Heading into the matchup, No. 9 Marquette men’s basketball had not lost on National Marquette Day since 2018.
That all changed Saturday when the No. 25 UConn Huskies (16-6, 8-3 Big East) came into Fiserv Forum and spoiled the day’s festivities, defeating the Golden Eagles (18-4, 9-2 Big East) 77-69.
“Hats off to UConn,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said after the defeat. “They played with great urgency, great precision… There’s a lot of stuff underneath on both ends of the floor where we need to be better.”
Here are three takeaways from Marquette’s second loss in conference play:
UConn can’t miss, won’t miss
The Huskies were lights out on offense the entire game.
To start the contest, they netted their first five shots to get out to a 14-4 lead, forcing head coach Shaka Smart to call an early timeout at the 16:24 mark. UConn continued to keep its foot on the gas pedal, going on a 12-4 run with contributions from four different scorers.
Meanwhile, Marquette’s offense couldn’t find its rhythm, especially from the charity stripe, as it missed 10 of its 20 attempts in the first 20 minutes.
“It’s not necessarily a mental block,” junior guard Chase Ross said. “It’s just the atmosphere with it being National Marquette Day. Just feeling the energy, it’s a little weird.
“This day is a little tricky, so just feeling the energy and the vibes around, you want to perform for the crowd. It’s just thinking about it a little too much.”
The Huskies led by as many as 22 points in the first half, finishing the frame shooting 56 percent from the field and with a 42-29 lead.
Although the Golden Eagles were able to get within six points in the second frame, it was not enough to fix the prior damage as it lost at home for just the second time this season. It didn’t help that the Huskies shot 64 percent in the final 20 minutes either.
“UConn deserves a ton of credit,” Smart said. “Jaylin Stewart, the way he shot the ball early, (and) Ball. But we have to make them miss. That’s our job.”
Despite forcing 25 turnovers, Marquette finished shooting 39 percent from the floor, while UConn shot 59 percent — its best offensive performance of the season.
Second-half comeback falls short
The Golden Eagles are used to having to fight back in the final 20 minutes. Heading into the matchup, they were 7-2 when trailing at half this year.
But their comeback was not enough Saturday.
Marquette kicked off the second half by going on a 15-2 run carried over from the first half to get within nine. Ross earned five of his 19 points in that run and finished shooting 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Finding a way! pic.twitter.com/I2mIgkHkqx
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) February 2, 2025
“Just being aggressive attacking,” Ross said about how he found success offensively. “Trying to find ways to help my team win. I feel like getting to the paint and shooting is a good way.”
Senior guard Kam Jones did everything he could to bring his team to the finish line, scoring 10 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.
But in the end, the Golden Eagles were not able to pull out the win on National Marquette Day after another slow start.
“I’m more concerned with the details underneath, the why,” Smart said. “We want to get off to a great start every game. Even in our nine wins in Big East play, I think we’ve been down at halftime in five or six of them. It’s not the recipe for being the best you can be.”

Solo Ball was Marquette’s momentum-killer
While Marquette was on a mission to salvage National Marquette day, UConn’s Solomon Ball was on a mission of his own.
Every time the momentum seemed to shift in the Golden Eagles’ favor, the sophomore guard would hit a 3-pointer to silence the rowdy Fiserv crowd.
Perhaps the most silencing shot of them all was late in the second half when Ball was left open in the corner, sinking a 3-pointer to put his team up 72-66.
SOLO BALL SOLO BALL SOLO BALL pic.twitter.com/yPm7ldWJVb
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 2, 2025
“We didn’t do a good enough job of making him miss,” Smart said. “It was different things on different plays… We did not as we say ‘Go home’ to Solo Ball. You don’t go home, he’s open out there and he’s going to make you pay.”
The Leesburg, Virginia native finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, marking his second consecutive game with a double-double. He also went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc.
This article was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @KaylynnWrightMU.