No. 14 Marquette Executes Balanced Assault to Overwhelm DePaul

Marquette at DePaul

With a strong and diversified offense, No. 14 Marquette managed to keep DePaul at a distance, securing an 86-73 victory in a Big East showdown on Wednesday night in Chicago.

Tyler Kolek, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, achieved 22 points and seven assists, while David Joplin delivered 21 points with an impressive 6-of-8 shooting from long distance. Golden Eagles (14-5, 5-3 Big East) clinched their third consecutive win.

Oso Ighodaro gathered 19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks, while Stevie Mitchell contributed 12 points.

On the other hand, DePaul (3-16, 0-8), following the dismissal of coach Tony Stubblefield on Monday and the interim appointment of Matt Brady, suffered its seventh consecutive defeat.

Jalen Terry led the Blue Demons with 22 points and six rebounds, showcasing a 6-of-8 performance from the three-point range. Jeremiah Oden added 19 points and Jaden Henley supplied 10.

DePaul played without the injured Chico Carter Jr. for the second game in a row. He leads the team with an average of 11.8 points per game, just ahead of Da’Sean Nelson, who contributed eight points on Wednesday.

Marquette, maintaining a lead of up to 19 points in the first half, was ahead 48-38 by halftime. The Golden Eagles once again posed a threat by enlarging the lead to 59-44 in the second half, following consecutive 3-pointers by substitute Ben Gold.

Ighodaro then led an 8-2 surge, scoring all eight points and expanding the lead to 18 with 10:20 remaining in the game. From that point, the Blue Demons failed to come closer than an 11-point margin for the rest of the game.

Despite an initial hot streak in the first half, the Golden Eagles concluded the game with a 54.5 percent shooting accuracy from the field and 45.5 percent from the three-point range.

DePaul managed to remain in the game with a 47.3 percent overall shooting percentage and by making 11 of 24 (45.8 percent) attempts from the three-point line.

While building their lead in the first half, the Golden Eagles impressively made 16 of their first 26 shots (61.5 percent) from the field.

In the first 11 1/2 minutes, they landed 7 of 12 three-pointers. Joplin, who contributed 12 points in the first half, tallied six points during Marquette’s 20-3 run, which escalated the lead to 40-21 with 6:28 remaining.

Kolek’s 3-pointer concluded the run, and he accumulated 16 points in the half. As the Golden Eagles’ offense cooled off towards the end of the half, missing five of their last six shots, DePaul concluded the period with a 12-4 run, trailing by 10 at the break.

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    WCC to Add Grand Canyon and Seattle in 2025

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    WCC adding Seattle U and Grand Canyon University

    Seattle and Grand Canyon will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference and moving to the West Coast Conference starting July 2025.

    The nine current members of the conference are private universities with a religious affiliation. Seattle is a Jesuit institution, while Grand Canyon, situated in Phoenix, is a Christian college.

    Grand Canyon’s basketball achievements were a significant factor in attracting WCC commissioner Stu Jackson. The team has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments and three of the previous four under the leadership of coach Bryce Drew.

    As the 12th-seeded Antelopes defeated fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s before losing to Alabama in the tournament this season.

    Saint Mary’s is currently a member of the West Coast Conference.

    The WCC, while also integrating Oregon State and Washington State this autumn (excluding football), will expand from 11 to 13 members by the 2025-26 season.

    The future beyond 2026 looks uncertain, with Oregon State and Washington State appearing unlikely to continue with the WCC.

    The former Pac-12 schools are under a two-year contract, expiring on June 30, 2026. Sources from CBS Sports suggest that the odds of the two Pacific Northwest institutions staying are slim, with a move to the Mountain West or a new conference formation being more probable.

    Following the departures of Sam Houston and New Mexico State last year, Seattle and Grand Canyon’s exit from the WAC will reduce the conference’s membership to just eight by July 2025.

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  2. College Sports News

    Ex-Cal State Fullerton G Max Jones Commits to Kansas State

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Kansas State adds athletic wing in left-handed shooter Max Jones

    Former guard of Cal State Fullerton Max Jones has made a decision to join Kansas State for his upcoming collegiate season, according to reports.

    Notable alternatives that Jones purportedly pondered were New Mexico, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Florida Atlantic, and Loyola Chicago.

    During the previous season with the Titans, Jones maintained an average of 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds across 24 games, in which he started 21. He secured the second-highest scoring position within the team, alongside being the second in 3-pointers with 42 baskets and 41 steals.

    In the season prior, Jones held an average of 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 32 games, amassing 34 three-pointers and 30 steals.

    Before making his way to Cal State Fullerton post the 2021-22 season, Jones spent two years at Division II Tampa, where he managed to achieve an average of 21.9 points across 21 games during his sophomore year with the Spartans.

    In the recent offseason, Kansas State acquired Dug McDaniel, a former player from Michigan recognized as one of the premier point guards available in this year’s transfer portal.

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  3. College Sports News

    Stanford Names Basketball Court in Honor of Tara VanDerveer

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    View From The Top with Tara VanDerveer, Former Coach of Stanford Women’s Basketball

    Tara VanDerveer’s legacy at Stanford will now be visibly acknowledged, with the school revealing on Thursday that the basketball arena’s floor will bear the name of the esteemed Hall of Fame coach.

    At the age of 70, VanDerveer stepped down following her 38th season at the helm of the Cardinal.

    She steered Stanford to 14 Final Fours and secured three national championships (1990, 1992, 2021). VanDerveer embarked on her coaching journey at Idaho (1978-80) and later coached at Ohio State (1980-85).

    In January, she surpassed Mike Krzyzewski to clinch the title of the most successful college basketball coach in history, across both men’s and women’s teams. VanDerveer concluded with a remarkable 1,216-271 record, boasting a 1,064-220 tally with the Cardinal.

    Alongside the unveiling of the Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion this November, Stanford also established an endowed position in women’s basketball for an assistant coach in VanDerveer’s honor.

    VanDerveer said in a statement, “This endowment will go a long way to strengthening the future of Stanford women’s basketball. I have many wonderful memories of leading the women’s basketball program at Maples Pavilion.”

    “It’s an honor, and a little surreal, to know that my name will be linked to both in these ways, and I look forward to celebrating with all our fans this fall.”

    Last month, Stanford appointed Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s longtime assistant coaches who played for the Cardinal from 1991-95 and began coaching under VanDerveer in 2007, as the new head coach.

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