer at Pitt a few years ago. Shaka Smart's team needed to play almost error-free (just 2 TOs) in the win at midweek and might have to do the same to extend the margin here. Play Xavier