No. 22 Marquette 72, No. 20 Notre Dame 64: Jamil Wilson tied a season high with 19 points and led a terrific shooting effort as the Golden Eagles won their 25th straight home game and clinched a double-bye in the Big East Tournament.
Chris Otule scored a season-high 16 points and was the only other player in double figures for Marquette (21-7, 12-4 Big East), which remained in a second-place tie with Louisville in the conference standings – a half-game behind Georgetown. The Golden Eagles shot 59.6 percent from the field, just percentage points shy of another season high.
Jerian Grant led all scorers with 21 points and Eric Atkins added 16 for the Fighting Irish (22-7, 10-6). Notre Dame fell into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Big East with Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Behind six early points from Otule – who was averaging 4.8 points entering the game - Marquette dominated action in the first half, jumping out to an 18-6 lead. The Golden Eagles increased the margin to as many as 16 points late in the first half on another jumper from Otule before settling for a 41-27 halftime advantage.
Wilson and Otule combined to score 12 of the Golden Eagles’ first 14 points after the break as Marquette maintained a double-digit cushion for most of the second half. Notre Dame made a late push to close within 70-64 with 32 seconds remaining, but Wilson sank a pair of free throws to account for the final margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame fell to 4-2 against ranked opponents this season while Marquette defeated its third straight Top 25 foe. … The Golden Eagles shot over 56 percent from the field for the third time in seven games after not doing so once over their first 21 contests. … Freshman F Zach Auguste scored a career-high 15 points for the Irish, who hold an 80-37 advantage in the all-time series.
Notre Dame | Marquette | |
Jerian Grant 21 | Scoring | Jamil Wilson 19 |
Eric Atkins 6 | Assists | Junior Cadougan 4 |
Jerian Grant 7 | Rebounds | Vander Blue 4 |
Jerian Grant 6 | Free Throws Made | Jamil Wilson 6 |
Eric Atkins 3 | Steals | Junior Cadougan 2 |
Tom Knight 2 | Blocks | Trent Lockett 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Notre Dame | 64 | 38.3 | 7-25 | 11-19 | 15 | 30 | 2 | 10 | 13 |
Marquette | 72 | 59.6 | 5-11 | 11-18 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 9 | 15 |