Another big night for Hauser
Sam Hauser has been a revelation for Marquette this season, earning a starting job just a few weeks into his freshman season and he continued to show why on Tuesday night against Fresno State. The sharpshooter hit a pivotal 3-point shot with under five minutes to go after the Bulldogs had cut the Marquette lead to five points. He finished with a career-high 19 points on 5 of 7 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range to go with five rebounds.
Second half woes
Marquette held a 19-point lead at half time – a sure sign of a blowout victory. However, with 24 seconds to play the lead was just two points. The Golden Eagles were outscored 53-37 over the final 20 minutes, much to the chagrin of head coach Steve Wojciechowski. “Their starting centers shot 15 for 20 from the field for 31 points and that’s not something they’ve done,” head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “They also have not been a good shooting team and they shot the lights out, so you’ve got to give them credit. We played a hand in that. I thought we did some pretty good things defensively in the first half, we had two breakdowns on the kid, Taylor, at the end of the first half and that’s kind of when I felt we let our foot off the gas pedal. That’s not very smart and I have to do a better job of conveying that.”
Reinhardt struggles
It wasn’t Katin Reinhardt’s night. It hasn’t really been his season. For the sixth time in eight appearances Reinhardt finished the night with sub 30 percent shooting. “Anytime you’re struggling from the field and you’re not shooting as well as history has shown or said you look at shot selection – very first thing,” Wojciechowski said. “Obviously that’s something we talk about. A lot.” His 1 for 7 performance, with a 1 for 4 mark from deep, was not particularly surprising. The graduate student turned in a pair of 1 for 8 clunkers in New York and is shooting just 29 percent from the floor this season and 26 percent from the 3-point line.
Carter banged up
Traci Carter did not play on Tuesday night due to “knee soreness” per Marquette Men’s Basketball’s Twitter account. The team’s only pass-first defensive minded point guard could be a crucial player in Saturday’s matchup with No. 17 Wisconsin.
Best stat line
Sam Hauser: 5 for 7 for 19 points, 4 for 6 from 3-point range, five rebounds, two assists, one steal
Stat of the night: Fresno State shot an impressive 63.3 percent from the floor in the second half including 60 percent from deep and 81.8 percent from the free throw line.
Up Next: The Golden Eagles square off with No. 17 Wisconsin in their toughest test of the nonconference slate Saturday at 1 p.m.
