No. 16 Marquette men’s basketball (20-6, 11-4 Big East) came back from a week off. Seven days rested, relaxed and recharged.
And it was rewarding, as the Golden Eagles claimed another home victory 80-56 over Seton Hall (7-19, 2-13 Big East) Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.
“The time in between games was about us continuing to get connected with what we want out of the season, and then what’s going to be required to go get what we want,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “Part of being a mature, secure competitor at this level is being able to look hard things in the eye and still go after them.”
To get the ball rolling, the possession fell into the hands of the Pirates. After slightly four minutes of ping-pong baskets made from each end, Marquette would not gain a lead until senior guard Kam Jones’ layup was netted at the 15:42 mark.
From that point on, the Golden Eagles would not let the lead slip away.
“We try to control the controllable,” sophomore guard Tre Norman said. “Whether we make or miss a shot, as long as we trust in our process, we’ll live. We’re not a team who wants to live and die by making shots.”
But the shots were falling from all angles, from almost all players who saw the court.
Norman tied his career-high of nine points, while also hitting a career-best five free throws.
At the end of the half, Marquette had shown its shots from deep could connect. Averaging shooting 32 percent this season and after coming off shooting a season-low of 16 percent in their win against DePaul, the Golden Eagles shot 42.9 percent in the first half, and finished off the night shooting 40.7 percent – the best they’ve shot since their game earlier this season against Stonehill (47.6 percent).
Leading the pack from beyond the arc was Jones with the most attempts, finishing 2-for-7, however most efficient was first-year forward Damarius Owens who went 2-for-2.
“Regardless, make or miss, I mean, it’s that confidence that’s always going to be there, so I was just letting them fly,” Owens said. “My teammates trusted me, so they’ll tell me to shoot.”
Other notables were junior guard Chase Ross who had a career-high five assists, and junior forward Ben Gold, who finished with 10 points. The last time Gold finished in double digits was when Marquette last faced the Pirates in Jan.
Heading to the bench right after trying to poke away a steal, senior guard Stevie Mitchell checked out of the game with what looked like a wrist injury.
Mitchell, who had yet to make a basket but had two steals, would not check back in until the start of the second half — where he would nail a field goal with 10:42 remaining in the game.
With 1:20 on the clock, Smart decided to empty the bench for the first time since Marquette faced Western Carolina in Nov. In this short time, senior guard Jack Anderson netted his first points in Division I basketball.
“That’s my guy, I mean I was ecstatic,” Owens said. “I’m pretty sure if you watch it back, you saw me doing tuck jumps. He’s my brother, so it just makes me very happy.”
Up next
The Golden Eagles will head out east to Philadelphia on Friday, where they look to take on the Villanova Wildcats. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.
“Tonight was a step for us,” Smart said. “Obviously, the competition goes up for us on Friday.”
This article was written by Raquel Ruiz. She can be reached at raquel.ruiz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @RaquelRuizMU.