Another top-10 victory for Golden Eagles
Marquette has been searching for its offense this season.
The Golden Eagles found it in the second half Monday night in Omaha, Nebraska, and their discovery led to the second victory over a top-10 team for MU this season.
MU started clicking after halftime and blew past Creighton, 89-84, at CHI Health Center in the Big East opener for both teams.
The Golden Eagles (5-2, 1-0 Big East) finally looked like a complete team. Their defense has been above-average all season, but the offense has only shown up in fits and starts. In MU's two losses – against Oklahoma State at home and UCLA on the road – it committed a combined 42 turnovers.
MU had everything going in the second half against the Bluejays (4-2, 0-1), who are ranked No. 9 in both the USA Today coaches and Associated Press polls.
The Golden Eagles scored 54 points on 17-for-31 shooting (54.8%). They were 7 for 9 on three-pointers. They got clutch contributions from all seven players who saw the court, including the best game of junior guard Greg Elliott's injury-filled career at MU and poised play from talented freshmen Dawson Garcia and Justin Lewis. Most important, the Golden Eagles only coughed up the ball five times after seven turnovers in the first half.
“No. 1, we took care of the ball,” said MU coach Steve Wojciechowski, whose team also beat then-No. 4 Wisconsin on Dec. 4. “Our guys did a really good job of not having empty possessions with poor turnovers.
“And then I thought we did a really good job of attacking the paint. We got our big guys the ball in the paint. We got some really strong drives from our perimeter guys. And that's who we have to be.”
Four MU players finished in double figures, led by sophomore guard D.J. Carton's 20 points.
Carton gave MU immediate hope in the second half after Creighton, one of the nation's top offenses, sank 9 threepointers and staked a 44-35 advantage at the break.
Right after halftime, Carton sank a three-pointer and then three free throws after getting fouled on another attempt from behind the arc. Carton, a transfer from Ohio State, has scored 38 points over MU's last two games and looks comfortable.
“I feel like he's settled in great,” Elliott said. “I feel like it's more than just on the court. It takes people a while to get used to their teammates and what everybody else does, especially coming from another program and being able to play right away.
“But I feel like us as a unit is helping D.J. feel more comfortable. Off the court, we spend a lot of time together. Because, you know, COVID, you can't be really around a lot of people. So we spend a lot of time together as group. And that's just translating to on the court.”
Elliott then helped MU seize control. First he hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 54-54. He hit another three for a 61-56 lead and then a flying put-back for a 68-59 lead with 8:22 remaining.
Elliott finished with 15 points in 27 minutes off the bench and hit all four of his three-point attempts. He scored 13 points twice his freshman season in 2017-18 while playing with a cast on an injured left thumb. Elliott had surgery after that season, but he hurt the thumb again and had another surgery, forcing him to redshirt in 2018-19.
Then in June 2019, Elliott had surgery on his right ankle after getting hurt in a workout. He made it back for last season's opener, but eventually hurt the ankle again and needed another operation in the offseason.
“I'm so happy for Greg,” Wojciechowski said. “He's been through a lot. Everything that he's gone through, with most guys it would have broken them. Because he's not had stretches of good health since he was at Marquette.
“Thankfully he's had the longest stretch of being healthy recently and I think you're starting to see him round back into the form that we've always believed he could have. He was sensational and our bench was sensational tonight.”
The Bluejays got within 83-80 on a three-pointer by Mitch Ballock (26 points), but MU salted away the win with free throws from Lewis and senior guard Koby McEwen.
McEwen had 18 points while the star freshmen Garcia and Lewis combined for 25 points and 19 rebounds while playing with a poise beyond their years.
“For their first Big East game, on the road, against a top-10 team, those two kids were fantastic,” Wojciechowski said. “They handled the moment, which is a big moment, against an outstanding team with the maturity of someone much older than they are. Those two guys are really good players and it showed tonight.”
For the second time in 10 days, the Golden Eagles got to celebrate a huge victory.
“It was crazy,” Elliott said. “Big-time road win. Top-10 opponent. First game of conference play. Our locker room was very excited to get that win.”