Marquette cruises past Seton Hall 78-56 in Big East

NEW YORK (AP) Matt Carlino matched his best game from beyond the 3-point line and he was quick to credit point guard Derrick Wilson who had a career-high 14 assists.

''Derrick really finds guys with the ball. Guys who set screens. Guys who get open.''

Carlino had all but two of his 26 points on 3-pointers as ninth-seeded Marquette had its best game of the season from beyond the arc in a 78-56 victory over eighth-seeded Seton Hall on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

''I think collectively, as a team, it just really clicked for us tonight,'' Carlino added. ''Derrick's really good at finding the open man and making the smart decision.''

Carlino was 8 for 12 from 3-point range as the Golden Eagles (13-18) finished 13 for 22, just the second time this season they shot better than 50 percent from long range.

Marquette faces top-seeded and fourth-ranked Villanova in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

''I think Villanova is capable of winning a national championship,'' said Marquette first-year coach Steve Wojciechowski. ''Obviously they're extremely well coached and they have some outstanding players. That's why you play the games. I think our guys will be ready.''

Luke Fischer had 14 points and Duane Wilson added 13 for Marquette, which was 13 of 25 (52 percent) from 3-point range in a 95-85 overtime loss to Georgetown on Jan. 24.

Derrick Wilson had seven points for Marquette, which led 35-22 at halftime and went up by as many as 27 points in the second half. Marquette had lost six of its last seven and it snapped a four-game losing streak in the Big East tournament.

''The tournament play allows you the opportunity to start fresh. Regardless of what's happened in the regular season, whether you've had a great season or whether you've had a season with some bumps in it,'' Wojciechowski said. ''I think that's how we approached it and our guys were terrific today.''

Carlino's only 2-point field goal was a jumper with 4:53 left that gave the Golden Eagles a 70-46 lead and it came on an assist by Wilson.

Isaiah Whitehead had 12 points for Seton Hall (16-15), which has lost nine of 10. The Pirates were ranked as high as 19th this season but went 4-12 after that point.

''They do a good job of running Carlino off screens and he just played a hell of a game,'' Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. ''I've just got to give him a lot of credit. He came off screens. He hit some tough shots.''

Marquette came into the game shooting 33.6 percent from 3-point range, ninth in the 10-team conference.

Seton Hall finished 5 of 21 from 3-point range.

Willard was proud of his young team even with the rough finish.

''It's a tough way to end the year but I can't say enough about those guys,'' he said. ''The amount of freshmen that played and the kind of stuff they had to go through, very proud of them.''

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TIP-INS:

Marquette: Steve Taylor Jr. banked in a 3 at the halftime buzzer to end Seton Hall's 8-0 run and give the Golden Eagles a 35-22 lead. ... Marquette's biggest win the Big East tournament was a 74-45 victory over St. John's in 2009.

Seton Hall: The Pirates missed their first six 3-point attempts, then made two in the late 8-0 run. ... The Pirates' worst loss in the Big East tournament was a 75-48 decision against Boston College in 2001.

INJURIES:

Marquette: Duane Wilson hit his face against the scorer's table diving for a loose ball with 10:54 to play. He was taken to the locker room but returned to play.

Seton Hall: Brandon Mobley appeared to re-aggravate a knee injury late in the first half and was limited to six minutes in the second half.

UP NEXT:

Marquette: Top-seeded and fourth-ranked Villanova in quarterfinals on Thursday.

Seton Hall: Hoping for an outside chance at an NIT bid.