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The Marquette Golden Eagles couldn’t handle Isaac Haas and the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night. The Boilermakers’ overwhelming size was just too much for MU, as Matt Painter’s bunch improve to 2-0 after their 86-71 win.
The stat of the night was certainly how Purdue fared inside. The Boilers shot 28-44 on 2-point tries, good for an astounding 63.6 percent. MU may have to grin and bear with this going forward without Harry Froling or any legit interior presence. The good news for Marquette, though, is they won’t face a team with so many bigs like Purdue... well, ever again this season.
Haas led the way with a team-high 22 points. He was one of four Purdue players wh were in double figures, joining Dakota Mathias, Vincent and Carsen Edwards. Andrew Rowsey scored a game-high 25 points and Markus Howard followed up with 24 of his own. However, besides Sam Hauser’s 12, no other Golden Eagle had more than five.
What We Learned
Marquette’s lack of presence killed ‘em
While MU has an abundance of wings, they simply couldn’t overcome the size mismatch they had. Haas had 22 and five rebounds, Matt Haarms had seven points and three boards while Jacquil Taylor had two points. They were able to get what they wanted collectively, and without any legit presence down low, Marquette was overwhelmed.
Purdue is damn good
Despite the loss of Caleb Swanigan, Purdue more than proved their worth in this 15-point win. The Golden Eagles aren’t the only Big East team that they could face this season. Down in the Battle 4 Atlantis, they may wind up against the Villanova Wildcats. ‘Nova, of course, took them down in Mackey Arena last season. That one could be a dandy, and Purdue is as legit as they come this year.
Marquette, though, will likely get better
As we mentioned, the good news for MU is that they’re not going to have to face anyone with the type of size that Purdue will throw out there. Teams of Purdue’s caliber or better remain, with possible matchups looming against the Wichita State Shockers and/or Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Maui. But don’t expect this Marquette team to roll over, either. With players like Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey aboard, and Froling on the way, Marquette can get better down the road. Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do. In this instance, that’s what happened.