Marquette slams top-ranked Kansas, set for No. 2 Purdue

Wilson grad Stevie Mitchell had four steals and scored seven points as Marquette remained unbeaten with a 73-59 win over the nation’s top-ranked team, Kansas, in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational Tuesday.

The Golden Eagles (5-0) play No. 2 Purdue in the championship game Wednesday at 5 on ESPN.

Marquette will be the first team since Loyola (Chicago) in 1972 to play the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation on consecutive days.

It was Marquette’s third win against a top-ranked team and first since beating Villanova in 2017.

Oso Ighodaro scored a team-high 21 points for Marquette, hitting 9-of-15 shots; he also had a game-high nine rebounds.

Mitchell, a junior and second-year starter, had five rebounds in 27 minutes.

Kevin McCullar Jr. led Kansans (4-1) with 24 points.

“We felt like, as a team, that this was a game that we had some advantages in,” said Marquette coach Shaka Smart, “but we felt like it was really, really important to press those advantages by being connected, helping each other, having a level of resolve even when things don’t go our way.

“I thought our guys started the game with really, really good energy. Both teams were scoring, but then after about the first six to eight minutes, I thought we settled in defensively and that was the difference in the game.”

Marquette, ranked No. 4 in the nation, led by 10 points at halftime and by as many as 17 in the second half.

This is Marquette’s first appearance in Maui since 2007.

“I thought Marquette played great,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “I thought they were so quick. We got behind and played catchup the whole game, but I actually thought we played better than the score. But they were definitely the much better team tonight.”