No. 4 Marquette hands No. 1 Kansas first loss

Field Level Media|published: Wed 22nd November, 01:20 2023

Nov 21, 2023; Honolulu, HI, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Dajuan Harris Jr. (3) drives the ball downcourt against Marquette Golden Eagles guard Kam Jones (1) and David Joplin (23) during the first period at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. credits: Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports

Oso Ighodaro had 21 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as No. 4 Marquette defeated No. 1 Kansas 73-59 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu on Tuesday.

Kansas scored the first basket of the game for its first and last lead of the contest.

The Golden Eagles will face No. 2 Purdue in the championship game on Wednesday. The Jayhawks will face No. 7 Tennessee in the third-place game. Purdue defeated Tennessee 71-67 in the first semifinal on Tuesday.

Marquette (5-0) forced 18 Kansas turnovers. The Golden Eagles had 11 steals. They also had seven players between six and 12 points.

Kansas (4-1), which came into the game averaging 92.5 points per game, 13th in the country, was held in check. The Jayhawks were led by Kevin McCullar Jr., who had 24 points. Hunter Dickinson added 13.

Marquette used a 9-0 run early in the second half to open up its largest lead at 49-32. The Golden Eagles had trailed UCLA by 12 points in the second half of their opening-round victory before a 17-0 run gave them the lead.

The Jayhawks then used a 10-2 run to cut into Marquette's lead on Tuesday. But Ben Gold hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the cushion. Kansas could never cut its deficit to single digits down the stretch.

Marquette gradually pulled away in the first half, opening its second double-digit lead at 33-22 with 5:13 left. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jamari McDowell and McCullar quickly trimmed it back to a five-point game.

Following those buckets, technical fouls were called on both coaches for a verbal exchange that lingered through a timeout. Marquette responded after the timeout and rebuilt a 10-point lead, taking a 38-28 advantage into the locker room.

McCullar, who was coming off back-to-back triple-doubles, led Kansas with 14 points in the first half. He was the only Jayhawk with more than seven points. The Golden Eagles did not have anyone score in double figures, but they had six players with at least five points.

Kansas shot better in the first half, but 12 turnovers cost the Jayhawks too many scoring opportunities. Marquette held a 26-10 advantage in points in the paint.

—Field Level Media

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