If ever there was a trap game for a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, this was it.

No. 17 Marquette was facing lowly South Florida, who entered Tuesday night's game with a 10-11 record and one win in Big East play this season.

Sure, the game was played at the Bradley Center, where Marquette holds a 12-0 record this season, but the threat of a late night blizzard meant only a fraction of the 16,774 tickets purchased were actually in attendance.

The Bulls' lineup is built around 6-foot-9, 270-pound senior center Kentrell Gransberry, who averages 17 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. The last time the Golden Eagles faced a post player with similar measurements, Notre Dame's Luke Harangody ripped through their defense for 29 points and 14 rebounds.

Head coach Tom Crean alluded to what appeared to be a much more challenging match-up during his pre-game address to the fans on the JumboTron.

Still, on a night when the ice-cold wind outside translated into ice-cold shooting for both teams inside Bradley Center, the Golden Eagles were able to rally late to pull out a 62-54 win.

"It was a hard fought game," said South Florida head coach Stan Heath. "Until the four-minute mark, I thought we had a chance. I thought we had a chance to maybe steal something out of here."

Instead, it was Marquette that stole the win from a South Florida team that had forced a 42-42 tie with as little as five minutes left in the second half.

The Golden Eagles shot just 38.8 percent from the field on the night and made just 12-of-21 free throws in the second half.

Highlighting the offensive performance were junior Jerel McNeal, who spent most of the game in foul trouble and ended up with six points on 2-for-9 shooting, and Dominic James, who played just 19 minutes due to an inability to hit from the field (1-of-7) or the free throw line (1-of-6).

"If I looked at the box score coming into this game and it said that Dominic James would have three (points) and Jerel McNeal would have six, I'd say to myself 'Heck, we've got a shot,' " Heath said.

What South Florida hadn't counted on was the performance of sophomore forward Lazar Hayward and the late-game heroics of junior guard Wesley Matthews.

Even with Gransberry patrolling the lane, Hayward was able to score 23 points and grab eight rebounds. Gransberry finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, fouling out with 4:06 left.

"That's just a mentality I have, that the coaches have really instilled in me," Hayward said. "When I get the ball in the middle, not settling for that little jump shot, just trying to attack no matter who's down there."

Matthews added 16 points – including a 4-of-4 mark from behind the three-point arc – and had perhaps the biggest shots of the night: a three pointer to give Marquette a 45-42 lead with 4:52 left, another to push the Golden Eagles' lead to 49-43, and one more to ice the game away at 52-43.

"We had some guys really, really step up and make some big plays," Crean said. "The momentum had totally shifted to (South Florida) early in the game … (Matthews) did an excellent job. He makes those shots in practice, and it's carried over right into the game."