After coming back to beat Georgetown on the road, Marquette hosted the UConn Huskies for the first time since they rejoined the BIG EAST and came away with a 65-54 loss.
In what was a slow, defensive game in the beginning, it turned into one of extended scoring runs on both sides. Here is a breakdown of MU’s loss:
GAME MVP:
Senior forward Tyler Polley won this game for the Huskies in the second half.
With BIG EAST scoring leader James Bouknight in pain with an injury, Polley stepped up in the final 20 minutes and scored 23 points, the same amount of points the Golden Eagles scored as a team in the second half. With all 23 of his points coming in the second half, Polley finished the game shooting 8-for-12, while going 5-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. He also had four rebounds, one steal and one assist.
NOTES:
- Marquette put out a statement before the game stating they would wear black uniforms in support of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot multiple times by a Kenosha police officer. The entire team took a knee before the game as well after it was announced the officer involved would not be charged in the incident.
- Sophomore guard James Bouknight, who was the leading scorer in the BIG EAST entering the night at 23.2 points per game, left the game with an arm injury towards the end of the first half. He then returned at the start of the second half with a wrap around his left arm. He finished with just six points.
- Marquette opened the second half on a 10-0 run, capped off by back-to-back threes from Greg Elliott and Dawson Garcia.
- The Golden Eagles led by as much as 18 in the second half. They lost that lead quickly, as UConn erased the deficit and took the lead with 7:53 left to go in the game.
- 35 of Connecticut’s 65 points came from their bench. Marquette had just eight bench points.
- Marquette won the turnover battle 10-9, but scored just five points off of those turnovers. The Huskies scored 10 points off the turnovers they forced.
- UConn shot exactly 50% from the floor in the second half, while the Golden Eagles shot 30.8%. Each team had 10 3-point attempts in the half. The Huskies made seven and Marquette made just two.
- First-year forward Dawson Garcia was the only Golden Eagle in double-digits, as he finished with 20 points. He also finished with a double-double, posting 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT:
Marquette’s game that was scheduled for Friday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Villanova Wildcats program.
Barring a new BIG EAST opponent being scheduled for that day, MU’s next game will be Jan. 12, when they host Providence at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time. The game will be telecasted on FS1.
This story was written by Matt Yeazel. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @MJYeazel.
