Marquette dropped an 80-71 decision at Xavier Saturday in the Big East Conference opener for both programs.
It was the seventh straight win for Xavier which scored 44 of its points in the paint.
Greg Elliott put up 18 points to lead the Golden Eagles. Marquette led by eight points in the first half, but Xavier took the lead for good by opening the second half on a 12-4 run.
A 3-pointer by Elliott cut the margin to a single point with three minutes left, but coach Shaka Smart’s team could never retake the lead.
All four Marquette defeats this season have come against ranked teams and number-20 U-Conn visits the Fiserv Forum Tuesday.
