Marquette forced a season-high 25 turnovers to get its first BIG EAST win of the season, defeating Georgetown 74-65 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center Saturday afternoon.
While Andrew Rowsey continued his senior season tear, putting up 35 points, he was not the only effective Golden Eagle in the win. Here’s what stood out in Marquette’s 10th win of the season:
TURNOVERS GALORE LEAD TO TRANSITION POINTS
The Golden Eagles forced 25 turnovers Saturday, a season high, including 14 first-half turnovers that led to 14 points. Redshirt sophomore forward Sacar Anim attributed the stops to preparation by the coaching staff.
“We just wanted to defend (Georgetown) as best we could,” Anim said. “Coach (Chris) Carawell helped put a great plan together on how to defend those guys and they’re a great team. We just tried to defend them, stay in front of them and cause hecticness in the backcourt.”
“The defensive plan was to not let their big guys get into the paint as much,” Anim continued. “Our big guys did a great job of defending them and everyone around them, too. When we trapped them, I thought they couldn’t do much on offense, and that’s what caused a lot of the turnovers; we read the post.”
The second half was the same story for the Hoyas, as Marquette forced nine more turnovers leading to another six points. The Golden Eagles could have put away the game numerous instances, but they shot just 38 percent from the floor.
Rowsey and Sam Hauser each had a team-high three steals, Markus Howard and Anim had two and Jamal Cain had one, adding up to Marquette’s 11 steals for the game. Additionally, Marquette had a 13-5 fastbreak advantage.
OFF-SHOOTING AFTERNOON STILL LEADS TO VICTORY
Saurday’s game was certainly not Marquette’s prettiest shooting performance, as they shot just 38.6 percent from the floor, its lowest percentage in a win this year. Its previous low was against Northern Illinois, in which Marquette shot 42 percent against the Huskies.
The Golden Eagles’ 3-point shooting staved off head coach Patrick Ewing’s squad. The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from distance, going 13-for-26. Howard chipped in 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Despite a relatively rough performance, Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski was pleased how his team responded. “It’s hard to score against (Georgetown),” Wojo said. “The one thing that I was proud of is that we were able to win a game where we shot 38 percent.”
TOUGH WEEK AHEAD ON THE ROAD
The Golden Eagles will make a trek out east this week, squaring off against Providence on Wednesday and No. 1 Villanova on Saturday. Villanova lost to unranked Butler Saturday afternoon.
“You take each game as its own individual entity,” Wojo said. “You have to be able in this league to go on the road and be tough and together, and execute under pressure in a hostile environment … I think it’s a great opportunity.”
“Providence is a great atmosphere,” Anim said. “I love being up there, and every time I’ve been there, it’s a great game and is usually almost sold out. Those guys compete and they play really hard. That will be a really tough game for us. We’ve gotta come in and follow the defensive plan and do what we do.”
STAT OF THE NIGHT
Marquette forced 25 turnovers and had 11 steals.
UP NEXT
Marquette will travel to Providence to square off against the Friars Wednesday night.
