No. 14 Marquette beats DePaul, Joplin makes 6 3-pointers
Oso Ighodaro #13 of the Marquette Golden Eagles drives to the basket in the first half during a college basketball game against the DePaul Blue Demons at the Wintrust Arena on January 24, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Ima
CHICAGO - David Joplin made six of Marquette's 15 3-pointers, and the 14th-ranked Golden Eagles beat DePaul 86-73 on Wednesday night in the Blue Demons' first game under interim coach Matt Brady.
Marquette shot 54.5% from the field in its third consecutive win. Joplin finished with 21 points after he scored a career-high 28 during an 89-69 win at DePaul last season. Tyler Kolek had 22 points and seven assists, and Oso Ighodaro finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
Led by Joplin, the Golden Eagles (14-5, 5-3 Big East) went 15 for 33 from beyond the arc. Kolek and Ben Gold each made three 3s.
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Brady was elevated to the interim job after Tony Stubblefield was fired on Monday. DePaul (3-16, 0-8) has dropped seven in a row.
The Blue Demons played their second straight game without Chico Carter Jr., who averages a team-high 11.8 points. The 6-foot-2 guard has an unspecified injury that will sideline him for an "extended" time period, according to the school.
Jalen Terry scored 22 points for the Blue Demons, and Jeremiah Oden finished with 19.
DePaul put together an encouraging start, but Marquette started to assert itself midway through the first half. Kam Jones' 3-pointer sparked a 20-3 run for the Golden Eagles, and Kolek's 3 off Ighodaro's offensive rebound made it 40-21 with 6:28 remaining.
Marquette limited DePaul to one made field goal — Terry's 3 with 9:45 left — and forced four turnovers during the key stretch.
The Blue Demons pulled within eight on Oden's layup early in the second half, but Gold made consecutive 3s from the same corner to make it 59-44 with 16:06 remaining. The Golden Eagles maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.