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Marquette shows its depth with a 75-57 victory over Seton Hall
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- Marquette shows its depth with a 75-57 victory over Seton Hall
The Marquette men's basketball team showed its depth on Saturday.
With one of the Golden Eagles' stars hurting and another doing everything but scoring, the 14th-ranked Golden Eagles still romped in the second half to a 75-57 victory over Seton Hall at Fiserv Forum.
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Box score: Marquette 75, Seton Hall 57
MU (15-5, 6-3 Big East) won its fourth straight game and avenged a league loss to the Pirates (13-8, 6-4).
Kam Jones was limited to just five minutes by an ankle injury, and Tyler Kolek scored just four points but had 11 assists.
Oso Ighodaro, the other member of MU's "Big Three," continued his run of stellar play with 21 points and seven rebounds. He was boosted by a strong supporting cast led by Stevie Mitchell , Ben Gold and David Joplin .
"It says a lot about the character of our guys," MU head coach Shaka Smart said.
Marquette forward Oso Ighodaro (13) scores on Seton Hall center Jaden Bediako (15) during the second half of their game Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marquette beat Seton Hall 75-57.
Kam Jones tried to play after hurting ankle in practice
Jones arrived at Fiserv Forum in a walking boot on his right ankle, and tried to get ready to play a few hours before the game.
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"Yesterday in practice, guys came in with unbelievable energy, but about a half-hour in Kam Jones jumped up to shoot a three and landed on someone's foot and sprained his ankle," Smart said. "This is the first time I've seen this with this group, but they were down.
"The guys were down, so we tried to pick each other up. Kam was crazy enough he wanted to try to go."
Jones started the game and hit his first three-pointer. He exited the game and attempted to stay loose on an exercise bike near the MU bench. But he was clearly hobbled and played only five minutes.
The Golden Eagles next play Tuesday at Villanova.
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"We'll work around the clock to get that ankle back to where it needs to be," Smart said.
MU has been beset by injuries this season. Backup point guard Sean Jones is out for the season after tearing his ACL, and Chase Ross has missed five straight games with a separated shoulder though he is getting closer to a return.
"He's day to day," Smart said. "He's not been cleared to play with contact in practice, so that's kind of the next step for him is to be able to practice with actual contact. He's doing shooting drills, looks good. Shooting the ball from outside, dunking the ball."
The Pirates were playing without star guard Kadary Richmond , who didn't make the trip to Milwaukee . He missed Seton Hall's loss at Providence on Wednesday with what head coach Shaheen Holloway would only refer to as "soreness."
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Stevie Mitchell leads way with disruptive defense
Last season, MU rolled to the Big East regular-season and tournament titles on the strength of an elite offense.
This season, the Golden Eagles' defense has been steady while the the team has gone through shooting droughts.
MU forced Seton Hall into 17 turnovers
"I think we do a good job of helping each other," Mitchell said. "We talk about five guys guarding the ball. None of us make selfish defensive plays of like worrying about our man too much so we don't give up points.
"It's just helping each other so they don't score. So they don't get a team score and we can get a team stop. So that's what helps us a lot. And obviously playing and practicing hard every day. Going against Oso, Tyler in practice. We turn them over, we know we can turn anyone over."
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Mitchell, the Golden Eagles' wrecking ball defender, notched five steals. He also had 13 points and six rebounds.
"The 36 minutes is impressive for him," Smart said. "Stevie playing one minute requires the energy of a normal player playing three minutes. So for him, playing over 30 minutes is like a normal person playing over a 100.
"I'm serious. What this guy does is not human, from the standpoint of both ends of the floor and the relentless energy he brings."
Ben Gold and David Joplin knock down shots
The Pirates led for most of the first half, until Gold knocked down his second three-pointer to put MU up, 28-27, with 1:12 remaining in the first half.
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"I think Ben Gold deserves a ton of credit for the last couple games, just taking on an expanded role," Smart said. "I thought for a while that he was ready for it and he hasn't blinked."
Gold has back-to-back games with 3 three-pointers after suffering through a 0-for-14 stretch from deep.
"I'm trying to maintain and not let my confidence drop, and continue to work on it," Gold said. "Obviously, that game (against DePaul) helped me build that confidence back up. And today it helped again, so I'm feeling good."
Joplin gave MU the lead for good with two free throws at the end of the first half. He knocked down a three at the start of the second half, kicking off a 17-4 run that gave MU control.
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Joplin scored 20 points after getting 21 against DePaul on Wednesday. He is 9 of 18 on three-pointers in those two games.
"It's been good to see Jop take on an added aggressiveness with the injuries we've had," Smart said. "Jop is a guy that when he's aggressive and he has a clarity about him, he's tough to deal with on the offensive end. And I thought he had that today."
Jordan Love among the celebrities in crowd
After the game, Smart noted the celebrities in the crowd. Doc Rivers, the Marquette alum who held his introductory press conference as Bucks head coach in the building just before the MU game, was given a standing ovation by the crowd early in the first half.
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Former MU stars Wes Matthews and Jerel McNeal were also in the house, but the biggest cheers were reserved for Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
"For a little bit there, it started to feel like the Forum out in L.A. in the 1980s, we had so many luminaries in the crowd," Smart said.
Those bold-faced names got to see MU roll in the second half. The excitement was at a fever pitch when Kolek found Joplin on the fast break for a three-point play to give the Golden Eagles a 59-45 advantage. Other highlights included Ighodaro threading a one-handed, cross-court pass for a three by Joplin, and Kolek hitting Ighodaro for a nice alley-oop dunk.
"I get mad sometimes when those guys try to thread the needle and throw it out of bounds," Smart said. "But I guess you got to take the good with the bad.
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"This is something for all of us, starting with me, to truly appreciate. We've got two of the best passers that this program or this league has seen in Tyler and Oso.
"Sometimes you appreciate something more after they've moved on. I tell you, on my side, every time they make a great pass I appreciate that."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette beats Seton Hall 75-57 at Fiserv Forum
