Oso Ighodaro had 16 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead Marquette to a 69-58 victory Friday night over visiting Creighton at Milwaukee in the Big East opener for both teams.
Shaka Smart, in his 14th season as a head coach, earned his 300th career victory.
Marquette (9-3, 1-0 Big East) won for the sixth time in its last seven games with two other players scoring in double figures — Oliver Maxence-Prosper (14 points) and David Joplin (10).
Tyler Kolek finished with a game-high seven assists and four steals for the Golden Eagles.
Creighton, ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25 poll earlier this season, has lost six straight.
The Bluejays (6-6, 0-1) have played the last three games without senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
Kalkbrenner is suffering from a non-COVID-19 illness, according to the school. He has sat on the bench during his absence, including Friday’s game.
Without Kalkbrenner, Creighton’s depth is affected with freshman Fredrick King starting in his place.
Marquette’s bench outscored Creighton 21-7.
The Bluejays were led by King’s 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Baylor Schiereman added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Arthur Kaluma added 12 points.
King’s dunk with 7:51 left in the first half cut Marquette’s lead to 25-24.
The Golden Eagles proceeded to go on a 10-0 run before leading 40-31 at halftime.
A 9-0 run increased Marquette’s lead to 64-47 with 7:27 remaining.
The Bluejays did not get closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
Creighton’s 18 turnovers led to 18 points for Marquette.
The Bluejays were 4 of 20 from 3-point range and they attempted only five free throws (making four).
Marquette was 21 of 39 (53.8 percent) from within the 3-point line.
The Golden Eagles scored 42 of their points in the paint, overshadowing a 1-of-8 shooting performance from beyond the arc in the second half.
–Field Level Media
