Providence Friars (15-13) 58

#11 Marquette Golden Eagles (23-4) 76

Believe it or not, this was a 7 point game with under 15 minutes left in the second half.  Then it wasn’t…it definitely wasn’t.  The funny thing is, well maybe not funny, the Friars have been able to hold Markus Howard in check when they’ve played Marquette this year.

Markus Howard was a subpar 2-12 from the floor during the game.  He did convert on 8 of 8 free throws like he normally does, but otherwise, wasn’t that much of a factor in the game.  The real problem for the Friars was the Hauser brothers.  The combined for 33 points on 13-28 shooting and 7-10 from three.  Every single time the Friars needed a big stop, one of the Hauser’s seemed to come through.

It wasn’t only them but the most unlikely guy to steal the show was Sacar Anim.  Anim’s 18 points were tied for his 2nd highest total in a game of the season.  It wasn’t only the fact that he had 18 points, but he went 8-12 in doing so.  It seemed like every time he touched the ball he scored.

The Golden Eagles bench, besides Ed Morrow, doesn’t really exist but Morrow is a heck of a 6th man to have.  Morrow shot 5-7 from the field for 11 points off the bench.

So, to recap, the Friars kept star Markus Howard in check.  Unfortunately, every single other player was awesome for the Golden Eagles.

Game Notes:

• I can’t stand the Hauser brothers and I’m hoping that Joey doesn’t stay all four years because I’m not sure I can take that many consecutive years of Hausers.
• Nate Watson finished in double-figures again but the Friars couldn’t seem to feed him the ball as much as they did the last couple of games.  Watson made 4 buckets but only got 9 shot attempts in the game.
• Alpha Diallo’s offense seemed to come back in this one but didn’t make much of a difference.  Diallo was 6-14 from the floor for game-high 19 points.
• We got a glimpse of the A.J. Reeves of old but his efforts were wasted with how much of a lead Marquette had for the majority of the game.  Reeves was 5-9 from the field and 3-7 from deep en route to 13 points in 25 minutes.  Crazily enough, he didn’t have a single rebound or assist during the entire game which is kind of nuts for playing 25 minutes.
• Maliek White.  Not good.  0 points in 27 minutes of action.
• David Duke finished with an impressive 8 points and 8 rebounds.  I feel like he can be one of those guards that can stack a ton of rebounds with his size.  If there is another point guard in the game, I feel like he should be crashing the offensive boards every chance he gets.
• Makai Ashton-Langford was the only Friar to score off the bench.  It seems like MAL and White can never play well during the same game lately.  It’s either one or the other.  Makai scored 8 points on 3-6 shooting, including 2-4 from three.  Anytime he’s making threes, I’m going to mention it.  Just have to.
• Also, hey Drew Edwards.

No one’s safe #GoFriars

Drew Edwards chases down Markus Howard and gets the block from behind! pic.twitter.com/5SvS8E18NT

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) February 23, 2019

Next Up, the Friars travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on Butler for the first time this year.