Marquette is Creighton’s daddy or so it seems in the Big East. Marquette has beat Creighton the last six times they’ve played and the Golden Eagles seem to do it in weird ways especially in Omaha. A few years ago, they stunned a top-ranked Jays team with a big game from Henry Ellenson that left their fans screaming bloody murder. Last year, Sacar Anim led an amazing comeback in the second half where Marquette couldn’t miss and they beat Creighton. This year, though, tops them all with an incredible victory that happened because Creighton could not inbound the ball, and Sam Hauser made a three to force overtime. In overtime, Markus Howard took over and the rest is history.

Player of the Game: Markus Howard – What a fucking game. I’ve been saying for awhile that Markus Howard is like Steph Curry. People call me crazy or look at me, but listen, this guy has Curry-like ability. He is going to be one of the top players to watch in the NCAA Tournament this season. He is must-see television. Howard scored 53 points which is the franchise record. Howard could potentially break George Thompson’s scoring record. That’s not out of the question. Markus made 10 threes in this game. Howard should be the front-runner for Player of the Year in college basketball. Name me a player that’s playing better than him right now.

Silver Star: Sam Hauser – If you missed his buzzer-beater, we blogged it this morning. Hauser finished the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sam has been a bit cold in the last few games and to see him warm up a bit plus a buzzer-beater is a great moment. Even though Howard was the dude last night, Hauser played a role in bringing this team back and forcing overtime then winning the game.

The Thing I Like: This game means they’re never out of it – Here’s the thing I love about this game. Marquette knows they’re never out of a game. That’s a great feeling for a team. Marquette knows they can come back from any sort of deficit. Howard and Hauser played a huge role but also, Theo John had some major moments plus Joseph Chartouny did as well. It took a team effort to win this game and fight off a red hot Creighton team. Starting to love this team, and it’s been awhile since I’ve said that about a Golden Eagles team.

Thing I Didn’t Like: Defense still isn’t traveling on the road – It caught me off guard to hear CBS Sports broadcast call Marquette one of the best defensive teams in the Big East. That is a true statement, and we haven’t heard that about the Golden Eagles in a long time. That said, it’s still not coming with them on the road. Marquette struggled again defensively away from the Fiserv Forum. Creighton did shoot better than any team Marquette has played this year but still, it was not a great defensive output from either team.

Next up: Marquette will have to avoid a letdown heading home to play Seton Hall. This is not the same Hall bunch that bullied Marquette the last couple years with Angel Delgado, but they’re still a good team. The Pirates took down Butler last night in a close game and will try to the do the same versus the Golden Eagles. Myles Powell is their main source of offense. Shut him down, and it’s pretty tough for the Pirates to do anything.

Charlie.