When Marquette and Creighton met on Valentine's Day last year, the teams were battling to stay out of the Big East cellar.
With notable roster turnover within both programs, it was a season of transition that ended with each team finishing 4-14 in the Big East and exiting the conference tournament in the quarterfinals.
Over the past year, both programs have built on their transitional stages. Each is coming off upset wins over a ranked opponent, with Creighton knocking off No. 5 Xavier, 70-56, in Omaha on Tuesday and Marquette outlasting No. 20 Providence, 96-91, in two overtimes Wednesday night.