Coming from a world where it seemed as though everything went wrong for the No. 21 Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday in Philadelphia, Tuesday was the inverse.
In front of Dwyane Wade and the home crowd at Fiserv Forum, Marquette (21-7, 12-5 Big East) trounced the Providence Friars (12-16, 6-11 Big East) 82-52, completing its first regular season sweep over Providence under head coach Shaka Smart.
Smart, who was looking for his team to provide some fight after Friday’s loss to the Villanova Wildcats, praised his team’s efforts Tuesday, comparing them to a pride of lions.
“Make no mistake about it, it’s when that ball goes up in the air, and the lights are on and popcorn is popping, that’s when it really matters the most, and you got teams desperate to beat you,” Smart said. “I thought our guys had good hunger.”
“I was carrying around a laminated picture of five lions, and I just kept showing that to the guys,” Smart said. “These lions aren’t worried about much; they are just trying to eat.”
They didn’t just eat, they feasted.
Marquette’s balanced scoring attack fused with creating 18 turnovers and reaching the team’s ever-important goal of 32 deflections was a meal satisfactory to the king of the pride.
Here are two takeaways from Marquette’s successful hunt.
3-Pointer Party
As a unit, the Golden Eagles were shooting just 31.6 percent from the 3-point line since the start of conference play heading into Tuesday night’s win. Marquette responded by setting a new season-high in 3-pointers tried and made.
Senior guards Kam Jones and Stevie Mitchell each made four triples, a career-high mark for Mitchell. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor.
“I loved how Stevie shot the ball with aggressiveness,” Smart said on his guard’s performance. “He shot the ball well all year when his mind is clear, and he definitely did that tonight.”
For Mitchell, it was just another day in the office filled with EGBs.
“My efforts kind of been poor for a few games, so just stepping up with that and being the head of spirit, the heart, the engine, whatever it may be,” Mitchell said.
Jones tallied 17 points on 6-for-11 from the field and dished seven assists.
Ben’s Big Day
Since the start of conference play, junior forward Ben Gold has averaged 5.9 points-per-game, contributing only four double-digit performances.
The junior forward exploded for a career-high 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor, including making three triples on five attempts.
“I’m doing the same thing every single day, I’m putting the work in, and I see it paying off, whether it’s in practice, in games,” Gold said. “It’s like a little sigh of relief to see it happen in games, but I know it’s there. My teammates, get me in that position to be able to help me get those open shots and help them out.”
Smart said Gold’s performances this season are badges of honor.
“I think what’s occurred with Ben in the last several games is awesome for his development,” Smart said. “Because he can look in the mirror and he can say, ‘You know what, I’m a good player, and I’ve dealt with some challenges. I can play with any of these guys, my teammates, my coaches believe in me.’”
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at trevor.hilson@marquette.edu or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.