Marquette’s Shaka Smart, hands out breakfast to students on first day
Marquette men and women’s basketball coach Shaka Smart, and Megan Duffy, Marquette president Mike Lovell hand out free breakfast to students on first day of class.
Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
HONOLULU – Down goes No. 1.
And up next is a battle with No. 2 in less than 24 hours.
The fourth-ranked Marquette men’s basketball team pulled off one the program’s biggest regular-season victories in recent memory by knocking off top-ranked Kansas, 73-59, in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
MU (5-0) will play second-ranked Purdue (5-0) in the championship game on Wednesday afternoon.
Oso Ighodaro led MU with 21 points and nine rebounds, get the better of Kansas’ All-American Hunter Dickinson in a high-profile matchup of big men.
Kam Jones’ no-look make highlights hot start
MU came out hot, thanks to sweet-shooting guard Kam Jones.
Jones hit his first two attempts from long range. On the second, he turned to say something to the Kansas bench while the ball was still in the air.
When it settled into the net, the Golden Eagles had a 6-3 lead.
By the under-12 minute timeout, MU’s lead had grown to 21-16 while the Golden Eagles were shooting 8 for 16.
Tempers flare in first half between Shaka Smart and Bill Self
Things got heated with 3:19 remaining in the first half.
Kansas forward Kevin McCullar Jr. knocked down a three-pointer and had something to say to the MU bench.
Golden Eagles head coach Shaka Smart too exception to that and said something back. That started a fracas between the two benches, especially between Smart and Kansas head coach Bill Self.
After peace was restored, technicals were given to both sides.
Marquette takes 38-28 lead at halftime thanks to Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro
The Golden Eagles headed to the locker room with a 38-28 advantage.
Jones had eight points on 3-for-9 shooting. Ighodaro had a big stretch where he blocked two shots and knocked in a jump hook.
Ighodaro had seven points and four rebounds in the first half in a marquee matchup with Kansas All-American Hunter Dickinson.
Chase Ross helps expand lead in the second half
The Golden Eagles kept applying pressure in the second half.
With the shot clock winding down, MU sophomore Chase Ross knocked down a stepback three-pointer that gave MU a 47-32 lead that prompted Self to call a timeout.
Kansas got the lead down to 53-44 on a layup by Dickinson with 11:02 remaining.
But Ben Gold knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to give MU some breathing room. When he exited the game a few minutes later, he got a loud cheer from the sizable crowd of Golden Eagles supporters.
Ighodaro gave MU its biggest lead at 63-46 with a jump hook with 8:27 remaining.
The Golden Eagles never let the Jayhawks (4-1) get close again.
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When is the last time Marquette played the No. 1 team in the AP poll?
The last four times the Golden Eagles have played the top-ranked team, it has been Villanova. The most recent matchup was on Jan. 28, 2018, when Jalen Brunson scored 31 points to lead the Wildcats to an 85-82 win at the Bradley Center.
The last non-Villanova No. 1 team that Marquette faced was Syracuse on Jan. 7, 2012.
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When is the last time Marquette beat the No. 1 team?
MU beat Villanova, 74-72, on Jan. 24, 2017, at the Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half behind the stellar play of Katin Reinhardt.
That is the only regular-season victory over the nation’s top-ranked team. MU also beat No. 1 Kentucky in the Elite Eight of the 2003 NCAA Tournament behind a triple-double from Dwyane Wade.
MU improved to 3-11 against top-ranked teams.
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When is the last time MU played a game in which both teams were in the top five of the AP poll?
It was the regional final of the 1976 NCAA Tournament, and No. 1 Indiana earned a 65-56 victory over No. 2 Marquette.
The Hoosiers won the national championship that season and are the last team in college basketball to finish the season undefeated.
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When is the championship game in the Maui Invitational bracket?
The title game will be played at 4 p.m. Milwaukee time on Wednesday. The third-place game will be at 1:30 p.m. Milwaukee time.
No. 2 Purdue beat No. 7 Tennessee in the other semifinal
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