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MILWAUKEE — Jae Crowder scored 27 points and Darius Johnson-Odom added 21 to lead No. 10 Marquette to an 82-65 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night.
The win was the fourth straight and 11th in 12 game for the Golden Eagles (23-5, 12-3) and it kept them tied for second place in the Big East with No. 20 Notre Dame, which beat West Virginia 71-44 on Wednesday. The top four teams earn a double-bye for the conference tournament.
Crowder, named the Big East player of the peek Monday for his career-high 29-point, 12-rebound effort against Connecticut on Saturday, hit 11 of 14 shots, including two 3-pointers, and scored 14 points in the second half.
Jerome Seagears had 14 points and Gilvydas Biruta added 12 for Rutgers (12-16, 4-11), which lost for the sixth straight time, including three in a row to ranked teams. The Scarlet Knights were routed by Notre Dame on Feb. 15, but held its own against No. 2 Syracuse before losing 74-64 on Sunday.
Rutgers, which trailed nearly the entire game, trimmed the lead to 58-52 with 11:30 remaining when Dane Miller scored on an offensive rebound.
But Marquette responded with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 72-54 with 7:40 remaining when Johnson-Odom stole the ball and scored on a dunk. Crowder had six points during the run, including a nifty reverse layup.
Rutgers, which had 23 turnovers, could get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Marquette, which had 12 steals, scored 31 points off the turnovers.
Vander Blue added 10 points for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles, known for their slow starts, jumped out fast against Rutgers, hitting seven of their first eight shots, including three 3-pointers, and took a 21-6 lead when Todd Mayo scored on a driving layup with 14:51 remaining.
But Rutgers used a 23-12 run to trim the lead to 33-29 when Miller scored on a driving layup with 7:16 remaining.
Marquette ended the half on a 13-6 run for a 46-35 lead.
Johnson-Odom and Crowder combined for 32 points in the first half as Marquette forced 14 turnovers and scored 18 points off them.
Marquette forward Davante Gardner missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left knee.
