After consecutive victories over touted opponents, No. 10 Marquette will have to avoid a letdown against visiting Stonehill in a nonconference matchup Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
Marquette, 6-0 for the first time since 2011-12, is coming off an 80-69 victory over Georgia on Saturday in the Bahamas. The Golden Eagles’ victory versus the Bulldogs came after a win earlier in the week against previously undefeated Purdue, which then dropped seven spots to No. 13.
David Joplin netted a career-high 29 points to help Marquette hand Georgia its first loss of the season.
The Golden Eagles led by just one at the break, but opened the second half with a 19-5 run. Georgia rallied within 69-66 with just less than five minutes left, but Marquette answered with a nine-point run to put the game away. The Golden Eagles shot 59.3 percent in the second half, including 6-of-12 beyond the arc.
Marquette has four players scoring in double figures, led by guard Kam Jones, who averages 20.5 points per game. Joplin adds 15.2 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds. Chase Ross tallies 13.2 points and Stevie Mitchell supplies 12.5.
Marquette averages 81.3 points per game, allowing 64.7. The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded by 1.3 per game, but offset that with a plus-8.3 turnover margin.
As of Tuesday, Marquette ranked fourth in the nation with 12.2 steals per game, with Ross third in Division I with 3.5 per contest.
“He’s a playmaker, Chase, on the defensive end,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said after the Georgia game. “I think it’s a fine line that he’s continuing to learn. Between taking maybe reckless chances and taking the right chances.
“But Chase is better (at) that than me or anyone else coaching our team or following our team. So, we’re going to continue letting him develop that feel because he’s excellent at it.”
Stonehill (4-4) made the jump to Division I in 2022, joining the Northeast Conference. The Skyhawks were 4-27 last season, including lopsided losses to UConn and Kentucky and a one-point defeat at Rutgers.
Stonehill’s last three games have been decided by a total of four points, splitting a pair of one-point decisions before defeating East Texas A&M 67-65 on Monday by hitting four free throws in the final three seconds.
Todd Brogna hit the tying foul shots for the Skyhawks before Chas Stinson hit the game-winning pair after a steal.
Brogna averages 13.0 points along with team-high 6.8 rebounds per game, while Stinson chips in 7.3 points. Graduate transfer Josh Morgan leads Stonehill in scoring with 15.4 points per game.
Two of the Skyhawks’ losses this season were on the road at Notre Dame, 89-60, and Providence, 76-49. Last Thursday, Stonehill defeated Bryant, a team that averages 85.4 points per game, 67-66.
“I’m impressed and proud with our group,” Skyhawks coach Chris Kraus said afterward. “Our group is growing, learning day by day, week by week, game by game. We’ve got guys that haven’t played a lot of college minutes.”
Stonehill averages 66.1 points per game, allowing 68.8. The Skyhawks shoot 38.5 percent from 3-point range but just 38.7 percent overall.
