5 Takeaways from Marquette basketball narrowly beating Kansas State
By Todd Welter
![Dec 8, 2021; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Mark Smith (13)] puts up a shot against Marquette Golden Eagles forward Oso Ighodaro (13) during the second half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fd54c354e45211b61e36209dcd3a36ff4d169cd60a57154a7586153a130d8b5f0.jpg "Dec 8, 2021; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Mark Smith (13)] puts up a shot against Marquette Golden Eagles forward Oso Ighodaro (13) during the second half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports")
The Marquette Basketball team needed all 40 minutes to squeeze out their season’s first road win against Kansas State.
The game came down to the final possession. Kansas State forward Ismael Massoud drove to the hoop for a reverse layup attempt only to have his shot blocked away by Marquette center Oso Ighodaro. Marquette left Manhattan, Kansas with a 64-63 victory.
The Marquette Golden Eagles grinded out the win and it was good bounce back victory after being blown out by Wisconsin last Saturday. The Marquette Golden Eagles are now 8-2 on the season as they head into a Saturday afternoon matchup with No. 4 UCLA at Fiserv Forum.
The Marquette Golden Eagles now hold four wins over three power conference teams with victories over Illinois, Ole Miss, West Virginia, and now Kansas State.
Statistically speaking, it was a game the Marquette Golden Eagles should not have won.
The more I dig into the #mubb win, the less it makes sense.
— Paint Touches (@PaintTouches) December 9, 2021
Outscored in fastbreaks 19-2.
Outscored in 2nd chances 17-6.
Outscored in the paint.
Outscored at the stripe.
As @AnonymousEagle rightly noted, a beautiful example of Shaka's "Win Anyway" mantra.
Marquette shot just 41.3% from the field and 29.7% from the three-point range. The defense did hold the Wildcats to just 39.1% shooting from the field and 24% from beyond the arc.
Despite the gaudy offensive numbers, there are plenty of takeaways to go over in this victory ahead of Marquette’s big matchup against UCLA.
Marquette Basketball Takeaway No.1: Ighodaro was in the perfect position to make the game-saving block
Ighodaro’s block was really impressive as he made sure to avoid as much contact as possible. That was key in making sure the referees swallowed their whistle and did not call a foul.
Game winning plays!#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/JwE3tmhxZr
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) December 9, 2021
Oso said after the game, he had a feeling where Massoud was going with the potential game-winning shot:
"“On the film, the guy liked to go baseline and reverse. So I just tried to make a play on the ball and we got out of there with a win.”"