Marquette to allow 1,800 fans to season finale vs. Xavier

Marquette will allow up to 1,800 to attend its men’s basketball regular-season finale on March 6 against Xavier.

This will be the first time this season that Marquette has played a home game in front of that many spectators. The Golden Eagles had no spectators for most of their home games. They allowed family members of players to attend a 71-68 loss to Creighton on Feb. 6.

Those 1,800 fans represent about 10% of the capacity at Fiserv Forum, which also serves as the home arena for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks just started allowing fans to fill 10% of the arena’s seating capacity to home contests on Sunday after experimenting with smaller crowds earlier in their current eight-game home stretch.

Marquette said tickets for the Xavier game won’t go on sale to the general public.

Most of the tickets will be offered to students. Athletic officials also will be communicating with other groups in their ticket distribution plan, including family members of players and staffers, athletic department personnel and donors. Seating will be arranged to ensure social distancing. Fans must wear masks and can’t bring bags into the arena.

The Xavier game represents Marquette’s first home contest since that Feb. 6 loss to Creighton. The Golden Eagles (11-12) currently are in a stretch of six consecutive road games.