Joplin scores 20 as No. 6 Marquette rolls to victory over Georgetown

MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Joplin scored 20 points and No. 6 Marquette beat cold-shooting Georgetown 81-51 on Friday, bouncing back from a loss in its Big East opener.

Marquette (10-3, 1-1) won its 18th straight home game, returning to form three nights after an 72-57 loss at Providence. The Golden Eagles have won 19 consecutive Big East home contests.

The Golden Eagles haven’t lost at Fiserv Forum since falling 80-77 in overtime to Wisconsin on Dec. 3, 2022. Marquette’s last Big East home loss was a double-overtime game with Creighton on Jan. 1, 2022.

Tyler Kolek had 13 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for Marquette. Oso Ighodaro also scored 13 points.

Jayden Epps scored 14 and Dontrez Styles had 12 for Georgetown (7-6, 0-2). The Hoyas committed 19 turnovers and shot 32.8% (20 of 61) overall, including a 5-for-25 performance from 3-point range.

Marquette had a lackluster start and didn’t take its first lead until the game was over nine minutes old, but the Golden Eagles stretched the margin to double digits shortly afterward.

Ben Gold hit a trio of 3-pointers during a 17-2 run that turned a 13-10 deficit into a 27-15 advantage. The Golden Eagles extended the lead to 41-24 by halftime.

An 11-0 run early in the second half helped Marquette build the margin to 25, and the Golden Eagles poured it on from there.

Marquette guard Stevie Mitchell missed a fourth straight game with a hamstring injury.

BIG PICTURE

Georgetown: The Hoyas entered Big East competition having won six of their last eight games, but this last week has shown how much of a task former Providence coach Ed Cooley faces in getting Georgetown back to the upper levels of this conference. After losing 74-64 at Butler in its Big East opener, the Hoyas weren’t competitive against Marquette.

Marquette: After Kolek and Kam Jones combined for 34 of Marquette’s 57 points against Providence, the Golden Eagles had a much more balanced attack Friday. Six players scored at least eight points. Marquette overcame an off night from Jones, who scored eight points while shooting 3 of 14 overall and 1 of 7 on 3-point attempts.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Even after this victory, Marquette figures to drop a few spots based on its loss to Providence.

UP NEXT

Georgetown: Hosts No. 12 Creighton on Jan. 2.

Marquette: Hosts Creighton on Dec. 30.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball