GAME NOTES: The Marquette Golden Eagles will begin a two-game homestand at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Saturday afternoon, as they tangle with the Nebraska Omaha Mavericks in non-conference action.

Omaha got its season started on the right foot with a home-opening win over Central Arkansas on Sunday, 100-75. The Mavericks began a three-game road swing on Wednesday at Seattle and fell on the wrong end of a 98-74 decision, giving them four straight setbacks away from home dating back to last season.

Marquette also began its campaign with a home victory, taking care of business against Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 14 (79-63), but it had the unenviable task of playing nationally-ranked Ohio State on the road on Tuesday, losing 74-63. The Golden Eagles will welcome a return home to Milwaukee, where they've won 38 of the past 42 games dating back to the 2011-12 season.

This marks the first-ever meeting between the Mavericks and the Golden Eagles on the hardwood.

The Mavericks never had much of a chance in their most recent contest, as they fell behind to Seattle by 10 in the game's first seven minutes and never sniffed the lead the rest of the way en route to the 24-point setback. They were plagued by a poor field-goal shooting night (.361), they lost out on possessions by getting outrebounded, 49-37. CJ Carter paced the losing effort with 17 points and four assists. Tre'Shawn Thurman and Rylan Murry scored 10 points apiece, with Thurman also collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

Despite shooting just 40.5 percent from the field this season, Omaha puts up an outstanding 87.0 ppg thanks to draining 9.5 3-pointers per game and owning a +4.0 turnover margin. Carter pours in 19.5 ppg and has knocked down half his long-distance tries (6-of-12). Devin Patterson (13.0 ppg) is the only other play to score in double figures, but five others net at least 8.0 ppg. Jake White, a transfer from Wichita State who notched nine points and 11 rebounds in the opener, did not play the last game due to a foot injury.

The Golden Eagles put up a strong fight early in their contest with Ohio State, as they trailed by just five early in the second half, but they quickly lost control, falling behind by as many as 20 down the stretch. Although their field-goal shooting effort was solid (46 percent), they had no answer for Ohio State on the other end, allowing it to make a gaudy 65.3 percent of its tries from the floor. Steve Taylor Jr. paced the losing effort with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Matt Carlino was the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points.

Through two games, Marquette is scoring slightly more points (71.0 ppg) than it allows (68.5 ppg), although Ohio State's lights-out shooting performance leaves the team with a disappoint field-goal percentage defense (.557). Taylor, Jr. puts up a team-best 14.0 ppg, while Jajuan Johnson (12.5 ppg), Juan Anderson (11.0 ppg) and Carlino are all right on his tail.

Marquette had its hands full with Ohio State earlier in the week, but it'll get back on the winning track at home against an up-and-down Omaha squad.