Marquette’s mental fortitude was questioned early in the year after two losses against Michigan and Pitt at the 2k Classic. The Golden Eagles quickly unraveled after Michigan’s hot start, and they weren’t able to fight back when Pitt put up a comeback effort in the third-place game. Marquette changed the script against Georgia.
Despite Georgia cutting a second-half 65-49 Marquette lead to a two-point deficit, the Golden Eagles used a final push to down the Bulldogs 89-79. Marquette’s resiliency was largely due to outstanding 3-point shooting. Leading the way was Sam Hauser, who scored 19 points and shot 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. As a team, Marquette shot 13 for 29 from long range.
Georgia is the Golden Eagles’ best win so far this season, as the Bulldogs were ranked No. 63 in KenPom coming into the game. With the season-opening win against Vanderbilt, Marquette now has two top-1oo victories under its belt. Wisconsin is the only team remaining on the non-conference schedule in the top 100.
The Golden Eagles were hot from the start, making eight of their first nine 3-point shots in the game. However, Marquette was only up 46-43 at halftime due to turnovers and poor pick-and-roll defense. Marquette turned the ball over nine times and both Luke Fischer and Hauser had three fouls.
Relying on the team shooting 80 percent from 3-point range was unsustainable, forcing Marquette to make serious halftime adjustments. Luckily for head coach Steve Wojciechowski, they worked. Fischer didn’t foul in the second half, and Hauser only picked up one. The turnover numbers shrunk to one, and Jajuan Johnson swung the possession game Marquette’s way with three steals.
The freshman class continues to impress, as Markus Howard and Hauser combined for 34 points. Howard scored 15, shooting 5 for 9 from the field. He also grabbed two rebounds and dished out an assist. In addition to his three steals, Johnson recorded a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Katin Reinhardt, who missed the Western Carolina game due to illness, scored 10 points on 3 of 8 shooting.
The Golden Eagles return to Milwaukee to play the Fresno State Bulldogs (5-2) Tuesday night.
