Markus Howard is not from planet earth. I mean, he probably is but man, it is such a joy to watch him play basketball. Howard had 42 points in 34 minutes on Saturday in a win against Georgetown. Marquette scored a key win against the Hoyas on the road that will help when March rolls around. Golden Eagles are now 3-3 in the Big East conference. With how crazy the Big East is this season, Marquette still has a legitimate shot at winning the Big East. Anything is possible with college basketball this season.

Player of the Game: Markus Howard – This is obvious, but how about the Georgetown fan that goes ‘Hey Markus, do something!’ early in the game then Markus goes off entirely. The Marquette point guard could not be stopped in this game. He hit the biggest shot in the game with the game knotted at 76 points, and Howard drilled a three-pointer in a corner. No one is more dangerous than him in a late-game situation. I knew that ball was going in once it left his hands. He is such a special player.

Honorable Mention: Koby McEwen – I’m on a Marquette group thread and my buddy Coach asked ‘How are we feeling down the stretch?’ I replied, ‘I feel good but Koby needs to settle.’ Koby did that. He made four huge free throws in the final two minutes. That took some major mental fortitude. Also, he had a pretty good game outside of scoring. He had five rebounds and nine assists. McEwen’s season has been a bit up and down but it’s been mostly good.

One Thing I Didn’t Like: Marquette could not dagger Georgetown – I realize they’re on the road, and it’s hard to win on the road, but this game should not have been close late. Marquette had seven-point leads down the stretch on multiple occasions. They could not get that one death blow to beat Georgetown. Credit the Hoyas a bit, but man, Marquette needs to find easy shots in those situations to ice the game away.

Next up: Marquette will try to win three straight Big East games on Tuesday night when they take on St. John’s. Marquette should be hungry for this one. St. John’s has dominated them in the past few years. The Johnnies have beat the Golden Eagles four of the last six times they’ve played. This St. John’s team blew a 13-point halftime home lead against Seton Hall on Saturday. The Red Storm’s offense has been very, very bad to start the Big East season.

Charlie.