David Joplin made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points, helping No. 16 Marquette beat DePaul 89-69 on Saturday at a sold-out Wintrust Arena.
Joplin went 8 for 11 from deep and had five rebounds in Marquette’s third straight win.
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Tyler Kolek had 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Golden Eagles (17-5, 9-2), who moved into a tie with No. 13 Xavier atop the Big East. Kolek was not surprised to see the scoring outburst from Joplin.
“The last time we were in Chicago, we stayed at the same hotel we were at,” Kolek said. “We played Missouri in a closed scrimmage before the season, I think he had 28, the same way. When he is locked in on the defensive end it all translates to offense and that’s when he is at his best.”
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Marquette pulled away in the second half. Oso Ighodaro’s basket started an 11-0 run and Joplin followed with three consecutive 3s to extend the lead to 50-38 with 14:30 left.
Ighodaro had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting and added eight assists. Olivier-Maxence Prosper finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Joplin said he was “really mad” that Kolek just missed a triple-double.
“I was thinking if I stole anything from him,” Joplin said. “I hope I didn’t. He’s just a great player.”
Umoja Gibson scored 25 points for DePaul (9-13, 3-8).
Marquette leading scorer Kam Jones appeared to injure his right hip during the game. He was checked on by a team trainer and returned but was grimacing on the court. He played limited minutes and was held to seven points. Guard Sean Jones also missed the game with a right hand injury.
But the Golden Eagles had plenty of scoring anyway.
“That’s just who we are — we have a lot of depth,” Joplin said. “So when Kam went down we all looked at each other and said we have to pick it up. The scoring has to come from somewhere.”
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Marquette was 11 of 23 from 3-point range in the second half after going 4 for 13 in the first half.
“I think what caused that (is) they were able to get downhill from us then they got us guarding off penetration, they were able to get some penetration and kick 3s, so that’s what really hurt us on the closeout,” DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield said.
DePaul had its first home sellout since it started playing at Wintrust Arena in the 2017-18 season. But Marquette has a strong alumni base in the area, so its fans made up about half the crowd.
“It was great. It was beautiful. I loved it,” Joplin said. “It’s so fun here when we play here in Chicago. I have family from Chicago. It’s just everything you can dream of as a kid playing college basketball. If they want to sell it out we’ll try to give them a show.”
Marquette: It is unclear whether Jones will miss any time with his injury, but if the Golden Eagles get what they did from Joplin, Kolek and Ighodaro, they should stay in the hunt for a regular-season conference championship.
DePaul: After a bad loss at Georgetown earlier in the week and Saturday’s blowout, the Blue Demons are near the bottom of the Big East.
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Marquette: Plays Villanova on Wednesday.
DePaul: Plays Connecticut on Tuesday.
