5 Marquette Outlasted by 6 Iowa State in Top 10 Matchup

In what was deemed as a heavyweight bout leading up to the game, the Cyclones punched Marquette in the mouth early. 

Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles came with a plan into what was deemed a heavyweight bout leading up to the game, then Iowa State punched Marquette in the mouth.

The Cyclones dominated the first 10 minutes jumping out to an early 11 point lead. T.J. Otzelberger’s defense was smothering per usual, but the offense was firing on all cylinders looking like they were at shoot-around instead of facing the top turnover defense in the nation. 

Iowa State could not miss in the first half. 14 minutes into the game, the home team was shooting both 60% from 3-point range, and the field as a whole. 

Despite the Cyclones being hotter than the sun offensively, the Golden Eagles managed to keep their cool by holding the deficit to single digits at half. 

Déjà vu struck Iowa State in the second half, eerily similar to when they cooled off offensively letting Auburn tie in the Maui Invitational last week.

Once Marquette evened the score, the wheels fell off and the duct tape ripped open from the immense effort it took clawing themselves back into the game. Marquette let the game slip away when Iowa State rekindled their offensive flame going on a 14-0 run. By then the Golden Eagles simply didn’t have time to come back again.

Keshon Gilbert’s 24 points led the game in scoring while Joshua Jefferson, Curtis Jones, and Dishon Jackson all finished in double figures. 

The difference in the game? Marquette’s seniors were ice cold. Kam Jones and David Joplin combined to shoot 9-33 from the field. With those numbers, trying to beat the No. 6 team in the country on the road is a fool’s errand. If they both shot close to their averages, the Golden Eagles may have walked out of Ames with a win. 

In the offensive disappearing act from the seniors, it was the freshmen who picked up the scoring slack, allowing Marquette to hang around for most of the game. Royce Parham and Damarius Owens showed tremendous poise and a fearlessness offensively, scoring 17 and 11 points against one of the nation’s best defenses in their gym.

Marquette faced an uphill battle early in the game and the hill only got steeper once Chase Ross left the game in the first half after rolling his ankle. He would not return to the game and came back to the bench with a boot on said ankle. It’s unclear his status heading into Saturday’s game against No. 11 Wisconsin.