Amidst a surge, Marquette is set on prolonging its successive victories as the seventh-ranked Golden Eagles play host to St. John’s in a Big East showdown in Milwaukee on Saturday.
Marquette (17-5, 8-3 Big East) dominated Georgetown 91-57 last Saturday on the road, marking its sixth consecutive triumph. St. John’s (14-9, 6-6) secured an 85-57 victory at home against DePaul on Tuesday, breaking a two-game losing streak.
“We can keep getting better,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “The thing about the Big East is that each of these games takes on a life of its own, so it’s really hard to compare game to game. In terms of our mentality, which always comes first before how we play, we have been hitting a stride.”
Kam Jones made a comeback against Georgetown after missing most of two games due to an ankle injury, delivering a career-best 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting.
Tyler Kolek contributed 17 points and David Joplin tallied 15, connecting on 4 of 9 shots from beyond the perimeter. Oso Ighodaro achieved a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, his third of the season.
The Golden Eagles shot at a 55.6 percent rate — their sixth consecutive game above 50 percent — and capitalized with 35 points from 19 Georgetown turnovers.
“Getting possession of the basketball is a significant focus for us,” Smart stressed. “We must. We lack the tallest or strongest team. Perhaps not the most athletic, but our players possess agility, anticipation, and excellent teamwork.”
Kolek leads the team with an average of 15.1 points and tops the Big East with 7.2 assists per game. Jones averages 14.7 points, Ighodaro adds 14.4, along with a team-leading 7.3 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles average 78.5 points per game, conceding 67.7. Marquette is being outrebounded by 1.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, St. John’s outrebounds its opponents by 4.9 per game.
St. John’s overwhelmed DePaul from long range, knocking down 15 3-pointers to set a program record for most against a Big East opponent.
Daniss Jenkins and Jordan Dingle both contributed 14 points, with each successful in four shots from beyond the arc.
The Red Storm dominated the boards against DePaul, 45-28, with Chris Ledlum securing 10 rebounds. St. John’s also converted 19 turnovers from DePaul into 26 points.
“I was really happy tonight with a lot of different areas,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said after the DePaul game. “But I’m happy that they got movement and let those shots fly.”
Joel Soriano leads St. John’s with 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Jenkins averages 13.9 points and Dingle 10.8. Ledlum adds 7.5 rebounds per game.
Marquette held off St. John’s 73-72 in the initial encounter on Jan. 20, when the Red Storm made a comeback from a 13-point deficit with 6:20 left. Ighodaro recorded 17 points, and Kolek contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds. Despite this, Jenkins missed a crucial 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Golden Eagles have clinched five consecutive victories against St. John’s and emerged victorious in eight of the last ten encounters.
