Piscataway, NJ (Sports Network) - The Rutgers Scarlet Knights encounter their fourth consecutive Top-25 opponent tonight, as they host the 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles in Big East play at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

It has been a brutal stretch for the Knights, who have played their last three games against some of the top teams in the nation. After dropping a 97-75 decision at North Carolina, Rutgers opened up Big East play with a tough 78-72 loss to Pittsburgh before being blown out by Connecticut, 80-49 on Saturday. Both Pitt and North Carolina have held the No. 1 ranking at some point this season, while UConn was ranked as high as No. 2. Rutgers, at 9-6, will not only be facing another ranked opponent tonight, but one on Saturday as well, as it hosts No. 11 Syracuse.

As for Marquette, it returned to the national rankings this week following a brief absence. The Eagles surely impressive voters on Sunday, when they trounced Cincinnati by an 84-50 score. The 34-point victory marked the team's largest in league play since beating South Florida by 35 points (71-36) during the 1996-97 campaign. Winners of five straight, Marquette is now 13-2 overall, including 2-0 in the Big East. The Eagles lead the all-time series with Rutgers 2-1, following a 78-48 victory in last season's meeting.

The Eagles shot a sizzling 54.0 percent from the floor and used a 25-4 run in the second half to blow past Cincinnati on Sunday. The team also did an outstanding job from beyond the arc, connecting on 15-of-25 attempts. Jerel McNeal made all seven of his three-point attempts and he finished with 26 points and six assists to lead Marquette. Wesley Matthews turned in 17 points and six boards, while Lazar Hayward had 16 points. On the season, Matthews tops the roster in scoring at 19.1 ppg and he is grabbing 5.5 rpg and shooting 41.9 percent from long distance. McNeal, a 47.4 percent three-point shooter, checks in with 18.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg, while Hayward contributes 17.0 ppg and a team-high 8.7 rpg. Dominic James chips in with 11.2 ppg and he has been in charge of running the show, dishing out a club-best 5.0 apg. The Eagles as a team, have done a good job of spreading out the ball, distributing 16.6 apg, and that has helped them to average a healthy 81.5 ppg.

The Knights turned the ball over 15 times and shot an awful 28.8 percent from the floor, as they were blasted by UConn on Saturday. The team didn't have any luck from long distance either, making just 2-of-11 attempts. Gregory Echenique paced Rutgers in defeat with 17 points, while Mike Rosario chipped in with 10. Rosario currently leads the Knights and ranks third nationally in scoring among freshman with a 17.3 ppg average. He is a terrific free-throw shooter (.885) and the only player on the roster averaging in double figure at the moment. Overall, the Knights are turning in 66.1 ppg and making 43.1 percent of their field goals.