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MILWAUKEE -- The Samford University basketball team will return to action from its Christmas break Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game road stretch against the Marquette Golden Eagles in a momentous non-conference contest to be held at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and will be aired live on Fox Sports Net.
 
Samford (5-8) enters Saturday's matchup with a full head of steam after cruising by Jacksonville on the road, 75-58, on Dec. 20. The Bulldogs' decisive win snapped their nine-game road losing streak and improved to 1-7 on the road in 2013-14.
 
Marquette (7-5) boasts a 5-1 home record this season, but recently lost at New Mexico on Dec. 21, 75-68. The Golden Eagles have faced a tough schedule in 2013-14 and have also suffered losses against No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 9 Ohio State, Arizona State and San Diego State.
 
Against Jacksonville on Dec. 20, Samford turned in its best defensive performance of the 2013-14 season at Veterans Memorial Arena.
 
The Bulldogs limited Jacksonville to a 38.3 percent shooting performance from the field and 58 total points. Samford's previous best defensive outing was 62 points allowed versus Martin Methodist in the season-opener on Nov. 8. The Bulldogs' win snapped a nine-game road losing streak dating back to Feb. 14, when the Bulldogs earned their first all-time win at Furman.
 
Samford sophomore forward Tim Williams scored a game-high 25 points and finished a near-perfect 12-of-13 from the field. The Bulldogs' talented 6-foot-8 native of Chicago, Ill., returned to form following a recent hip injury and played a game-high 35 minutes. Williams also pulled down three rebounds and added a trio of steals.
 
Tyler Hood was nearly as precise from the field against Jacksonville and finished 8-of-10 from the floor en route to a season-high 19 points. The Bulldogs' junior forward bested his previous season-high of 15 points, which he tallied at No. 23-ranked Indiana on Nov. 15. Hood also registered seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot versus Jacksonville.
 
Samford's defense immediately proved to be a factor on Dec. 20, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and took a convincing 33-17 advantage into the halftime locker room.
 
Samford closed out the first half with a key 6-0 run, which was capped off by Connor Miller's driving layup at the buzzer. Miller, the Bulldogs' hardnosed junior guard from Stanley, Wis., pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds and added five points, two assists and a steal.
 
The Bulldogs' Raijon Kelly, who picked up two quick fouls early in the first half, only scored four points in the opening period, but registered nine critical points in the final 20 minutes of action.
 
Samford will face Marquette on the hardwood for the first time in school history Saturday. Marquette, which became the first coed Catholic university in the world in 1909, joined the Big East in 2005 and boasts an enrollment of 12,000. The Bulldogs are 2-7 all-time versus current members of the Big East with wins over Butler and St. John's.
 
Marquette enters Saturday's game as the top-ranked team in the Big East in field-goal percentage defense. The Golden Eagles are only allowing opponents to shoot 38.2 percent from the field this season and are currently ranked No. 18 in the nation. Marquette is also ranked 27th in the country in both rebounding margin (+7.3) and scoring defense (62.7 points per game).
 
Samford head coach Bennie Seltzer will return to the BMO Harris Bradley Center for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign when he was an assistant coach at Marquette. Seltzer spent two seasons in Milwaukee under Tom Crean and then four years at Indiana on Crean's staff.
 
Seltzer was at Marquette for two campaigns (2006-08) and helped the team to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He also played a crucial role in developing several Golden Eagle players into all-conference performers. Marquette head coach Buzz Williams and Seltzer were both assistants under Crean in 2007-08.
 
Samford has again squared off against some of the toughest teams in the nation this season, three of which advanced to the Sweet 16 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. On Nov. 15, Samford traveled to Bloomington, Ind., and dropped a 105-59 decision against the 23rd-ranked Indiana Hoosiers.
 
Last season, Indiana advanced to the Sweet 16 in the East Region where it lost to Syracuse, 61-50.
 
On Dec. 14, Samford began a challenging three-game road stretch at Florida Gulf Coast University and dropped an 83-51 decision to the Eagles. Last season, FGCU proved to be the darling of the NCAA Tournament by advancing all the way to the Sweet 16 where the Eagles were eventually knocked out by No. 3-seed Florida in the South Region.
 
Marquette advanced to the Elite 8 in last year's NCAA Tournament. After defeating Miami, 71-61, in the East Regional opener, the Golden Eagles were subdued by Syracuse's match-up zone, 55-39. Samford will face Marquette on Saturday in Milwaukee.
 
The Bulldogs' Tim Williams is ranked No. 33 in the nation in field-goal percentage. Williams, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 sophomore from Chicago, Ill., is shooting a stellar 58.4 percent from the field this season and is ranked first in the Southern Conference in the category.
 
Additionally, Williams, who was named the 2013 SoCon Freshman of the Year, heads into Saturday's game ranked No. 73 in the country in total field goals made (73), No. 156 in total points (194) and No. 187 in total rebounds (81).
 
As a senior at Lake Wales High School in Florida, Samford's Russell Wilson was named Florida's 5A Player of the Year and led LWHS to the 5A state championship title. He averaged 13 points, six rebounds, seven assists and 3.5 steals per game at Lake Wales High School and helped guide his squad to a 30-4 overall record and a No. 2 ranking in Florida.
 
Throughout the state tournament, Wilson was dubbed "The Sheriff" because he consistently locked up the opponent's top offensive player.
 
Samford fans have noticed a much faster paced offense this season. With plenty of depth and a roster chalk-full of talented guards, the Bulldogs will look to get up and down the court in 2013-14 and create easy buckets in transition. Last season, with only seven or eight players in its rotation, Samford was forced to use the shot clock and walk the ball up the floor on its offensive possessions.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 670-consecutive games.
 
The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 871-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (865) and Kentucky (862) are the only other two schools that have made at least one
3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
Following Saturday's road game at Marquette, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Monday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a key two-game homestand against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose in their final non-conference contest of the regular season to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.

Live Stats
Game Notes
SoCon Release