#MUBB tops No. 6 UConn, 82-76

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE - The No. 25/23 Marquette University men's basketball team picked up its second top-10 win of the season on Wednesday night with an 82-76 victory over No. 6/7 UConn at Fiserv Forum.

The Golden Eagles (14-4, 6-1 BIG EAST) were led by the junior forward duo of Oso Ighodaro and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Ighodaro contributed a season-best 19 points and three boards with three assists. Prosper pitched in 17 points and six rebounds.

Marquette shot 50.8 percent from the field and forced UConn into 16 turnovers.

The Huskies (15-3, 4-3 BIG EAST) were paced by Donovan Clingan with 20 points,10 rebounds and five blocks. UConn ended the game shooting 48.3 percent.

Notables

MU's win snapped a four-game UConn winning streak and is its first triumph in the series since the Huskies rejoined the BIG EAST Conference last season.
MU will face the Huskies in a rematch on Feb. 7 in Hartford, Connecticut.
The victory is Marquette's second of the year over a ranked opponent. MU previously knocked off then-No. 6 Baylor, 96-70, on Nov. 29 at Fiserv Forum.
It is the third top-10 victory for the Golden Eagles under Smart. In addition to the win over Baylor, MU also knocked off then-No. 10 Illinois last season. MU is 3-1 in the last two seasons against top-10 teams.
MU improves to 134-209 against top-25 teams, including a mark of 8-6 under Smart.
MU is now 51-127 against top-10 opponents.
MU shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half (15-of-25) and was 30-of-59 (50.8 percent) for the game.
Marquette's leading scorer Kam Jones (16.1 points per game) did not score in the opening half and finished with 15 points in the game.
MU's Oso Ighodaro tied a season-best with 19 points. He was also a career-best 5-for-5 from the free throw line after entering the game shooting a meager .405 (15-of-37) from the charity stripe.
MU held UConn's second-leading scorer Jordan Hawkins (14.8 ppg) to zero first-half points. Hawkins finished with eight points.
BIG EAST scoring leader Adama Sonogo (17.9 ppg) scored just 10 points in 19 minutes of action for UConn.
The two teams exchanged scoring runs in the opening half. UConn captured the early lead from Marquette with a 16-0 run to go up 31-20. That nearly five-minute scoring drought from the Golden Eagles was followed by a 9-0 MU run.
Freshman Sean Jones led MU in the first half with seven points and his jumper with time expiring pulled Marquette within four, 37-33, at the break. Jones had a career-best three steals in the game.
MU captured its first lead of the second half, 44-42, at the 15:55 mark on an Oso Ighodaro jumper and led by as many as nine points.
The 44 points scored in the paint for the Huskies is a season-high for an MU opponent. Providence had the previous high of 42 points on Dec. 20.
UConn freshman Donovan Clingan reached 20 points for the second time this season. He had a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds in UConn's win over Long Island on Dec. 10. Clingan also had 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year tonight.
UConn, the BIG EAST leader in blocked shots (5.0 per game), had 11 on the night, including eight in the first 20 minutes. Clingan had a game- and career-high five blocks.

UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles hit the road to take on the nationally ranked Xavier Musketeers at Cintas Center on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 11 a.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).