4:55 p.m. — Marquette, which once trailed by 15, has battled back against Missouri. The Golden Eagles cut their deficit to one at 64-63 and now trail 66-63 with 7:56 remaining.

They have done it will aggressive offense, going right to the basket against Missouri and getting some timely defensive stops.

This one should go right down to the wire.

4:03 p.m. — Marquette had not scored a field goal since the 12:22 mark in the first half when Jerel McNeal drained a long 3-pointer at the first half buzzer.

The shot cut the Missouri lead to 36-25 at the half.

The Tigers led by as many as 15 in the first half after trailing by six in the early going.

3:49 p.m. — Missouri’s defense is starting to take its toll. Marquette has not scored a field goal in more than eight minutes.

And the Tigers are getting out and running. Missouri has outscored Marquette 26-9 since the Golden Eagles’ last field goal.

All nine points have come at the free-throw line.

3:39 p.m. — Good game so far. Much better tempo than the Xavier-Wisconsin battle.

Missouri freshman Kim English has been the difference. He has 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Tigers, who lead 26-21.

3:23 p.m. — So far, Marquette is not having too much trouble with Missouri’s defense. The Golden Eagles lead 17-11 with 12:22 remaining in the first half. Marquette has scored on four straight possessions, including back-to-back 3-pointers and an easy transition lay-up.

Missouri’s biggest problem is shooting. The Tigers need to make baskets to set up its full court pressure — and they haven’t made enough yet.

Marquette point guard Dominic James looks OK in his first game since breaking a bone in his left foot on Feb. 25.

3:11 p.m. — With 17:08 left in the first half, Marquette guard Dominic James checked into the game. James broke a bone in his left foot on Feb. 25 and has not played since.

2:43 p.m. — Xavier clamped down on Wisconsin defensively in the second half, holding the Badgers to 22 points after intermission in a 60-49 victory at Taco Bell Arena.

The Musketeers, who are headed to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season, advance to Boston and a potential date with No. 1 seed Pittsburgh.

Xavier also found a bit more offensive rhythm. After shooting 34.8 percent in the first half, the Musketeers shot 43.5 percent in the second half.

Wisconsin shot a dismal 25 percent from the floor in the second half and finished 28.6 percent for the game. The Badgers were 16-of-56 from the field and 3-of-20 from 3-point range.

Starting guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon went a combined 5-of-28 from the field. Hughes salvaged his day with 11 points at the free-throw line, but it was not pretty for Wisconsin.

Xavier got some key contributions from its young bench players. Sophomore Jamel McLean and freshmen Kenny Frease and Terrell Holloway combined for 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks off the bench.

2:16 p.m. — Xavier leads 49-41 with 3:54 remaining after a big 3-pointer from B.J. Raymond. The Musketeers have found some offensive efficiency here in the second half.

1:57 p.m. — Just when it looked as if Wisconsin were going to take command of the game, Xavier has scored nine straight points to regain the lead. Wisconsin led 33-26 on a drive by Trevon Hughes.

The seven-point edge was the largest of the game for either team.

But Xavier has scored nine straight, including a 3-pointer by Dante Jackson that gave the Musketeers a 35-33 edge.

Wisconsin freshman Jordan Taylor just air balled a turnaround jumper as the shot clock expired.

Neither team is shooting 36 percent from the field.

1:48 p.m. — The difference in this game might be Wisconsin point guard Trevon Hughes, whose 3-point play at the end of overtime Friday gave the Badgers a victory against Florida State.

Xavier is finding it nearly impossible to stay in front of Hughes. Hughes is 8-of-9 from the free-throw line and 3-of-9 from the field, but he has twice in the second half gotten into the paint and scored.

Wisconsin leads 33-30 with 15:46 remaining in the second half.

Note: Hughes just took a bad 3-pointer and then fouled. Just as quickly he is seated on the bench.

The crowd has filled in nicely. Yes, there are open seats in nearly every section, but I’ve seen many more open seats in the other regionals around the country.

1:15 p.m. — Marcus Landry and Trevon Hughes have keyed a Wisconsin run in the final minutes of the first half.

Landry had two baskets in the paint and drew two charges in the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds of the first half. Hughes made a basket and six free throws in the final 4:24. His quickness was a problem for Xavier, which accumulated a bunch of fouls in the final minutes.

The Musketeers have 12 personal fouls, including three on junior Jason Love and two each on Derrick Brown, Terrell Holloway and Kenny Frease.

Wisconsin was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the first half.

Wisconsin leads 27-25 at halftime.

1:02 p.m. — A good sign for Wisconsin: Jon Leuer finally made a shot. Leuer went 0-for-7 against Florida State in the first round and the 6-foot-10 sophomore missed his first attempt against Xavier. But with 6:27 left in the first half, Leuer buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to pull Wisconsin within 16-14.

That has to be encouraging for the Badgers.

Xavier leads 18-17 with 3:339 remaining in the first half.

Does the first team to 50 points win?

12:51 p.m. — Xavier’s Derrick Brown just buried back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Musketeers a 16-11 lead with 7:53 remaining in the first half.

The first one was from the left corner and the second came from the right wing. Brown is a 6-foot-8 junior forward from Dayton.

Wisconsin is really struggling to score. The Badgers began the game 2-for-11 from the field and are now 4-of-17 from the field.

12:38 p.m. — Byron Larkin is doing color analysis on the Xavier radio broadcast. Larkin, who played for the Musketeers in the mid-1980s, is the school’s all-time leading scorer.

His brother, however, is more famous. Barry Larkin was an All-Star shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds — and a potential Hall of Famer. Barry Larkin played from 1986 to 2004 with the Reds and won the N.L. MVP in 1995.

12:31 p.m. — Not exactly an offensive shootout in the first game. Wisconsin leads Xavier 5-2 with 15:01 remaining in the first half.

Best thing I’ve seen so far: Xavier center Kenny Frease was fouled on the way to the basket, knocking the gum out of his mouth. Frease simply picked it up off the Taco Bell Arena floor and returned it to his mouth.

10:59 a.m. — This from the Associated Press: Marquette guard Dominic James will try to make an improbable comeback from a foot injury in the Golden Eagles’ NCAA tournament game against Missouri on Sunday.

The school announced Sunday morning that James was cleared to return to the court. Coach Buzz Williams says in a statement that he wasn’t sure how much James would be able to contribute.

James, a steady offensive leader and perhaps the team’s best defender, broke the a bone in his left foot on Feb. 25 in the opening minutes of Marquette’s loss to Connecticut.

He wasn’t expected to return, and the team struggled in his absence before beating Utah State in Friday’s first-round NCAA matchup.

From me: James averaged 11.4 points, 5.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game in 28 games this season. James has started 127 of 128 career games at Marquette.

Without James, the Golden Eagles lost five out of six games before defeating Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The five losses, however, came to Big East teams seeded No. 3 or better in the NCAA Tournament.

Marquette could use James against Missouri's pressure defense, but it will be interesting to see how well James plays after missing nearly a month.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here is the story from Milwaukee.