Howard’s 45 powers Marquette victory
Markus Howard scored 45 points and went 19 of 21 from the line, and Marquette used tight defense to counter Kansas State’s inyour-face play in an 83-71 win Saturday in Milwaukee, handing the No. 12 Wildcats their first loss.
Sacar Anim added 16 points for the Golden Eagles (6-2). Marquette outrebounded Kansas State 34-25 and kept attacking the rim in holding a doubledigit lead for most of the second half.
Howard’s productive day from the field (11 of 17) helped Marquette overcome 20 turnovers. The quick junior drew a foul on a drive with 7:57 left to send Kansas State (6-1) leading scorer Dean Wade (16.2 points) to the bench with five fouls and 11 points. Zach Norvell Jr. scored 23 of his career-high 28 points in the second half, and top-ranked Gonzaga wiped out an early double-digit deficit and beat Creighton 103-92 in Omaha, Neb.
The Bulldogs (8-0), down 48-41 at half, got eight quick points from Norvell to pull close, and Corey Kispert’s 3 put them up 66-65.
In Lawrence, Kan., Lagerald Vick hit the tying 3 in the closing seconds of regulation, and then had eight of his 27 points in overtime to lead No. 2 Kansas to a 90-84 win over Stanford.
Daejon Davis hit two free throws with 13.3 seconds left to push Stanford’s lead to 75-72 after driving in and drawing a foul by Dedric Lawson. Kansas then ran its “chop” play, and Devon Dotson found Vick for the tying 3 with just 7 seconds left.
Lawson finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Udoka Azubuike had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Jayhawks (6-0).
Jordan Poole scored 21 points as part of a balanced offense and No. 7 Michigan was stingy on defense in a 76-57 home win over No. 19 Purdue, routing a third ranked team this season.
The Wolverines (8-0) are off to their best start since winning the first 16 games of the 2012-13 season.
The Boilermakers (5-3) have lost three of their last four games.