GAME NOTES: The 2015 Big East Tournament will begin on Wednesday as the ninth- seeded Marquette Golden Eagles take on the No. 8 Seton Hall Pirates at Madison Square Garden.

Coach Steve Wojciechowski's inaugural season at the helm of Marquette's program began with some success, as the Golden Eagles won eight of their first 12 games to start the campaign. However, Marquette struggled tremendously once it entered the league portion of its schedule. The Golden Eagles went on a pair of six-game losing streaks during Big East play, the second of which they ended with a 58-48 victory over DePaul to close out their regular season slate. Marquette ranks 43rd nationally in assists per game (14.8), but its offensive production of 65.2 ppg is the lowest in the conference.

Since joining the Big East prior to the 2005-06 season, Marquette is the only program in the league to reach at least the quarterfinals of the tourney every season. The Golden Eagles have lost four consecutive Big East Tournament games, but own a 14-3 all-time series lead over Seton Hall. These teams split their two meetings during the regular season, with the away team coming out on top in each encounter.

The Pirates, who appears in the top 25 earlier this season, enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak and with only one win over their last nine outings. Coach Kevin Willard's team dropped a 73-67 decision at Georgetown in its regular season finale to drop to a 6-12 Big East ledger. The Pirates are ranked eighth in the Big East in both scoring offense (68.8 ppg) and scoring defense (67.6 ppg).

BYU graduate transfer Matt Carlino spearheaded the charge for Marquette in his final collegiate campaign with 14.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per tilt. The Golden Eagles also received solid contributions from a pair of underclassmen in freshman guard Duane Wilson and sophomore big man Luke Fischer. Wilson netted 12.1 ppg on 38.9 percent efficiency from the floor en route to a spot on the Big East All-Rookie Team, while Carlino earned All- Conference Second Team accolades. Junior forward Steve Taylor, Jr. could also play a big role in the playoffs for Marquette, as he comes into the matchup with Seton Hall after pulling down 29 total rebounds over the Golden Eagles' final two games. Fischer posted 13.5 ppg on 60 percent shooting from the floor over his last six games.

The Pirates are paced by junior guard Sterling Gibbs, who has scored in double-figures in 10 consecutive games heading into the tourney. Gibbs is the third-leading scorer in the Big East at 16.7 ppg, while freshman forward Angel Delgado is leading the conference on the boards with 9.9 rpg. In addition to senior center Brandon Mobley, Willard will look to rookie guard Isaiah Whitehead to take some pressure off of Gibbs. Whitehead struggled from 3-point range over his last four games, connecting on only 5-of-24 tries from beyond the arc during that span.

Seton Hall is one of the two teams to defeat the Big East champion Villanova Wildcats this season. However, the Pirates' free fall to the bottom of the Big East standings shows they are also capable of losing to anyone. This matchup could go either way, but the victor will struggle against the Wildcats in the next round.