MILWAUKEE — Tyler Kolek scored all 16 of his points in the first half and No. 3 Marquette backed up its highest ranking in nearly half a century by trouncing Southern 93-56 on Tuesday night.
In its first game since a runner-up finish in the Maui Invitational, Marquette (6-1) used swarming defense to convert 22 turnovers by Southern into 38 points. The Golden Eagles turned it over just six times, leading to two points for the Jaguars (1-6), who lost their fifth straight.
Kam Jones scored 15 points, Stevie Mitchell added 11 and David Joplin and Ben Gold had 10 each for Marquette.
Jordan Johnson scored 21 points for Southern, matching his season total entering the game. He had 20 in the first half alone while shooting 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Tai’Reon Joseph added 12 points for the Jaguars.
Marquette hasn’t owned this lofty a position in the AP Top 25 since March 1978, when it also was ranked third at the end of the regular season before an 84-81 overtime loss to Miami (Ohio) in its opening NCAA Tournament game.
During its fruitful trip to Hawaii, Marquette beat then-No. 1 Kansas in the semifinal before losing the championship game to Purdue, which moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 this week.
Marquette didn’t face nearly as tough a challenge Tuesday.
Marquette’s Stevie Mitchell shoots over Southern’s Dre’Shawn Allen during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Morry Gash
After Marquette opened with an 8-0 run, Southern cut the lead to 20-18 as the Jaguars shot 7 of 8 overall and 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the first 8 1/2 minutes. Marquette scored the game’s next 15 points.
Southern shot 56% overall and 8 of 17 from 3-point range in the first half but still trailed 52-36 at the break, when Marquette had a 25-0 edge in points off turnovers.
Southern went 8 of 29 overall and 1 of 12 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes.
Kolek sat out the last 14-plus minutes with the game out of reach but still…
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