With both teams coming off tight in-conference losses, two Big East foes will battle Tuesday when Seton Hall visits Marquette in Milwaukee.
Marquette (9-4, 1-1 Big East) enters after a tough 103-98 double-overtime loss to Providence last Tuesday. It was Marquette’s first loss against a team outside the current AP Top 25.
Tyler Kolek had a career night, leading the way with 29 points along with five steals, five rebounds and three assists. Kam Jones added 24 points, David Joplin had 18 off the bench and Oso Ighodaro scored 15 with six rebounds and four assists.
Marquette coach Shaka Smart noted the disparity in free throws: 49 attempts for the Friars, 19 for the Golden Eagles.
“We had a chance to win this game and they shot 30 more free throws than us,” Smart said after the game. “Tyler Kolek’s a really good player. Oso Ighodaro, Kam Jones. But we got to go take the respect that we want. No one is going to give it to us, clearly, so that’s on us.”
Jones is leading the Golden Eagles this season with 16.4 points per game. Ighodaro leads the team with 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game while Kolek leads the entire Big East with 7.5 assists per game.
Seton Hall (7-6, 0-2) fell on the road to Xavier last Tuesday, 73-70.
Kadary Richmond led the way for the Pirates with 17 points and five assists. Tyrese Samuel and Al-Amir Dawes also were in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The Pirates trailed 71-70 and had possession in the final seconds, but Richmond lost control of the ball while attempting to drive to the basket.
“Kadary, we put the ball in his hands, he’s our best player, and we just turned it over. That’s part of the game,” Seton Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway said in his postgame radio interview.
Seton Hall has a balanced scoring attack. Dawes leads with 10.9 points per game while Samuel sits at 10.2, Dre Davis at 9.9 and Richmond at 9.7. KC Ndefo is second in the Big East with 2.2 blocks per game as well.
Marquette forward Zach Wrightsil announced on Friday that he will have surgery on his left knee, ending his season. The senior transfer had appeared in three games in his first season with the Golden Eagles. Emarion Ellis has remained out with a knee injury that he suffered in early January.
For Seton Hall, Alexis Yetna has not played yet this season due to a knee injury. He led the Pirates in rebounding last season (7.6 per game).
Both JaQuan Harris and Abdou Ndiaye also remain out indefinitely with knee injuries. Femi Odukale returned against Xavier after missing the previous game against Providence.
Marquette pulled off the two-game season sweep of the Pirates last season with a one-point win at home and a 10-point win on the road. Prior to last season, Seton Hall had won six regular-season matchups in a row.
–Field Level Media