Ighodaro leads No. 4 Marquette to 73-59 rout of top-ranked Kansas in testy Maui semifinal
HONOLULU (AP) — Oso Ighodaro had 21 points and nine rebounds as No. 4 Marquette routed No. 1 Kansas 73-59 on Tuesday night in the Maui Invitational semifinals.
The early-season clash of top-5 teams with national title hopes ended up being one-sided. The Golden Eagles (5-0) led for all but 22 seconds and were up by 17 with about seven minutes to play.
Marquette will take on No. 2 Purdue for the tournament championship Wednesday.
Tempers flared in the first half after Kansas swingman Kevin McCullar Jr. drained a jumper in front of Marquette's bench. McCullar appeared to be jawing in the direction of Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart and his players as he headed back downcourt, and members of both teams had to be pulled away in the heated dustup that followed.
An angry Smart and Jayhawks coach Bill Self appeared to exchange unpleasantries along the sideline at the end of the ensuing discussion with officials.
Ighodaro shot 9 of 15 from the field and scored 14 points in the second half. Chase Ross added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Kam Jones scored 10.
McCullar had 24 points and eight rebounds to pace the Jayhawks (4-1). Preseason All-America center Hunter Dickinson was held to 13 points and eight boards. He entered averaging 24.3 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Marquette outscored Kansas 46-26 in the paint and converted 18 forced turnovers into 20 points. Tyler Kolek made five steals and Stevie Mitchell had four to lead an impressive defensive performance by the Golden Eagles, the defending Big East Tournament and regular-season champions.
Marquette improved to 3-11 against top-ranked teams with its first victory since beating Villanova 74-72 at home in January 2017.
Kansas was seeking a 5-0 start for the second straight year.
Marquette held a 38-28 lead at halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas has no shortage of elite talent on its roster, but with several transfers — including Dickinson, who previously played at Michigan — it will take time for Self and his staff to mesh his many pieces. KJ Adams Jr., Dajuan Harris Jr. and McCullar each received All-Big 12 honors last season. Adams was the league’s most improved player, while Harris has been Big 12 defensive player of the year each of the past two seasons.
Marquette rolled to its biggest statement win in two-plus years under Smart, who on Monday pointed out the program hasn’t brought in many transfers and has instead developed its own players over the years.
UP NEXT
Kansas will look to rebound against No. 7 Tennessee in the third-place game Wednesday.
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