Winning against a program ranked 324th in the RPI may not merit much bragging from the Marquette Golden Eagles, but they’re surely not complaining about ending the non-conference schedule on a positive note.
The Golden Eagles used an explosive scoring output from their reserves to upend Samford Saturday afternoon, 71-48. Jajuan Johnson led Marquette with 14 points, Todd Mayo and Deonte Burton each pitched in 13, and Davante Gardner netted 10. The bench outscored the Bulldogs 50-12.
The victory does not help Marquette much in its pursuit to build a formidable resume, but it does help the team regain momentum heading into its New Year’s Eve showdown at Creighton.
“We’ve approached every game the same way we approached this game, but with conference play around, you always want to see a good win,” Mayo said.
Marquette had ease controlling the tempo and finding high-percentage shots. The Golden Eagles finished 49 percent from the field and had 34 of their points in the paint. Of the 23 field goals, 19 were assisted, led by Jake Thomas’ four dimes.
Senior Jamil Wilson injured his left knee coming down from a dunk five minutes into the first half. Although he played an additional 40 seconds, Wilson would not return, scoring two points and snatching three rebounds. He underwent an MRI immediately after the game.
“I would say he’s fine,” coach Buzz Williams said. “I would say he probably tweaked something. I think he could have played. He wanted to play. I think in the last non-conference game, regardless of who our opponent was, I don’t think that I would’ve played him. I think it was the conservative approach to make sure that nothing structurally is wrong.”
Marquette made its way to the foul line with relative ease, going 21-for-31 from the charity stripe while limiting the Bulldogs to 7-for-17.
Samford took initiative early, churning out an 11-8 lead six minutes into the contest. Marquette used a 21-8 run of its own in the next seven minutes to build a 29-19 lead. The Golden Eagles ended the first half on a 10-4 run, highlighted by a 3-point play by Gardner.
A dunk by Samford’s Tim Williams to cut the deficit to 42-29 with 16:47 left would be the closest the Bulldogs would get to threatening the Marquette lead. Samford was without their second-leading scorer, Isaiah Williams (12.3 ppg), leaving a gaping void in the Bulldogs’ schematics.
An emphatic tomahawk slam by Burton with eight minutes to go pushed the margin to 20, and the two teams traded baskets for much of the remaining time.
Buzz Williams was impressed with how the reserves handled themselves, given the starters shot a combined 7-for-21.
“If you look at the numbers and go, ‘Well, how did the starters play more minutes than the subs, and the subs scored more points? Well, Buzz, you’re starting the wrong guys.’ Maybe. Who should I start? Based on the last game, or based on the practices from the last game leading up to this game?”
Marquette kicks off its Big East schedule Tuesday at Creighton. Led by Doug McDermott (24.8 ppg), the Bluejays are shooting 48.7 percent from the field this season and have won four straight. Mayo is aware the task is intimidating, but a team effort could be the key to making it a ball game.
“I think we still have a lot of room to work,” Mayo said. “The older guys have to just come ready to play and put our younger guys a position where they’re comfortable. We don’t really have a choice.”
Being ranked fourth in the country in attendance and making nearly 11 3-pointers per game are other critical facets to this potent Creighton program. Williams expects to see plenty of shots fly New Year’s Eve.
“They run more plays than you can possibly digest,” Williams said. “Their post players never touch the paint for longer than five seconds. They basically play with five perimeter guys. I think they’re very well-coached.”