The past four years of college basketball has produced some incredible scorers. Names like Zion Williamson or Trae Young might come to mind, but there are few who could light up the scoreboard like Marquette's Markus Howard.
Howard not only leaves the Golden Eagles as their all-time leading scorer with 2,761 career points, but he also leaves the Big East as the highest-scoring player in conference games by totaling 1,581 points against Big Eat foes. The 5'11" guard also lead Division I basketball in points per game this year, racking up 27.8 ppg.
With a career with those kinds of numbers, it only makes sense that Markus Howard had some impressive performances throughout his time at Marquette. Howard talks about those games and more on the . His interview with Andy Katz begins at about the one minute and 50-second mark of the podcast. This episode also features Penn State's Lamar Stevens.
Here are Markus Howard's five favorite games at Marquette:
Marquette vs. Rockhurst — Nov. 5, 2016
Markus Howard as a freshman against Rockhurst in 2016
Markus Howard was not afraid to talk about his humble beginnings. Taking us all the way back to the fall of 2016, Howard mentions how his first-ever collegiate shot was an airball. He told Katz that Marquette's strength and conditioning coach used to tease freshmen about missing the first shots of their college career.
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"I shot it and it went over the backboard," Howard said. "He said, 'Don't miss your first shot or don't airball it.' Of course, my first shot was an airball. I kind of say that to say, it's kind of funny how my career went from there."
After the airball, Howard managed to still lead the team in scoring, notching 17 points with four 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles prevailed in the preseason game, beating Rockhurst 106-53.
Marquette vs. Villanova — Feb. 9, 2019
It was a No. 10 vs. No. 14 matchup as Villanova came to town in the thick of Big East season. Howard led his team with 38 points, six rebounds and two assists but it was Marquette's team defense at the end of the game that gave the Golden Eagles a crucial stop and the 66-65 victory.
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"That was a great atmosphere. A lot of fun. Really really great, hard-fought win," Howard told Katz.
Marquette at Providence — Jan. 3, 2018
In early 2018, Markus Howard exploded for 52 points on the road against Providence. Marquette went back and forth with the Friars before pulling away in overtime for the 95-90.
The Golden Eagles had to overcome a late surge from Providence as Howard scored six straight points in the final 1:10 to tie the game at 79-79 and force overtime.
Marquette at Creighton — Jan. 9, 2019
About a year after his first 50+ point Big East performance Markus Howard did it again. This time it was a Big East record — 53 points against Creighton. That game solidified Howard as the first DI player to have multiple 50+ point games in the past 20 years.
"Just the way that game transpired and how we even won that game was honestly a miracle in itself," Howard told Katz.
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The Golden Eagles were down three with Howard inbounding the ball with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. His lob to teammate Sam Hauser set up a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime. Marquette was then able to pull ahead and claim a 106-104 victory.
Marquette vs. Wisconsin — Dec. 8, 2018
The last game Howard mentioned came against in-state rival and at the time No. 12 Wisconsin. It was another overtime thriller, as Howard led the Golden Eagles over the Badgers 74-65 with 27 points.
Despite Howard missing a last-second runner at the end of regulation, Marquette found a way to pull ahead and win in overtime.
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