Marquette Stuns Connecticut

Steve Novak wasted no time introducing himself to the Big East.

The 6-foot-10 senior had career highs of 41 points and 16 rebounds Tuesday night and Marquette won its first Big East game with a 94-79 upset of No. 2 Connecticut at Milwaukee.

Novak set a record for the most points by a player in his Big East debut, bettering the 30 shared by Notre Dame’s Troy Murphy in 1998 and Georgetown’s Allen Iverson in 1994.

“It’s great company to be in. Tonight, just a lot of things were clicking,” Novak said. “It’s our first game in our Big East. It’s our first game playing those guys, so it was hard to know exactly what to expect.”

The higher-ranked teams should expect the best from Novak. His previous career high of 30 points came in a road victory at No. 4 Louisville in 2004, and he scored 16 as a freshman to beat No. 1 Kentucky in the NCAA tournament, which sent the Golden Eagles to the Final Four in 2003.

“Players have to step up when you’re playing against great teams,” Novak said. “Now is no different.”

The victory, Marquette’s first in the regular season over a team ranked higher than third, spoiled the return of Connecticut junior guard Marcus Williams, who was suspended for the first semester over the theft of laptops from a dormitory.

Jerel McNeal added 19 points and 12 rebounds for Marquette (11-3), one of five teams that joined the now 16-team Big East in the off-season from Conference USA.

“This is an unbelievable conference win,” Marquette Coach Tom Crean said. “We just beat a premiere college basketball program in our first game in a new conference, and that is just a special thing.”

Connecticut (11-1) looked out of sync after playing its last seven games at home against opponents such as Morehead State, Stony Brook and Quinnipiac.

“We weren’t prepared,” Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said. “We were living on an 11-0 season that meant absolutely nothing because you have to play the next one.”

The Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run early in the second half to take their first double-digit lead, and Dominic James made a three-point basket to make it 55-41 with 15:01 left.

Novak then refused to let the Huskies get close, making three consecutive free throws to make it 64-47. His three-point basket -- one of six -- with 6:17 left gave Marquette an 80-57 lead. He finished 12 for 20 from the field and 11 for 11 from the free throw line.

“He hit fallaways, he hit a 38-footer, you name it,” Calhoun said. “He was wonderful.”

Rashad Anderson scored 25 points for the Huskies. Josh Boone had 13 and Hilton Armstrong added 12.

The Golden Eagles are 3-17 against teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2.

No. 5 Florida 92, Morgan State 49 -- Lee Humphrey scored 14 points at Gainesville, Fla., and the Gators (13-0) extended the best start in team history.

No. 11 Boston College 91, Massachusetts 62 -- Craig Smith scored 17 points at Boston to lead the Eagles (11-2) to their sixth victory in a row over their cross-state rival at Boston. Rashuan Freeman had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Minutemen (5-5).

No. 12 Oklahoma 50, Southern Methodist 47 -- David Godbold, who had missed 16 of 17 shots over the last five games, hit consecutive three-point baskets in the second half at Dallas, then made two free throws with 34 seconds left to secure the victory for the Sooners (9-2). Dez Willingham had 20 points for the Mustangs (7-5).

No. 13 North Carolina State 83, North Carolina Greensboro 52 -- Tony Bethel was eight for nine from the field and scored 20 points to lead the Wolfpack (12-1) to their seventh win in a row and 10th in a row at home at Raleigh, N.C. Kyle Hines had 18 points for the Spartans (7-7).

No. 16 Indiana 70, Michigan 63 -- Robert Vaden scored 17 points, all in the second half, and extended his school record to 12 consecutive three-point baskets for the Hoosiers (9-2) in a Big Ten opener at Bloomington, Ind. Daniel Horton had 20 points for Michigan (10-2).

No. 19 Kentucky 59, Central Florida 57 -- Rajon Rondo’s turnaround jump shot with a second left helped the Wildcats (10-3) avoid being upset at Lexington, Ky. Josh Peppers had 15 points for the Golden Knights (6-6).

No. 23 Wake Forest 58, East Carolina 54 -- Trent Strickland had 20 points for the Demon Deacons (11-2) at Winston-Salem, N.C. Courtney Captain led the Pirates (5-7) with 14 points.

No. 25 North Carolina 82, Davidson 58 -- Freshman Tyler Hansbrough scored a season-high 23 points and Reyshawn Terry added 16 points for the Tar Heels (8-2) at Chapel Hill, N.C. Brendan Winters scored 18 points for the Wildcats (7-5).