Marquette aims to douse upset bid by 15-seed Vermont

Two of the hottest teams in the country meet when sixth-ranked Marquette plays Vermont in a first-round East Region matchup Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Marquette (28-6) is the No. 2 seed in East, its highest in program history. The Golden Eagles have won nine straight and are coming off their firstBig East tournament championship.

Vermont (23-10) enters the first-round game as the 15th seed in the East after capturing the