NEW YORK – The Marquette men’s basketball team will get another chance to hoist a Big East trophy.
Behind strong defense down the stretch in the second-half, the sixth-ranked Golden Eagles surpassed the 11th-ranked UConn Huskies 70-68 Friday night in the Big East Tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
Here’s a look into the game:
Game MVP:
Sophomore forward David Joplin was an X factor off the bench for the Golden Eagles hitting four of his five attempts from beyond the arc. He finished with 17 points in 18 minutes of action.
“When we’re dealing with foul trouble, I knew I had to come in fight for positioning down there and be smart,” Joplin said. “On the offensive end, if they want to post me up down there, I have to manage the offensive end. They’ve got to come out and guard me. I took advantage of it.”
Key Stats:
- Junior guard Tyler Kolek put up 17 points for the Golden Eagles. He has averaged 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists in both Big East Tournament games.
- The Golden Eagles defense held the Huskies to 14.3% shooting from beyond the arc in the second half after letting UConn hit 45.5% of its shots from beyond distance in the opening half.
- UConn missed its last five shots of the game from the field.
- Huskies junior forward Adama Sanogo earned his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds, which marked his first since Feb. 11.
- UConn won the rebounding battle 37-27.
Notes:
- This was the Golden Eagles’ first meeting with the Huskies during the Big East Tournament and 16th meeting overall.
- Marquette improves to 1-3 in four Big East Tournament semifinal appearances.
- The Big East is the only conference in the nation this season with four Associated Press Top 25 teams playing in its tournament semifinals.
- With the Golden Eagles advancing to tomorrow’s conference title game, it’s a guaranteed that there will be a first-time Big East Tournament champion crowned.
Quote of the Day:
In Thursday’s quarterfinals win over St. John’s, Marquette struggled on the glass.
Sophomore guard Kam Jones, who led Marquette with six rebounds, spoke on his mindset heading into tonight in hopes of improving that.
“We knew we didn’t have a choice this game,” Jones said. “We knew our bench was going to be down there fighting, so it’s up to our guards to go down there and help them. They’re down there fighting big Clingan and big Sanogo, so it’s our job to go down there and assist them.”
Next Up:
Marquette (27-6, 17-3 Big East) will take on either Creighton or Xavier tomorrow night at The Garden. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. CST on FOX.
This article was written by Benjamin Hanson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @benhansonMU.
