No. 4 Marquette basketball is still undefeated. The Golden Eagles just passed the hardest test there is today in college basketball, as Shaka Smart's squad torched No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks in the semifinals of the 2023 Maui Invitational in Honolulu Tuesday night, 73-59.
It is not about to get much easier for Marquette basketball, with No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers meeting the Golden Eagles in the tournament's championship game this Wednesday, which also means that for the first time in over five decades, there will be a team completing dates against the No. 1 and No. 2 programs in the nation in consecutive days, per FOX Sports Research (h/t John Fanta of FOX Sports)
“Marquette will play No. 2 Purdue tomorrow, becoming the first team to play AP No. 1 and 2 on back-to-back days since Loyola Chicago lost to Bill Walton-led (1) UCLA and (2) Marquette on January 28th and 29th, 1972.”
Marquette basketball flexes muscles vs Kansas
Oso Ighodaro led the Golden Eagles against Kansas with 21 points to go with nine rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes, while Chase Ross came off the bench and fired 12 points. Marquette basketball's defense which entered the game ranked 11th nationally in terms of adjusted efficiency was also a big factor, with the Jayhawks making just 40.7 percent of their shots from the field and committing 18 turnovers.
Sustaining that kind of form is going to be easier said than done, but Marquette will need to do just that this Wednesday against the Boilermakers, who defeated the Tennessee Volunteers in the other semis matchup, 71-67.
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