AMES, Iowa — Marquette men’s basketball needed its defense to be at its best. With the most violence. The most havoc. The most aggressive. The most Shaka Smart.
That’s what it takes to stop 6th ranked Iowa State. The Cyclones may be their mascot name, yes, but its also an apt description for the high-octane, free-flowing offense with which they play.
A stout defense is what’s taken No. 5 Marquette (8-1) to new, historic heights. What’s allowed it to squash — nay, demolish — preseason prognostications. It’s what has led it to silence rowdy road environments and walk away with hard-earned victories.
In Wednesday night’s meaty all-top-10 matchup at famed Hilton Coliseum, the Golden Eagles were only going to go as far as their defense allowed.
Which, at the start, was the Marquette equivalent to walking to the end of the driveway, let alone getting on the freeway.
The Golden Eagles, who lead the nation with 12.4 steals per game, had only one to their name. And the Cyclones had only been forced to commit three turnovers, which they couldn’t convert into any points. They had nine deflections, well away from reaching their goal of 32 every 40 minutes.
Iowa State didn’t make a basket for the final 2:32 of the first half, and despite that, had a 46-37 lead going into the locker room. The Cyclones were getting anything and everything in the paint, the Golden Eagles’ defense quiet as can be. They went into the break having posted a 64.3% clip from the field, also going 57.1% from beyond the arc.
But then Marquette — specifically its defense — woke up.
And it tied the game, 61-61, off the back of a 10-0 run. And it had 21 deflections only eight minutes into the second period. On the Shaka Smart meter, the Golden Eagles were a heck of a lot closer to acceptable than they were at the start.
Marquette was digging deep despite being without defensive presence Zaide Lowery and the team’s deflection leader in Chase Ross, who left partway through the opening 20 minutes with an ankle injury and didn’t return.
Iowa State, though, sent Marquette back to the confines of the defeated when it responded with five effortless points — which turned into a 14-0 run — and didn’t look back.
The Golden Eagles were back in their garage. Not on the road, and no where near it. They had only four steals by the time the final buzzer rang and, while they forced 12 turnovers, they scored a lowly five points off them.
The Cyclones finished shooting 30-for-59 from the field and 6-for-15 from deep. Keshon Gilbert, who came into Wednesday averaging 16.5 points per game, led all with 24 on 7-of-15 shooting.
Hilton Magic trumped the Maui Hangover, and Marquette went home with its first loss of the season, 81-70.
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at jack.albright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.