The same turnover issues that plagued Marquette in back-to-back losses to Villanova and Creighton resurfaced Wednesday night against Seton Hall.
And for the third consecutive game, Marquette had no answers for its turnover woes, losing 73-64 to Seton Hall.
It seemed like junior forward Sam Hauser’s hot shooting was going to bail out the Golden Eagles. MU had a 13-point lead late in the second half. However, the Pirates finished the game on an 18-0 run and hit their last five shots.
Meanwhile, Marquette missed its last 10 shots and 13 of its last 14 shots. MU’s last points came at the 4:40 mark.
Marquette had 18 turnovers, including one on each of its first four possessions. The Golden Eagles finished with more turnovers in the first half than field goals.
Hauser kept Marquette in the game, shooting 5 for 12 from beyond the arc. He finished the game with 25 points and nine rebounds on 9-for-19 shooting.
No other Golden Eagle had more than eight points. Junior guard Markus Howard only scored six points on 2-for-11 shooting. He had five assists, but also committed five turnovers.
Like the rest of the team, Hauser struggled mightily holding onto the ball. He had turnovers on MU’s first three possessions and finished the game with five turnovers.
The Golden Eagles relied heavily on their defense to bail out their turnover problems. They held the Pirates to 43-percent shooting from the field and 20-percent shooting from the perimeter.
Seton Hall star Myles Powell proved to be too much for Marquette’s defense. He led the Pirates with 32 points on 11-for-25 shooting.
Freshman forward Brendan Bailey had his second-best performance in a Marquette uniform, scoring eight points, on 3-for-3 shooting. He missed much of the second half with foul trouble.
Marquette (24-6, 13-4 BIG EAST) could secure a share of the BIG EAST regular season title with a win Saturday against Georgetown.
