Reinhardt starts hot
If Katin Reinhardt didn’t play a second in the second half, the game already would have been one of his most dominate performances of the year. He shot 5 for 6 from 3-point range, surpassing his previous season high for makes in a game (four). All his makes were smart shots as well, with his only miss coming when he kicked his legs out to try and draw a foul. His 15 points was one point lower than his season high 16, which he scored against IUPUI and Wisconsin.
He had a quiet second half shooting, only making a layup to set a new season high. Instead, his impact came on the defensive side of the ball, snagging three steals – a season high – in the second half alone.
Reinhardt’s injury
At postgame, Reinhardt said the Achilles injury that kept him out of the St. Francis and SIUE games was something that’s bothered him since the preseason scrimmage against Dayton. He said it affected his ability to get lift on his jumper. He tweaked the injury during warmups against Fresno State, played the Wisconsin game four days later and then sat out the Golden Eagles’ final two buy games.
Forgettable night for some
Two of Marquette’s most reliable players the past two years, Jajuan Johnson and Haanif Cheatham, had nights to forget in New Jersey. Johnson looked discombobulated a majority of the game, shooting 4 for 13 with five turnovers. One of his giveaways came in crunch time, with the Golden Eagles down one with 10 seconds remaining. He attempted to drive the center of the lane, but had it stripped by Ismael Sanogo. That came after he already was in hot after failing to grab a rebound after Khadeen Carrington missed the second half of a 1-and-1 with Marquette up two.
Cheatham failed to score a basket for only the second time in his Marquette career, shooting 0 for 5. He missed an opportunity late as well, missing a contested layup off a turnover with 1:16 remaining.
Nothing free
As our reporter Andrew Goldstein pointed out in his pregame notes, Seton Hall is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country, making only 61.5 percent of its attempts coming into the game. On the other hand, Marquette has made 81.4 percent of its shots from the charity stripe, good for second in the country.
However, there wasn’t much of an opportunity for the Golden Eagles to take advantage of this discrepancy. Neither team shot free throws in the first half, and Marquette’s 5 for 6 shooting on three trips to the line in the second weren’t enough to make Seton Hall pay for shooting 7 for 11.
Short bench
Duane Wilson, who left the Georgetown game early due to a groin injury, was held out of tonight’s game. Due to the injury, Wojciechowski had only eight players available.
Streak continues
Although Marquette has won 15 of 21 all-time meetings against Seton Hall, the Pirates have won in three straight match-ups.
Best stat line
Katin Reinhardt: 17 points, 5 for 8 from 3-point range, four rebounds and three assists.
Stat of the night: Seton Hall ended the game on a 7-2 run.
Up Next: Marquette heads to Philadelphia on Saturday to face the defending national champion: the Villanova Wildcats. Villanova is still undefeated this season, defeating No. 10 Creighton earlier this week for the Wildcats first BIG EAST win of the season.
