Marquette handles icy DePaul

The only thing colder than the single-digit wind chill in Milwaukee on Monday night was the shooting performance of the DePaul Blue Demons in their 70-52 loss to the Marquette Golden Eagles.

DePaul shot a frigid 29.9% from the field, including 2-12 from beyond the three-point line in the blowout loss. Max Strus and Eli Cain struggled in particular, combining for a 5-22 performance. Brandon Cyrus led the team with 15 points.

The Blue Demons had a stretch in the first half where they missed 15 of 16 field goals, and that caused Marquette to take a 20 point lead into the break. That was more than enough for the Golden Eagles. Sam Hauser led Marquette with a game-high 19 points as he continues his stretch of impressive play, while Andrew Rowsey and Theo John each chipped in 11. Markus Howard failed to score in double-digits for the first time since last February, ending the night with seven.

Marquette certainly didn’t play a flawless game, by any means. But, when your opponent shoots under 30%, your flaws virtually disappear. The Golden Eagles had 15 turnovers, and went just 9-27 from beyond the three-point line. These are certainly things Steve Wojciechowski will look to work on during Marquette’s upcoming bye week.

For DePaul, the maddening frustration of doing more of the same has to continue to resonate. Something have to eventually give for the Blue Demons. They need to play a complete game and show they can compete in the Big East.

Marquette improves to 13-6 and 4-3 in conference play. They’ll get a full week (and a day) off before facing Xavier next Wednesday. DePaul falls to 8-10 and 1-5 in conference play. They’ll host Butler on Saturday.