Coming off three consecutive losses, Marquette traveled to Hinkle Fieldhouse and cruised to a much-needed 73-57 victory at Butler Wednesday night.
The last team Marquette beat before their losing streak was Butler Feb. 2, when the Golden Eagles survived a Bulldog comeback towards the end and came away with a win at Fiserv Forum. Wednesday night they made things much easier for themselves on the road.
One of the big stories of this game came right at the start, when redshirt junior guard Greg Elliott entered the starting lineup for the first time this season. He started in place of the regular starter, senior forward Jamal Cain.
Elliott took advantage of his first start since December 2019, having one of the best games of his career. He scored a career-high 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting to lead the game in scoring. He also collected six rebounds.
“Greg has played the best out of the guys coming off the bench,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “I wanted to get some spark off our bench with Jamal.”
Elliott helped the Golden Eagles have one of their better offensive performances of the season, with him being one of four Marquette players to score in double figures.
“I knew that I needed to come out and be aggressive, look for my shot early,” Elliott said. “Getting the start boosted my confidence, but my teammates told me to be aggressive and gave me confidence as well.”
Cain finished with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double and also added three assists. Senior forward Theo John scored 15 points, going 7-for-8 from the free throw line, and adding six rebounds as well.
“I trust Jamal that he’s going to handle a situation like that,” Wojciechowski said. “He did handle it well, and he was rewarded for having a good attitude, and played a great game.”
Elliott said that him and Cain had a very positive interaction in terms of him being replaced in the starting lineup.
“Me and Jamal are like brothers,” Elliott said. “He took it very well, it didn’t really affect him at all. He gave us a spark off the bench.”
First-year forward Dawson Garcia had a bounce-back performance, scoring 12 points and collecting two rebounds after being held scoreless in their previous game against Seton Hall Feb. 14.
“Dawson’s a great player, there was no question in my mind that he would bounce back,” Wojciechowski said. “I thought he was aggressive, played with force, was more decisive. It was good to see.”
The Golden Eagles had a good night on both sides of the ball as their defense held guards Aaron Thompson and Jair Bolden to a combined eight points. Butler had two players score in double figures in junior forward Bryce Golden, who had 18, and first-year guard Chuck Harris, who had 21.
Outside of those two, the Bulldogs scored just 18 points. They were held to 33.9% from the field and 29.2% from 3-point range. They also only shot 66.7% from the free throw line.
Marquette on the other hand was efficient offensively, shooting 45.8% from the field, although they went just 27.8% from three. However, they shot 88.9% from the line on 24-for-27 shooting. They also won the rebound battle 41-28.
Marquette now looks forward to a rematch at UConn next Saturday following 10 days off. Wojciechowski said they could potentially look to fill in a game in between now and then.
This story was written by Matt Yeazel. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @MJYeazel.
