Marquette 78 Butler 72

Marquette hit some key shots in the waning moments to stretch a 2 point lead to the final margin.

Marquette scored at the rim at a high rate

Butler made a frantic comeback in the 2nd half lead by Finley Bizjack’s 16 2nd half points

A late banked in three pushed the margin to 5 and Marquette was able to hold on after that

Key Stats

Marquette outscored Butler 46-20 in the paint

Marquette played efficiently with only 7 turnovers

Butler’s 9 turnovers in the first half hurt them offensively

Key Individual Performances

Butler’s Finley Bizjack had 19 points, 16 in the 2nd half

Marquette’s Tyler Kolek was outstanding with 27 pts, 8 reb, 5 assts, a block & a steal

Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro had a double double with 17 and 10

What it means

Marquette moves up on the 2 seed line to the top depending on other results.

Butler will remain on our 9 seed line. Still needing wins to make sure they go dancing

The Big East has two solid title contenders in UConn & Marquette and they play on Saturday

Quotes

Butler coach Thad Matta “March doesn’t matter if we dont take care of February” responding to a question about if his team is thinking about the tournament

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart “Our guys are doing a good job of being motivated and connected on coming here and getting a win.”

Smart “Kolek– he is motivated to be his very best–  It’s go time”