Marquette turned out to be Xavier's worst nightmare.
The 11th-seeded Golden Eagles stymied the sixth-seeded Musketeers with a stingy defense that denied them offensive rhythm in a 66-55 NCAA Tournament second-round upset Friday at Quicken Loans Arena
The Mrly fouls, missed shots and turnovers and trailed by as many as 18 points.
The Golden Eagles ensured that Tu Holloway didn't score a point for the first 27:37 – not from the field, and not from his trademark place on the free-throw line.
When asked what they did to him defensively, the point guard said he didn't know.
"I can't really figure that out. I guess I was just missing shots today," Holloway said.
With Holloway smothered and Mark Lyons limited because of foul trouble, XU was forced to turn to the post. Kenny Frease rattled off eight first-half points, including a pair of jump shots, and Andrew Taylor scored six points in eight minutes.
Coach Chris Mack said Marquette's intent was to force Holloway to give up the ball. While XU has faced pressure teams before, usually Lyons is on the floor and defuses pressure.
Dante Jackson, Jeff Robinson and the rest of the perimeter personnel are good players, Mack said, but not necessarily the type that break down the defense with the basketball.
"So it gave us a tough way to go in the first half and I thought that was really the difference in the game – our inability to handle their pressure in the first half," Mack said. "I thought we did a better job in the second half, but certainly not one where we could overcome a 13-point deficit at halftime."
In the days leading to the game, Mack spoke at length about keeping the driving Golden Eagles out of the lane while avoiding fouling because the team led the Big East in made free throws.
Darius Johnson-Odom was at the stripe just 63 seconds into the game.
Holloway, meanwhile, averaged 7.5 made free throws entering the contest. He didn't get to the stripe until 3:12 remained.
Marquette never strayed from its relentless play and led 47-29 with 13:27 left in the game. A Johnson-Odom 3-pointer capped a 6-0 run.
XU briefly rallied. The team went on a 7-0 tear that included Holloway's first basket of the game, a 3-pointer with 12:12 left, and cut the deficit to 11. A Robinson tip narrowed it to eight points at the 8:42 mark.
But Marquette scored back-to-back baskets as part of a run that extended its lead, and XU was never able to jump ahead.
Taylor had a career performance in his final game. He went 7-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from the stripe for a career-high 16 points.
"I think they really focused on pressuring our guards and late in the game that really opened things up for Kenny and I," Taylor said. "I've got to give all the credit in the world to Marquette. They played hard. They deserved it."
Frease added 12 points and five rebounds, Jackson scored 10 points, and Jamel McLean had a team-high nine rebounds.
Holloway finished with five points.
