MILWAUKEE — The best way Marquette head coach Shaka Smart could sum up Saturday's 72-67 victory over No. 22 Creighton was by calling it "a grown man’s game."
While the Golden Eagles struggled in the first half shooting 10 for 36 (27.78%) from the floor, Marquette found success in the turnover battle and on the boards.
“There’s two ways you can look at offensive struggles as a team," Smart explained. "You can drop your head and mope around and feel like today is not your day... or you can increase your desperation on the defensive end, the offensive glass, in transition with all the details, and I thought our guys did the latter."
Creighton's 18 turnovers resulted in 24 points for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles controlled the offensive boards 18-4 scoring 18 points off second chance shots compared to Creighton's two. Marquette owned a 42-32 overall rebound advantage.
“The defense was huge for us in the first half," sophomore guard Sean Jones said. "To hang our hats on the defense today - that’s been a big focus for us the past few weeks, and we’ve just been trying to get better and better. We still had some things that didn’t go our way, but we just kept playing with energy, forcing them to get tough shots and stealing the ball.”
No. 10 Marquette sets a new attendance record against No. 22 Creighton with 18,086 fans in attendance 👀#MUBB leads the Bluejays 64-59 with 1:36 remaining. pic.twitter.com/cPXwZA7hSk
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) December 30, 2023
Marquette did find rhythm on offense the second half shooting 46.88% (15-32) from the field and going 6-11 (54.55%) from three.
While Tyler Kolek also added a team-high 15 points in Saturday's win, Jones was the difference maker.
Through the first 13 games this season for Marquette, Jones has been a consistent threat on the defensive end but struggled to find his groove on offense. The sophomore entered Saturday’s game shooting 14.3% (4-28) from three.
“It’s a fine line I think for him and Stevie [Mitchell]," Smart recalled. "You’re talking about two guys that work on their game as much as anybody. They live in the gym in the offseason, they’ve shot the ball well through practice... for whatever reason just haven’t made shots through our first 13 games."
Jones' 15 points off the bench marked a new career-high. He also went 3-5 from the perimeter.
“It just feels really good to be honest," Jones smiled. "The whole season really I’ve been struggling... I stayed with the belief that I can make them and everybody in the organization just kept believing in me."
After missing the last four games due to a hamstring injury, Stevie Mitchell returned to game action for the first time since Dec. 6 against Texas.
He finished with seven points, six of which came from three, while also drawing a big-time charge in the final minute to help the Golden Eagles hold on to win at home.
Marquette travels to Seton Hall on Jan. 6 to continue Big East play.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
