All three contests involving BIG EAST teams Wednesday were part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Marquette used a big second-half rally to beat Purdue. Providence put together a big comeback, but fell short at Northwestern, and Villanova never got untracked at Ohio State.
After trailing by 17 points in the first half and down 38-25 at the break, Marquette stormed back to defeat Purdue 65-55 at Fiserv Forum. The Golden Eagles (2-0) outscored the Boilermakers 40-17 in the second half. With Purdue playing effective defense on Markus Howard, newcomer Koby McEwen stepped up to score 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.