Even with Travis Diener, Marquette would have had its hands full at No. 12 Louisville on Wednesday night.
Without Diener, the Golden Eagles had no chance.
Louisville’s Larry O’Bannon scored a career-high 30 points and the Cardinals (17-3, 5-1 Conference USA) handed Marquette (14-5, 2-4) its most lopsided loss ever–99-52. The school’s previous worst defeat was a 57-12 loss to Creighton in 1940.
Diener, the senior point guard who leads the team in scoring and assists, aggravated a left ankle sprain in the Eagles’ 76-66 loss Saturday to Charlotte.
Diener “means a lot to our club and we learned how much tonight,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said.
O’Bannon, who hit a career-high six three-pointers, fought off a grin as he left the floor late in the game to chants of “Lar-ree! Lar-ree!”
“You can’t beat that–20,000 people yelling for you. You can’t even dream of that,” O’Bannon said. “I didn’t want to crack a smile, but I was sunshine on the inside.”
Francisco Garcia added 14 points for the Cardinals, who snapped a three-game home losing streak to Marquette.
Todd Townsend had 17 points, and Marcus Jackson grabbed 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
Flames fall
DaShaun Wood scored 28 points, including two baskets in a late run that helped Wright State hold on for a 72-61 Horizon League victory over Illinois-Chicago.
Wood made a jumper and a layup in a seven-point burst that helped the Raiders (10-9, 5-3) take control down the stretch.Jovan Stefanov led the Flames (9-9, 4-4) with 20 points, but 19 came in a back-and-forth first half that saw five ties and 11 lead changes.
Aztecs lose guard
San Diego State senior guard Travis Hanour will miss the rest of the season because of knee injuries. Hanour was plagued by a series of knee injuries since transferring from Arizona after his freshman year.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
RESULTS, WEDNESDAY’S SYNOPSIS
#8 Boston Coll. 78 at Providence 75
Jared Dudley scored 21 and hit 3-pointer with 1:20 left to give lead to Eagles (17-0, 6-0 Big East), who remained undefeated with Big East victory over Friars (9-9, 0-5).
#14 Alabama 60 at Auburn 55
Earnest Shelton scored 22 and made 5 late 3s to lead Crimson Tide (16-3, 5-1 SEC) over Tigers (9-9, 0-5), who had lost previous league games by average 21.5 points.
Creighton 74 at Bradley 65
Kellen Miliner came off bench to score 15, leading 4 players in double digits as Bluejays (13-7, 5-4 MVC) rallied past Braves (11-6, 4-5), who were led by Tony Bennett’s 17.
S. Illinois 77 at SW Missouri St. 92
Tamarr Maclin had 16 points, 12 rebounds to lead surprising Bears (9-8, 3-6 MVC) past Salukis (15-5, 6-2), who trailed by 23 points with 8 minutes left.
