10th-ranked Marquette moves into first place in Big East basketball standings with road victory at Georgetown
WASHINGTON – The Marquette men’s basketball team knew what was at stake against Georgetown on Saturday.
The 10th-ranked Golden Eagles arrived in the nation’s capital late in the afternoon the day before and immediately headed to the cavernous Capital One Arena to shoot around. After that, they went to the hotel and, during a team meal, they watched the end of Friday night’s Xavier-Butler game.
After Xavier lost in a wild finish, the Golden Eagles could tell from the Big East standings on the screen that they would be alone in first place if they took care of business against the Hoyas.
MU didn’t have any such problem, rolling to an 89-75 victory in front of a crowd of 7,111 fans that was composed mostly of Golden Eagles fans.
BOX SCORE:Marquette 89, Georgetown 75
“I was a little concerned just with (Friday’s game) being on,” Smart said. “Like, hey guys, we don’t want to focus too much on Xavier, our next opponent after this game. We should be focused on Georgetown.
“But at the same time, I thought that game was a very good example of you get to February in the Big East and you go on the road as quote-unquote one of the top teams that quote-unquote should win, and it’s not guaranteed to you. I mean, you’ve got to do everything that goes into it over the course of 40 minutes.”
The @WBsilverlining highlights of No. 10 Marquette at Georgetown on February 11, 2023.#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/SIRCRFXNFY
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) February 11, 2023
Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek help Marquette’s offense get back to efficient attack
The Golden Eagles' offense had gotten out of sorts over its last three games, including a loss at Connecticut on Tuesday.
But MU (20-6, 12-3 Big East) got back in gear with five players scoring in double figures against the Hoyas (6-20, 1-14).
“We’re not the best one-on-one team” MU guard Kam Jones said. “We play a lot better when we’re moving the ball. Get everyone involved. Lots of passes. Lots of actions. Lots of possessions.”
The ball was certainly popping for MU, with Tyler Kolek (14 points and eight assists) and Oso Ighodaro (14 points, seven rebounds, five assists) spearheading an attack that led to 24 assists on 35 field goals.
“I thought Oso, you could just see from the start he was in a better place than he’s maybe been the last couple of games,” Smart said. “That’s such a key for us because we play through him so many times.
“If you went and counted the possessions in the game where he’s involved in the action, it’s almost every time when he’s on the floor. Him being in a good place and being aggressive was big. We were able get in the paint a lot and then create the type of shots we wanted to get.”
In two games against Georgetown this season, Kolek has put up 23 assists against one turnover.
“They’re a very good team,” Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing said. “Kolek, I think he’s the head of the snake. He does everything. He makes all the right plays that need to be made on offense. He drives. He facilitates.”
Kam Jones leads hot three-point shooting for Golden Eagles
Jones also finished with 14 points, making 4 of 9 on three-pointers.
“When I missed my first two, (Smart) told me to keep shooting,” Jones said. “I’m, like, you know I’m going to do that.
“So, yeah, I just made a few. I was able to get open. Tyler, all my teammates found me in good spots and I was able to make a few.”
Kam Jones with the 3⃣ ball! #MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/6KHf7zqxS4
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) February 11, 2023
The Golden Eagles had their best performance from long distance this season, finishing 15 for 31 (48.1%).
Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Chase Ross, Sean Jones and David Joplin each hit multiple three-pointers.
“The fact that we had eight different guys make a three, it says something about our offensive versatility,” Smart said. “Also the way that they share the ball with each other.”
Kam Jones sank a three-pointer on MU’s first possession of the second half for a 48-33 lead. The Golden Eagles delivered the knockout blow with an 8-0 run that included a three-pointer and three-point play from Kolek and a thunderous follow-up slam dunk from Prosper for a 78-53 advantage with just over eight minutes left.
Marquette has key Big East games upcoming against Xavier and Creighton
The Golden Eagles might be alone in first place, but they have several teams in close pursuit.
MU is a half-game ahead of Xavier and the teams will meet at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles then have a road game against another contender in Creighton on Feb. 21.
“Just take it one game at a time,” Jones said. “You can’t win the Big East by not focusing on the next game, if that makes sense.
“Take it one game at a time. Today we had Georgetown. I believe next up we got Xavier. We focus on that game. Now that game’s behind us. We’ll watch film, put that behind us and we got Xavier coming up.”
Nickel column:Marquette's Oso Ighodaro made big improvements to his game with help from innovative tips by Shaka Smart
A Twitter List by journalsentinel
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette beats Georgetown 89-75 in Big East college basketball
