Markus Howard Catches Fire in the 2nd Half as Marquette Defeats Undefeated Buffalo 103-85

Buffalo had an #14 ranking and their undefeated streak on the line. Buffalo has had a couple of big time wins to their resume this season with road upsets against West Virginia and recently Syracuse. The Emergence of G CJ Massinburg has been the spark behind this historic run for the Bulls as coming into this game, Massinburg averaged 17.9 PPG, 7 Rebounds, and 3 Assists Per Game. For Marquette, It’s been F Markus Howard who has led the way for the Golden Eagles with his 23.2 PPG in 2018 so far. After getting blown out on the road to Indiana and a close loss to #2 Kansas, Marquette has started to catch a rhythm as they’ve won 6 in a row. Those 6 wins include home wins against then #12 Kansas State and at the time #12 Wisconsin. With another Top 15 team heading into The Fiserv Forum, Marquette was looking to go 3-0 against Top 15 Teams and a resume boosting win. Buffalo was looking for their 3rd straight win against a Top 25 team on the road. One had to come to an end on Friday.

Game Info:

Throughout the first half, it was like two heavyweights trading blows as both sides were draining 3’s as well as being physical down low. With just 5 points and 2 early fouls in the first half, The leading scorer for Marquette Markus Howard looked to be taken out of the game and gave Buffalo a chance at another big time road win against a Top 25 Team. Then Howard flipped a switch and went out of his mind insane from beyond the arc. He finished the night 9-13 from 3 point range and had 45 points. At one point, Howard scored 17 points in the span of just 4 minutes of game time. In that same span, Howard had 24 straight points for his team. Marquette would score an incredible 64 points in the 2nd half and put up triple digits on the Bulls. Buffalo normally gives up 66 Points a game, but tonight was a different story. Marquette would pull away late and win 103-85 and end Buffalo’s undefeated start.

Notable Leaders from Buffalo:

Senior G Jeremy Harris was the most efficient and leading scorer for the Bulls as he finished with 22 Points on 8-15 shooting from the field and 7 rebounds. DJ Caruthers came off the bench and was an instant impact shooting from the field as well as from the charity stripe as he had 20 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line. Buffalo didn’t cough up the ball much (8) and forced 13 Marquette Turnovers. But it was 60% 3 point shooting for Marquette to 37% shooting from Buffalo (12-31) that was the difference maker in the end.

Notable Leaders from Marquette:

The obvious one is Markus Howard who was absolutely lights out in the 2nd half and scoring more than half of the teams points. He finished with 45 Points on 12-25 shooting from the field and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. Forward Theo John finished with a triple double in all 3 catagories. The Sophomore finished with 6 points, 9 rebounds, and a school record 7 blocks in the contest. The Hauser brothers combined for 29 Points on 7-10 shooting from 3 point range as they have something to say about the best twins in CBB (Caleb and Cody Martin, Nevada). Fantastic shooting and a big Rebounding advantage ended up being the deciding factor in this contest for The Golden Eagles.

What’s Next?

Marquette: Marquette will finish their Non-Conference Next Friday against Southern. Then the Golden Eagles will go on the road for their first contest in Big East play as Marquette faces St. John’s on New Year’s Day.

Buffalo: The Bulls will get the week off before heading on the road for their final Non-Conference game against Canisius. Then they will begin conference play on the road against Eastern Michigan on January, 4th.

Image Credit: https://gomarquette.com/news/2018/2/23/Marquette_Travels_To_DePaul_Saturday_At_11_a_m_CT.aspx?path=mbball