Although Marquette led 67-64 with 18 seconds remaining, Providence edged MU 81-80 at Fiserv Forum. This is the first time this season the Golden Eagles have been defeated at home. Here is a quick breakdown of the loss:
Game MVP
After only making one 3-pointer in the first half, sophomore Brendan Bailey came out hot in the second half, scoring eight points in the first seven minutes.
“I thought Brendan played a terrific basketball game,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “That was one of the better games he’s had in his college career. I was very proud of Brendan.”
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.4 points heading into this game. He finished the night with 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds. This is the fourth time this season he has reached double-digits in scoring.
Providence head coach Ed Cooley said Bailey “came of age.”
Ten of his 19 points were in the second half, draining a 3-pointer to tie the game at 78. Bailey totaled four 3-pointers which ties the second-most he’s had in a single game this season.
“We’re not position to win the game without how well he played,” Wojciechowski said.
Bailey went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. His one miss came with four seconds remaining in overtime. The game could have potentially been extended to double overtime if Bailey would have made the shot.
Key stats
- At the under-eight timeout in the first half, Providence had 10 points on the fast break.
- It was an extremely sloppy game early, as there was a combined 12 turnovers and 10 steals in the first half.
- By the 6:47 mark in the first half, Providence already had seven fouls. Marquette received at least one free throw for every Friars personal foul the rest of the half.
- The Golden Eagles struggled from the charity stripe, going 15-for-23.
- Providence’s bench accounted for 42 of their 81 points. Marquette’s bench contributed just eight points.
Notes
- The Golden Eagles lead the Friars with a 19-10 record in the all-time series. MU has an 11-3 record against PC at home.
- Markus Howard became Marquette’s all-time leader for most career made field goals with his 727th career field goal coming off a 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining in the first half.
- Howard reached the 30-point mark for the 23rd time in his career and sixth this season.
- Howard is now 16th on the BIG EAST career scoring list in conference play after scoring 39 points Tuesday night. He has 1,156 points, moving past Jamel Thomas, Chris Smith, Eric Murdock, Danya Abrams and Zendon Hamilton.
- MU shot 33% from the field in the first, which is the second-lowest this season. The lowest came when Marquette shot 30% in the first half against Purdue Nov. 13.
Injuries
Despite still wearing a knee brace, graduate transfer Jayce Johnson recorded nine rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
“Right now, my knee’s feeling a lot better,” Johnson said. “It’s about 90% right now, but it’s getting better every day.”
Johnson’s two free throws down the stretch with 1:35 remaining in overtime tied the game at 75.
“Jayce has been banged up and hurt,” Wojciechowski said. “Jayce really battled. Those two free throws he hit were huge.”
Next up
Marquette (11-4, 1-2 BIG EAST) travels to South Orange, New Jersey Jan. 11 to face the Seton Hall Pirates. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This story was written by Zoe Comerford. She can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @zoe_comerford.
