The Marquette Golden Eagles are back in winning ways as they did what they were expected to do against Seton Hall.
The Golden Eagles scored 76 points against the Pirates 59, which is more than what they scored in two-point loss to Xavier University Musketeers three days ago.
The efficient offense the team touts is key to the victory but for coach Shaka Smart, their relentless defense is what dictated the game.
Speaking to reporters post-game, Smart hailed his players total deflections which was counted at 53. They ended the game with 18 steals, 14 of them from the starters.
The offense was just as good, too, especially from the starting five.
Kam Jones’ shooting slump is over as he went four out of six from three point line to finish with 19 points while Ben Gold and David Joplin had 11 and 12, respectively.
The bench, which was at one point called out by Smart, produced 24 points, eight each from Royce Parham and Damarius Owens.
Marquette Golden Eagles’ 53 deflection should be posted on the wall
The 53 total deflections is not the team’s highest this season but Smart loved the energy of his guys.
He even proposed that they should put up the achievement on the walls of Kasten Gym according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Ben Steele.
Shaka Smart said Marquette’s deflection total was 53 against Seton Hall, which should get put on the wall at Kasten Gym among the top performances for #mubb during the coach’s tenure.
(66 vs. Central Michigan this season is the highest)
— Ben Steele (@BenSteeleMJS) January 22, 2025
“I’m grateful for the defensive effort from our guys, for I think about three-quarters of the game,” he said. “It was not a pretty offensive half in the first half, either way.
“I thought our guys did a good job leading with defense. We had three guys that had double-digit deflections, which is a huge deal for us.”
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