Marquette rebounded from their loss to Butler by beating Mississippi State, 89-62 on Tuesday in Maui.

The Golden Eagles seemed to be looking forward in this game. They came out with lots of energy and ended up with 14 steals, eight blocked shots and four players in double figures. Another thing that may have helped Marquette is that Mississippi State only had eight active players on their bench due to suspensions and injuries.

Vander Blue scored 18 points while Davante Gardener contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds. Trent Lockett had 13 points and Jamil Wilson made 11 points.

These last two games have seen Vander Blue take a huge step up from last year. He has never been a perimeter shooter but in the last two games he is  5 of 8 beyond the arc. Davante Gardener has also become one of Marquette’s best all around players. In his playing time against Mississippi State, he was 7 of 14 shooting for 15 points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds.

Next up for the Golden Eagles is USC today at 4 pm CST in Maui on ESPN2.