Marquette junior scoring machine Markus Howard is the CBS Sports Player of the Week in college basketball for Jan. 7-14.
Howard's become one of the most entertaining and reliable offensive weapons in the sport, helping Marquette become a top-25 squad for much of the season. The Golden Eagles rank 15th in the latest AP Poll and boast a 14-3 with nonconference wins over Louisville, Kansas State, Wisconsin and Buffalo -- which might be the best mid-major team in the sport.
But it's what Howard did over the previous two games, against Creighton and Seton Hall, that has him easily winning the Player of the Week. The 5-foot-10 wonder dropped Big East-record 53 points in a 106-104 overtime road win at Creighton on Jan. 9. In doing so, Howard became the first player in two decades in men's Division I basketball to put up 50 twice in a career.
It was an outrageous display of 3-point shooting. Some of these shots are wild.
Three days later, vs. Seton Hall, Howard had 26 points in a 70-66 home win for the Golden Eagles.
Between both games, the All-American candidate averaged 39.5 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and shot 56.5 percent from 3-point range, making 13 long balls total. Special player.
Howard's averaging 25.8 points this season, the most of any player in a major conference. His 44-percent shooting from 3-point range is a weapon Marquette can rely on -- and just might be what gets it near or to the Final Four.
