No. 18 #MUBB Falls 80-72 at No. 24 UConn, 80-72

The No. 18 Marquette University men's basketball team (16-8, 8-5 BIG EAST) dropped an 80-72 decision at No. 24 UConn (16-6, 7-4 BIG EAST) in league action Tuesday night at the XL Center.

Forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper finished with 18 points, his second-highest total of the season, and forward Justin Lewis added 17 points and nine rebounds.
Marquette closed to within one possession at 63-60 after trailing by double figures in the second half on a Darryl Morsell 3-pointer with just over six minutes left, but the Huskies responded and were able to hold on for the victory.

Earlier in the half, Oso Ighodaro's pair of free throws pulled MU to within one at 53-52, but the Golden Eagles were never able to take the lead.

The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and were down 46-36 at the intermission after the Huskies connected on 58.8 percent of their opportunities in the opening 20 minutes. Prosper led the way with 10 points for MU and Greg Elliott chipped in 10 points off the bench as well.

Notables:

With the win, UConn moved ahead 7-6 in the all-time series, handing MU its first loss in Hartford (entered tonight 3-0)
Prosper finished with 18 points, his second-best total of the season. He netted a career-high 22 points at Georgetown on Jan. 7
Greg Elliott reached double figures in points (18) for the first time in five games and the fifth time this season
Guard Darryl Morsell finished with six steals, matching his season high set against Providence (Jan. 30)
The last time both teams were in the top-25 at the time of the game came in 2009 when the second-ranked Huskies defeated No 8 MU 93-82
Marquette was making its first appearance at the XL Center since the opening round of the 2019 NCAA tournament

UP NEXT: Marquette wraps up its two-game road swing at Butler on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Keep up with the Marquette men's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMBB) and Instagram (@marquette.basketball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMensBB). Fans interested in tickets can contact the Marquette Ticket Office online or at 414-288-GOMU (4668).