Stevie Mitchell, Marquette off to fast start

Stevie Mitchell had six points, six rebounds and three steals as No. 5 Marquette opened its season Monday with a 92-70 victory over Northern Illinois at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Mitchell, Wilson’s all-time scoring leader, played 20 minutes and had Marquette’s highest plus/minus rating at plus-26.

Big things are expected of the Golden Eagles after their Big East championship last season. They’re the league’s preseason favorite and have four players named to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame preseason watch lists.

Kam Jones, who led Marquette in scoring last season, scored a game-high 20 points Monday. Tyler Kolek scored 14 points.

“It’s great to be back in Fiserv Forum,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “What an unbelievable crowd. (I’m) just so grateful for our fans.

“The energy that the crowd gave us particularly in the first half as we were making a couple runs, it felt like a Big East game from the standpoint of the atmosphere. (I) can’t thank our fans enough for making this place such a special place to play basketball.”

Prior to the game Marquette unveiled its 2022-23 Big East championship banner; last year’s championship was its first outright and fourth all-time since joining the league in 2005-06. Marquette tied a record for league wins, finishing 17-3.

Marquette also set a program record with 29 victories overall.

Mitchell started all 36 games last season and evolved as the team’s defensive stopper. He had a career-high 19 points against Villanova.

Mitchell was Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Wilson in 2021 and a two-time Berks Player of the Year. He was a two-time Berks scoring champ and finished his career with 2,060 points.

As he a junior he led the Bulldogs to their only District 3 championship.