Marquette’s dominance, In-state showdowns among Big East storylines for the week
By John Makuch
3. Marquette’s dominance continues
After a tough loss to in-state rival Wisconsin, last week, the Marquette Golden Eagles reminded the rest of the country they are still one of the teams to beat in this conference. They began this with a huge win over the aforementioned Texas 86-65. But on Saturday they continued their dominance with a 78-59 win over Notre Dame.
The duo of Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro continued to light up the show, Kolek had 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in a near triple-double. His main partner, Ighodaro had 20 points of his as he dominated inside all game long. The Irish just had no way to match up with the talent that this Marquette team brings to the table, and the Golden Eagles rebounded from their loss well.
Texas and Notre Dame had the bad draw of playing against a Marquette team looking to prove to the nation their loss was not going to define them, and they did exactly that with back-to-back near 20-point victories. The top three in this conference is clear now with UConn, Marquette, and Creighton both being ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll after a strong week from both.
The Golden Eagles though, can make a strong case to be the best of the bunch, and the showdowns between these Big East powerhouses are going to be fun to watch this season. Marquette looks as if they can repeat as Big East champions, especially if they can keep up this strong performance.