Markus Howard scores 36 as No. 10 Marquette beats DePaul 92-73

CHICAGO — Markus Howard scored 36 points, Sam Hauser had 17 and No. 10 Marquette cruised by DePaul for a 92-73 victory on Tuesday night.

Howard went 12 for 21 from the field and 8 for 10 at the free-throw line in another impressive performance. He has scored at least 30 points in four of his last five games.

Sacar Anim added 12 points as Marquette (21-4, 10-2 Big East) won its second straight game since a disappointing 70-69 loss to St. John's.

It was mostly smooth sailing for the Golden Eagles all night long. Hauser went to the locker room after he was poked in his right eye with 6:51 left, but he returned to the bench to watch the final minute with his jubilant teammates.

Femi Olujobi scored 19 points for DePaul (13-10, 5-7), and Max Strus had 16. Paul Reed finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Strus got DePaul within one when he converted a layup with 5:41 left in the first half. But Marquette then pulled away for good, going on an 11-0 run led by the shifty Howard.

The junior guard made two foul shots and a layup to increase the Golden Eagles' lead to 39-34 with 4:46 left. After Jaylen Butz missed two foul shots for DePaul, Jamal Cain hit a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 46-34 with 1:23 remaining.

It was more of the same in the second half as Marquette continued to work the ball around for open looks. Cain and Anim scored before Ed Morrow made a foul shot to give the Eagles a 69-49 lead with 13:40 to go.

Big picture

Marquette: Howard is a terrific scorer, but Hauser also is quite an asset for the Golden Eagles with his ability to start a break off the glass. The 6-foot-8 swingman grabbed a defensive rebound in the first half, dribbled up the court and drained a 3-pointer to make it 29-21 with 11:14 left.

DePaul: Reed helped the Blue Demons to a 42-31 rebounding advantage, but they were picked apart on defense.

Up next

Marquette is off for a week before hosting Butler on Feb. 20. The Golden Eagles beat the Bulldogs 76-58 in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 30.

DePaul visits Butler on Saturday night. The Blue Demons lost 87-69 to the Bulldogs on Jan. 16.