Tyler Kolek led No. 6 Marquette with 21 points and 10 assists as the Golden Eagles clinched the outright BIG EAST regular season championship with a 72-56 win over Butler Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
 
With the win, Marquette improves to 24-6 on the season and 16-3 in BIG EAST play. Butler falls to 14-16 (6-13 BIG EAST).
 
STAT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Marquette held a 44-24 advantage in points in the paint as Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Oso Ighodaro combined for 26 points overall.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Marquette shot 56 percent from the field in the game, including 65 percent in the second half.
• The Golden Eagles shot 5-for-7 from three-point range in the second half.
• Jayden Taylor led Butler with 13 points, while Jalen Thomas added 10 points and eight rebounds.
• Both teams committed 13 turnovers.
• Marquette had a 36-22 halftime lead and an early 9-0 second half run pushed the lead to 20 for the first time at 47-27 with 12:23 remaining.

OF NOTE:

• Manny Bates returned to action for the Bulldogs after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury.
• The Bulldogs were without Ali Ali Tuesday night, who led the team in scoring in their most recent outing, a road win at DePaul last week.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs conclude the regular season Saturday night, traveling to Xavier for a match-up with the Top 20 Musketeers. The 7 p.m. tip will air on FS1. Butler is locked into a first round game at the BIG EAST Tournament against St. John's on Wednesday, March 8.