#MUBB Downs No. 12/16 Texas, 86-65

Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The No. 8/7 Marquette University men's basketball team took down No. 12/16 Texas, 86-65, on Wednesday night in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.

The Golden Eagles (7-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) had three players in double-figures led by Tyler Kolek who had a season-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Kolek's 11 made field goals tied a career-high.
Marquette led by as many as 32 points in the second half and hit a season-high 14 3-pointers.

Texas (6-2, 0-0 Big 12) were led by Max Abmas who had 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

Notables:

Marquette improves to 4-1 in BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle games and 2-0 against the University of Texas. MU's only other game against Texas was a 65-56 win on Dec. 27, 1977 in Milwaukee.
The win is MU's third this season over a ranked opponent (others are at No. 23 Illinois and against No. 1 Kansas in Maui).
Marquette improves to 16-9 under head coach Shaka Smart against opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top-25, and 8-3 against top-12 teams. Smart coached the Longhorns for six seasons (2015-21) before leaving for MU in 2021.
The victory is Marquette's fifth 20-point victory in program history over a team ranked in the top-12 of the AP Poll. The last 20-point win over a ranked team was a 96-70 win over then-No. 6 Baylor in last year's BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.
In addition to the season-best 14 made triples, MU shot a season-high 46.7 percent from deep (14-of-30).
Kolek had 28 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the fourth game in his career with at least 25-5-5. He also added three steals on Wednesday night in 31 minutes.
MU sophomore guard Chase Ross tied his career high with 12 points.
It is Kolek's 10th 20-point game of his Marquette career. Kolek's previous season high of 24 points came in a Nov. 14 win at then-No. 23 Illinois.
Kolek's 28 points are the most for an MU player since David Joplin's 28-point performance against DePaul on Jan. 28, 2023.
Kolek's career high of 29 points came last season at Providence in a double overtime loss. Today's point total is the most he has scored in a regulation NCAA game.
Kolek put MU up with a 3-pointer to start the game before Abmas reeled off a trio of triples on UT's first three shots. Texas would go 1-for-11 over its next 11 shots as MU rallied to knot the score at 11.
Kolek tied a season best with 16 first-half points, including a 4-of-7 mark from deep in 16:59 of court time. He closed the frame with three 3-pointers over the final 1:42 as MU's lead ballooned to 42-28 on a 13-0 MU run.
Abmas reached his season scoring average of 16.7 points with 17 of UT's 28 points in the first half. He entered the game averaging 24.5 points per game over his previous two contests and ended the night as UT's leading scorer with 25.
Texas junior guard Tyrese Hunter is a native of nearby Racine, Wisconsin and attended St. Catherine's High School, alma mater of MU greats Jim Chones and Jim McIlvaine, among others.
Hunter played his third collegiate game at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night. Hunter was a freshman at Iowa State in 2021-22 when he led the Cyclones past LSU and Wisconsin into the 2022 Sweet 16. In his first NCAA tournament game at Fiserv against the Tigers, Hunter hit 7-of-11 3-pointers on his way to a then-career-high 23 points alongside five steals, three rebounds and three assists.

UP NEXT: Marquette returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Central time when the team hosts Notre Dame at Fiserv Forum.

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).