Sophomore guard Markus Howard has been diagnosed with a right hip contusion and is doubtful for Marquette’s contest against St. John’s Wednesday, per a tweet from the team account. His status is unknown for Saturday’s game against DePaul and Monday’s game against Georgetown at the time of publication.
The BIG EAST’s second-leading scorer was seen on campus Monday morning using crutches and not putting any weight on his right leg.
He suffered the injury Saturday night at Creighton late in the first half. As he went up for a layup, he took a hit mid-air from Bluejay forward Toby Hegner and fell hard on the floor. He could not get up without assistance. Team officials had to carry him to the locker room.
“Obviously he took an incredibly hard fall. He was in extraordinary pain,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said after the game. “We’re hopeful and praying for great news, the best news possible and a speedy recovery.”
Howard has been the lifeblood of Marquette’s offense this season, accounting for 33.6 percent of the team’s shots and 29.3 percent of the team’s possessions. He has led Marquette in scoring in 11 of 26 games and leads the team with 20.9 points per game.
If Howard has to miss significant time, it could affect Marquette’s postseason outlook. The Golden Eagles have four regular season games remaining and only have four road wins. Marquette (15-11, 6-8 BIG EAST) would likely need to win three of its next four games including its last two road games to be in NCAA Tournament contention.
