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New York — The only thing left for Marquette to do now is wait for an NIT bid.

The Golden Eagles were beaten Thursday night, 68-65, by Xavier in the Big East tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden, leaving them with a 17-15 record and lots of questions about a season gone sideways.

Freshman Deonte Burton reached his career high at 23 points with 7:15 left in the game, but he wasn't seen again for long stretches.

With the Golden Eagles trailing by five, Todd Mayo hit a three-pointer to make it a 65-63 game with 24.7 seconds remaining.

Xavier's Semaj Christon made one free throw in the one-and-one, leading Marquette to call time with 17.8 seconds left.

Mayo, who scored 21 points, missed a three-pointer and that was pretty much that.

"I wished it had been a cleaner look," said Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who added he didn't know if the NIT was a sure thing.

Why Burton and Mayo weren't used more this season is a question the low-scoring Golden Eagles will ponder as they prepare for their first non-NCAA Tournament experience in nine years.

"I sincerely hope we go to the NIT," Williams said. "I want to keep playing."

Williams said Burton's minutes were limited down the stretch because of his defense.

With Marquette down by three points with 1:14 left, Derrick Wilson drove the lane, went down hard and had to be helped off the floor with what appeared to be a hip injury. He later re-entered game.

Jamil Wilson went to the line for the substitute free throws and missed both.

Free-throw shooting was a problem the entire game for the Golden Eagles. For a team that makes its living in the paint, Marquette got to the line just 14 times and made eight. Consequently, the Golden Eagles lost despite shooting 57.8% from the field.

The Musketeers, who at 21-11 are probably in the NCAA Tournament, took leads of six and five points in the second half, the latter coming with 7:41 left on a dunk by Jalen Reynolds.

They were also up six with 4:30 left. The Golden Eagles scored seven of the next nine, including a three-pointer from Mayo, to get within one.

Jake Thomas, who scored 35 combined points in the season split, scored just three points. Davante Gardner was held to nine and Jamil Wilson had seven.

"We mixed up our defense between zone and man," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "We never gave up Burton down to the rim or Thomas on the three."

Burton received the start and immediately produced. With the same driving layup to the left side of the basket, Burton scored Marquette's first six points. He was taking the ball to the basket in such forceful way that he was going to score or Xavier was going to foul him.

He scored 11 of the Golden Eagles' first 23, with Davante Gardner also creating damage inside.

Before the game, Mack announced that his big center, Matt Stainbrook, would not play because of a knee injury. But Stainbrook must have healed quickly because he came in off the bench relatively early in the first half.

Stainbrook, however, did move well enough to stop Gardner from driving the lane. But with Burton and Gardner on the floor at the same time, the Musketeers had a difficult time stopping both.

"I just had it in my mind for the last 10 days he wasn't playing," Mack said. "I wasn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.

"We played one of the most physical teams in the conference and we're impressed with how hard they play. But our guys played really tough."

As a result, Marquette controlled most of the first half.