Chris Otule scored a season-high 16 points on 8-of-8 shooting to lift the No. 22 Marquette Golden Eagles to a 72-64 victory over the No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon in Milwaukee, Wisc.
No. 21 Notre Dame vs. No. 22 Marquette final score: Golden Eagles drop Fighting Irish, 72-64
All-American candidate Jack Cooley was ineffective in limited action on Saturday for the Fighting Irish, who missed out on a chance to move into a third-place tie with Marquette, who clinched a double-bye in the Big East tournament.
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Without a healthy Jack Cooley, the No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish struggled on both ends of the court, shooting just 39 percent from the floor while allowing Marquette to hit 59.6 percent of its shots. Cooley, who is reportedly battling an illness, was benched by head coach Mike Brey after just 13 minutes of action. His replacement, Garrick Sherman, went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and had a hard time defending Otule, who entered the game averaging 4.9 points per game.
Despite their issues inside, the Irish cut Marquette’s 16-point lead in half with less than seven minutes remaining and stayed on the heels of the Golden Eagles until Otule’s putback with 3:17 remaining extended Marquette’s lead back to double-digits.
Jamil Wilson added 19 points for Marquette, who move to 21-7, 12-4 in the Big East.
Eric Atkins led Notre Dame, now 22-7 and 10-6 in the Big East, with 21 points, while Zach Auguste scored a career-high 15.
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