MILWAUKEE — Justin Lewis had a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds as Marquette broke out of its slump Tuesday night with an 88-56 blowout of No. 16 Providence that snapped the Friars’ eight-game winning streak.
Marquette (9-6, 1-3 Big East) emphatically ended its four-game skid by scoring 20 straight points late in the first half. The Golden Eagles’ lead never dropped below 20 throughout the second half.
That represented a major reversal of fortune for Marquette, which faced double-digit deficits in the second half of each of its first three Big East games.
Providence (13-2, 3-1) didn’t have A.J. Reeves, who had played just nine minutes Saturday in a victory at DePaul and had his left pinky and ring finger taped together during that game. Reeves entered Tuesday ranked third on the team with 10.7 points per game.
The Friars fell for the first time since a 58-40 setback against Virginia on Nov. 23 at Newark, New Jersey.
Oso Ighodaro had 16 points, Kam Jones 14 and Olivier Maxence-Prosper 11 for Marquette, which shot 52.5% from the floor. Al Durham scored 16 and Ed Croswell added 11 for Providence.
Marquette bounced back from a 75-69 double-overtime home loss to Creighton in which the Golden Eagles allowed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first extra session.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time taking out their frustrations against the Friars during a first half featuring a few notable momentum shifts.
Marquette went on a 14-1 run early in the game to take a 20-6 lead. Providence outscored Marquette 12-2 over the next five minutes to get within four.
Then Marquette seized control of the game.
Marquette responded to that 12-2 Providence run by getting the next 20 points. Jones scored six points during that stretch and provided the biggest highlight with a step-back move that left him with a wide-open 3-pointer.
Providence trailed by 24 before scoring the last four points of the half. The Friars went 7 minutes, 48 seconds without a basket before Brycen Goodine finally ended the drought with one second left in the half.
Marquette poured it on in the second half and led by as many as 37.
BIG PICTURE
Providence: A lack of offense has cost the Friars in each of their losses. They shot 23.5% and made just 12 baskets against Virginia. Their inability to make baskets in the first half pretty much sealed their fate Tuesday. Providence shot 7 of 25 in the first half.
Marquette: This was a win the Golden Eagles desperately needed. They couldn’t afford to dig themselves into an 0-4 hole in the Big East to have any realistic hope of reaching the NCAA Tournament in coach Shaka Smart’s debut season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
This blowout figures to drop Providence at least in to the 20s, though the Friars likely will stay in the poll next week if they don’t suffer a second straight loss.
UP NEXT
Providence: Hosts St. John’s on Saturday.
Marquette: At Georgetown on Friday.
NO. 1 BAYLOR 84, OKLAHOMA 74
WACO, Texas — James Akinjo matched his career high with 27 points, Adam Flagler scored 22 and top-ranked Baylor stretched its national-best winning streak to 20 games with an 84-74 win over Oklahoma on Tuesday night.
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua added 12 points for the Bears (14-0, 2-0 Big 12), whose winning streak began with their six wins in last season’s NCAA Tournament on way to their first national championship.
After the Sooners (11-3, 1-1) got within 77-72 in the final minute on a fast-break layup by Umoja Gibson, LJ Cryer had a backcourt turnover.
The Bears sealed the game by making seven of eight free throws in the final 40 seconds.
Tanner Groves had 13 points to lead four players in double figures for first-year coach Porter Moser and the Sooners. Jalen Hill and Gibson each had 12 points and Ethan Chargois 10.
NO. 2 DUKE 69, GEORGIA TECH 57
DURHAM, N.C. — Freshman Paolo Banchero had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Duke beat Georgia Tech in its return from a COVID-19 outbreak that led to a pair of postponements.
Duke (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had a rough night on offense and shot a season-low 37.3%. But the Blue Devils’ defense made things even tougher on the Yellow Jackets.
Michael Devoe, who came in averaging a league-best 21.2 points, finished with 21 points for Georgia Tech (6-7, 0-3). All but five of those came in the final 11-plus minutes.
NO. 6 KANSAS 74, OKLAHOMA STATE 63
STILLWATER, Okla. — David McCormack had 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, Ochai Agbaji scored 16 points, and Kansas overcame a scoreless streak of more than 9 1/2 minutes to beat Oklahoma State in the delayed Big 12 Conference opener for both teams.
Kansas (12-1) missed 19 straight shots to end the first half, allowing the Cowboys to pull even at 29-29 by halftime, but the Jayhawks made seven straight shots during a 20-8 run early in the second half that put them back ahead by double digits.
Oklahoma State (7-5) came no closer than six points the rest of the way. Isaac Likekele led Oklahoma State with 16 points.
Kansas won its eighth straight game and its 31st consecutive conference opener.
NO. 9 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Wendell Green Jr. scored a season-high 22 points and Auburn beat South Carolina for its 10th straight win.
Walker Kessler finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks for the Tigers (13-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), whose winning streak is their longest since they won 12 in a row in 2018-19.
Erik Stevenson tied his season high with 25 points for South Carolina (9-4, 0-1).
NO. 14 TEXAS 70, KANSAS STATE 57
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Marcus Carr scored 19 points, Timmy Allen had 17 and Texas rallied in the second half to beat Kansas State.
Courtney Ramey added 14 points and Dylan Disu had 10 for Texas (12-2, 2-0 Big 12), which has won six in a row.
Kansas State led 35-29 at halftime, but the Longhorns opened the second half with an 18-2 run.
Nijel Pack scored 21 points, 15 in the first half, and Selton Miguel finished with 13 points for the Wildcats (8-5, 0-2), who were missing seven players and coach Bruce Weber because of COVID-19 protocols.
NO. 20 COLORADO STATE 67, AIR FORCE 59
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Isaiah Stevens scored 15 points as Colorado State shrugged off some rust following a nearly month-long layoff due to COVID-19 concerns and held off short-handed Air Force .
The Rams (11-0, 1-0 Mountain West) have captured 11 in a row to match the 1988-89 NCAA Tournament team for the second-longest winning streak in school history. The top mark was 14 straight by the 2014-15 squad.
David Roddy added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado State, which played for the first time since a 66-63 win over Mississippi State on Dec. 11.
Ethan Taylor led the Falcons (8-5, 1-1) with 19 points.
NO. 21 LSU 65, NO. 16 KENTUCKY 50
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tari Eason capped his 13-point performance with a dunk following a Kentucky turnover with 13 seconds left, and LSU held off the Wildcats.
Xavier Pinson added 11 points for LSU (13-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference), capped by a flamboyant dunk in the final seconds after Kentucky’s 15th and final turnover.
Darius Day’s third 3 of the game and Eason’s inside basket put LSU ahead 61-52 with 2:35 to go, but Kentucky (11-3, 1-1) nearly rallied all the way back.
Davion Mintz led Kentucky with 16 points after starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler was injured early in the game.
NO. 24 SETON HALL 71, BUTLER 56
INDIANAPOLIS — Jared Rhoden scored 17 points, Alexis Yetna had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Seton Hall beat Butler.
Bryce Aiken added 12 points and seven assists for the Pirates (10-3, 1-2 Big East), who avoided their first 0-3 start in league play since 2009-10.
Bryce Golden scored 20 points for Butler (8-5, 1-1), and fellow big man Bryce Nze added 12 points.