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Markus Howard update: Best individual matchup of NCAA Tournament is on

By Brad Berreman

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 14: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles handles the ball on offense against the St. John's Red Storm during the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 14: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles handles the ball on offense against the St. John's Red Storm during the Quarterfinals of the 2019 Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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Marquette guard Markus Howard is ready to go for the NCAA Tournament, so his much-anticipated matchup with Murray State’s Ja Morant is officially on.

The Marquette Golden Eagles lost to Seton Hall in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament, as star guard Markus Howard suffered a wrist injury. His status for the NCAA Tournament was put in doubt then, but during an appearance on CBS Sports Network Monday the nation’s No. 6 scorer declared himself ready for Thursday’s game against Murray State.

A look at the top-10 scorers in the country from the regular season shows two left standing in the Field of 68. Of course there’s Howard (25 points per game), and two spots lower is Murray State guard Ja Morant (24.6 points per game).

Both guys are the engine for their team, with Morant also averaging 10.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting just over 50 percent from the floor. Howard sits a notch below Morant in most of the peripheral stats (4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game; 42.4 percent from the floor, 40.8 percent from three-point range), but he had two 45-point games and a 53-point outing this season.

Despite not generally being must-see matchups on paper, history says at least one 12-seed will beat a 5-seed in the Round of 64 this year. One of the convenient picks for that upset this year is Murray State, the 12-seed in the West Region, over the 5-seed Marquette. Marquette is the favorite, by four or 4.5 points based on a quick look at a couple spots, but that feels like a strict nod to being the higher seed.

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Regardless of your bracket picks or what side you may be wagering on, Howard and Morant is good to go as the must-see individual matchup of the tournament. The CBS-Turner partnership will guide viewers well, as usual, but Marquette-Murray State is set tip at 4:30 p.m ET Thursday afternoon on TBS.