No. 25 UConn faces a tough road challenge against No. 9 Marquette in a matchup of ranked Big East foes Saturday night in Milwaukee.
Marquette (18-3, 9-1) extended its winning streak to three with a 78-69 road win at Butler on Tuesday, overcoming a seven-point halftime deficit. The Golden Eagles, who are tied atop the Big East with St. John’s, are 11-1 at home.
UConn (15-6, 7-3) rallied for a win at home, overcoming an early 14-point deficit for a 72-61 victory over DePaul on Wednesday.
The Huskies swept three from Marquette last season, including a 74-67 victory in Milwaukee, and have won eight of the last 10 meetings.
Marquette won at Butler despite playing much of the second half without leading scorer Kam Jones, who was saddled with foul trouble. In his absence, Stevie Mitchell responded with a career-high 22 points.
“There was a good response by our team,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said afterward. “I thought Stevie really set the tone. At the end of the first half, he got a steal, got a couple of deflections just to give us some life.”
In the last two games, Mitchell has averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 66.7 percent (16-of-24).
Jones averages 18.9 points per game. David Joplin adds 14.6 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds, and his 44 made 3-pointers pace the team. Mitchell averages 12.1 points and has a team-high 54 steals.
The Golden Eagles, who are 18-1 when scoring at least 70 points, average 79.2 points and allow 67.0. They also are No. 1 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game with 8.9.
Marquette also thrives on a harassing defense. The Golden Eagles are fifth in the country in steals with 10.2 per game, second in turnover margin at 7.1 and fifth in points off turnovers with 19.7.
“I told the guys that when the spirit is right and you’re playing with great connectivity, sometimes the basketball gods will reward you,” Smart said after the Butler game.
UConn has split its last six games, with the three losses by a combined 11 points and two of those defeats on the road.
The Huskies came back against DePaul with a 14-0 run midway through the second half. After missing its first 10 3-point attempts, UConn hit 7 of the final 12 tries from distance.
“I just went in there for like a 45-second tirade and then I left to try to just get my thoughts together and think about some adjustments,” Huskies coach Dan Hurley said of his halftime message vs. DePaul.
UConn averages 80.0 points per game, giving up 68.6, and is second in the country in blocks per game with 6.8.
Alex Karaban leads the Huskies at 15.0 points per game, although he was just 1-of-14 against DePaul, including 0-of-6 beyond the arc.
Solo Ball adds 14.6 points, and Tarris Reed Jr. pulls down a team-high 7.0 boards per game.
Marquette is the first of back-to-back games for the Huskies against the Big East co-leaders. UConn hosts St. John’s next Friday.
–Field Level Media
