No. 8 Marquette men’s basketball defeated No. 12 Texas — head coach Shaka Smart’s former team — 86-65 Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum, extending its winning streak at home to 15 games.
Here is what you need to know about the win:
- Senior guard Tyler Kolek led Marquette with 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists, scoring 16 points in the first half. He was one point shy of matching his career-high in points and rebounds.
- In the opening half, the Golden Eagles grabbed 23 rebounds, which is as many as it had in last Saturday’s loss to the Badgers.
- Oral Roberts transfer and graduate guard Max Abmas finished with 17 points in the first half, which was more than half of Texas’ 28 points.
- The Golden Eagles won the rebounding battle, grabbing 37 rebounds compared to the Longhorns’ 30.
- Marquette shot 46.7% from beyond the arc and Kolek hit five of its 14 total 3-pointers.
Runs, runs and more runs
The Golden Eagles’ offense got out to a shaky start in the opening half, as the game was tied 20-20 at the 9:37 minute mark.
But then its offense stepped on the gas pedal, going on an 11-0 run with contributions from junior guard Stevie Mitchell (2), junior forward David Joplin (3) and junior guard Kam Jones (6). This put Marquette ahead 29-20 after holding Texas scoreless for over four minutes.
Later in the half, Marquette went on a 13-0 run in which Kolek hit three 3-pointers, which put the Golden Eagles in front 42-28 heading into the locker room.
This offensive dominance continued into the second half when another 10-0 run began, featuring four different Golden Eagles and giving Marquette a 26-point lead at the 14:25 mark.
Three different Marquette players scored in double digits, while Abmas and sophomore guard Chendall Weaver — who finished with 25 and 10 respectively — were the Longhorns’ lone scorers in double figures.
This story was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @KaylynnWrightMU.
