NCAA Basketball: Toppin tightens grip on National Player of the Year race
By Brian Rauf
4. player. 474. . . Previous: . Markus Howard
Stats: 27.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg
Following weeks of this being a four-man race at the top, Markus Howard has broken back in thanks to Marquette’s surge and the incredible numbers he is putting up in the process.
Over the last month, the Golden Eagles are 6-2 with two wins over Xavier and an upset of Butler at home. Howard has been particularly great during this stretch, too, averaging 28.1 points per game to solidify his place as the nation’s leading scorer.
The senior also marked his place in the Big East record books this past week as well, becoming the conference’s all-time leading scorer.
After scoring 24 on the road in Philadelphia, Markus Howard is the #BIGEASThoops all-time leading scorer.
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) February 13, 2020
Hear from the senior as he reflects on his journey into the history books.
📽️: pic.twitter.com/Yq1jABuzlr
Marquette only has one game this coming week against Creighton, which will be a significant game between ranked teams fighting for the No. 2 spot in the Big East. After that, the only game the Golden Eagles play against a team ranked in the KenPom top 50 is Seton Hall – and the game will be in Milwaukee.
Marquette obviously needs to win that game if they’re going to win the Big East regular-season title (still an outside chance!), but it’s also a prime opportunity for Howard to go head-to-head with another NPOY frontrunner in Myles Powell.
With only two big games left, Howard will need to go off against both Creighton and the Pirates – but if he does that, he may very well win this award.