Markus Howard Scoring Record Watch

 Photo by Mary Langenfeld - USA Today

As Marquette kicks off the 2019-20 season, one of the most anticipated moments of the season will be when Markus Howard breaks Jerel McNeal's all-time scoring record at Marquette. However, that's not the only record Howard has the chance to break this year. Howard begins his final season with 1,955 career points. Let's break down the scoring records Howard could pass as the soon-to-be-most-prolific scorer in Marquette history goes through his senior campaign.

I will go through these from the most likely to the least likely. I certainly don't expect Howard will pass all of these marks, but I do think he has a legitimate chance at most of them. If he gets the last one, Marquette will likely be spending the final weekend of the season in Atlanta, just like 1977. As the season progresses, I will keep a running tally (in blue) of where Howard is at, with all highlighted sections being accomplishments he has already surpassed.

31 Points -- All-time Marquette Men's Basketball Scoring Record (Jerel McNeal)
Howard will likely reach this mark in one of the first two games of the season, and almost certainly no later than the trip to Madison on November 17. Had he not been injured, he likely would've had this record before the end of last season. ***Howard surpassed this mark on November 5th against Loyola-Maryland.***

45 Points -- First 2,000 Point Scorer in Marquette Men's Basketball History
This is another mark that shouldn't take long. It could come as soon as the Purdue game on November 13 and certainly before the team heads to Orlando. ***Howard surpassed this mark on November 13th against Purdue.***

125 Points -- Single Game Orlando Invitational Scoring Record (Matt Carlino)
Howard's 40 points against Davidson set the single game record for scoring in Orlando, previously held by fellow Marquette player Matt Carlino when he scored 38 against Georgia Tech. ***Howard surpassed this mark on November 28th against Davidson.***

176 Points -- Single Game Orlando Invitational Scoring Record (Markus Howard) and Orlando Invitational Tournament Scoring Record (Justin Robertson)
Howard's 51 points against USC broke his single game record set the night before and also eclipsed the Orlando Invitational three-game scoring record of 77 points by Justin Robertson in 2015. Howard posted 91 in just two games. In an interesting coincidence, Robertson also set his mark against the USC Trojans when he put up 27 points in a win over USC in the third-place game. ***Howard surpassed this mark on November 29th against USC.***

229 Points -- Marquette Sophomore-Senior Years Scoring Record (George Thompson)
George Thompson scored 1,773 points in three years, from his sophomore to senior years. With 229 points, Howard will pass Thompson for the most points scored in the final three seasons. He already holds the three-year scoring record with 1,955 points, and will likely also eclipse that mark this year. ***Howard surpassed this mark on December 21st against North Dakota State.***

241 Points -- Top-10 All-Time Big East Scorers
This is small fish compared to what Howard could achieve on the year, but he could join the league's all-time top-10 during the Grambling game, assuming he roughly replicates last year's scoring pace. ***Howard surpassed this mark on December 21st against North Dakota State.***


250 Points -- All-time Marquette Basketball Scoring Record (Allazia Blockton)
I'll admit, I'm not a fan of comparing records between sports, but if I'm trying to include all the records, this is one of the records. Blockton established this mark last year and remains the only basketball player at Marquette to ever crest the 2,000 point plateau. As a slightly related aside, how nuts is it that last year's Marquette Women's team had 5 of the top-15 scorers in program history on the same squad? Anyway...at last year's pace, Howard would pass this mark in mid-December, either the Grambling or North Dakota State games. ***Howard surpassed this mark on December 21st against North Dakota State.***


258 Points -- All-time NCAA Brothers Scoring Record (Stephen & Seth Curry)
The Currys combined for 4,736 points. Markus' older brother Jordan scored 2,524 points for Central Arkansas. This record will likely fall in one of the games mentioned in the 250 point mark, but it's worth noting that the game after those two is against Central Arkansas. It seems likely Markus will either establish that record before or during that game against UCA. That might be a good time for Marquette to invite Jordan Howard to attend a game at the Fiserv Forum. ***Howard surpassed this mark on December 21st against North Dakota State.***

*42 Made Threes* -- All-Time Marquette Three-Point Makes Record (Steve Novak)
Novak made 354 career three-point field goals. Howard came into the season at 313. Not technically a scoring mark, hence the asterisks. At last year's pace, he would break this record against Central Arkansas. ***Howard surpassed this mark on December 28th against Central Arkansas.***


307 Points -- All-time "New" Big East Scoring Record (Trevon Blueitt)
Since the league reformation in 2013-14, it's Blueitt's 2,261 that stands atop the pile. Doug McDermott scored more for his career, but spent most of that career in the Missouri Valley, so he isn't counted here. This would also make Howard the 7th most prolific scorer in league history and is a number he could be expected to hit around the turn of the new year. ***Howard surpassed this mark on January 1st against Creighton.***

377 Points -- All-Time Scoring Record for a Marquette Player (Andrew Rowsey)
While Jerel McNeal was the Marquette scoring leader, Andrew Rowsey holds the record for the most points scored in Division I basketball by any player to wear a Marquette jersey. Rowsey tallied 1,087 at Marquette, but also rang up over 1,000 points at UNC-Asheville for a career total of 2,331 points. ***Howard surpassed this mark on January 11th against Seton Hall.***

387 Points -- Top-5 All-Time Big East Scorers (Dana Barros)
Dana Barros currently sits in 5th place. He played for Boston College from 1985-1989 and left school as the Big East's All-Time Leading scorer, a record he would hold for 3 years. He led the Eagles in scoring his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. Barros never played in the NCAA Tournament but did reach the semifinals of the NIT in 1988. He went on to play in the NBA over the course of 15 seasons and now runs an AAU program while contributing to the Northeast Sports Network. At last year's pace, Howard would pass Barros on January 7th against Providence. ***Howard surpassed this mark on January 11th against Seton Hall.***

411 Points -- Marquette Three-Year Scoring Record (Markus Howard)
Howard broke George Thompson's three-year scoring mark last year and would break his own mark again this year if he is able to eclipse his freshman year total of 410 points. At last year's pace this would be expected to fall in mid-January, against either Xavier or Georgetown. ***Howard surpassed this mark January 15th against Xavier.***

447 Points -- Fourth in Big East Scoring (Malik Sealy)
Malik Sealy is currently in fourth all-time. Sealy played for St. John's from 1988-1992. He led the Johnnies in scoring as a sophomore, junior, and senior while also helping St. John's to the Elite 8 in 1991. He was a two-time First Team All-Big East player and Second Team All-American as a senior. Sealy left St. John's as the all-time leading scorer in Big East history, but his record was broken just a year later by Terry Dehere. Sealy went on to play 8 seasons in the NBA before dying in an automobile collision at the age of 30. At last year's pace, Howard would pass Sealy against Sealy's alma mater on January 21st, which is this season's Al's Night. ***Howard surpassed this mark January 18th at Georgetown.***

*76 Made Threes* -- Top-25 All-Time NCAA Three Point Makes (LaceDarius Dunn)
Dunn currently sits at 25th in NCAA history and with 76 makes, Howard will move onto that list. Not technically a scoring mark, which is why it has the asterisks, but at last year's pace Howard would reach this accomplishment against DePaul at the beginning of February. ***Howard surpassed this mark January 21st vs St. John's.***

*32 Made Threes in Big East Play* -- All-Time Three Point Makes in Big East Play (Jeremy Hazell)
Howard came into the season 6th on this list with 170 three pointers made in conference games alone. Hazell never had Howard's efficiency from deep (34.4% 3PFGs) but still managed a ton of makes in his 4 years at Seton Hall. The record would likely be further out if not for Hazell having suffered a shooting injury his senior year. Shooting injury as in he was shot, not simply something related to his wrist. Hazell was shot in the back just after Christmas while recovering from another wrist injury during his senior year. He managed to make it back in January but did miss a few Big East games in the process. ***Howard surpassed this mark January 21st vs St. John's.***

522 Points -- Third in Big East Scoring (Luke Harangody)
Luke Harangody is currently third all-time. Harangody played for Notre Dame from 2006-2010. He led the Fighting Irish in scoring as a sophomore, junior, and senior while also helping lift them to three NCAA appearances, including a second round appearance as a sophomore. Harangody was named Big East Player of the Year as a sophomore as well and was named Second Team All-American three times. He played two seasons in the NBA and as of this writing is playing professionally in Europe. At last year's pace, Howard would pass Harangody on January 29th against Xavier. ***Howard surpassed this mark January 24th vs Butler.***

540 Points -- Second in Big East Scoring (Terry Dehere)
Terry Dehere is currently in second all-time. Dehere played for Seton Hall from 1989-1993. He led the Pirates in scoring all four seasons while helping them to three NCAA appearances, including an Elite Eight run as a junior. Dehere was a three-time All-Big East player while being named Big East Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American as a senior. He left Seton Hall as the All-Time Leading scorer in Big East history, a record he would hold for 10 years. He played for six seasons in the NBA. At last year's pace, Howard would pass Dehere on February 1st against DePaul. ***Howard surpassed this mark on January 29 vs Xavier.***

570 Points -- All-time Howard Brother Scoring Record (Jordan Howard)
The brothers record would have fallen far earlier, but for Howard to become the family scoring leader, he'll need to score a bit more. At last year's pace, he would break this record on National Marquette Day against Butler. ***Howard surpassed this mark on February 1 vs DePaul.***

*88 Made Threes* -- All-Time Big East Three-Point Makes Record (Gerry McNamara)
It's always nice to knock a Syracuse player out of the record books, and after Moten, Howard could do the same to McNamara. McNamara made 400 three-point shots in his career, and at last year's pace, Howard would take this record around mid-February, also against Creighton or Providence. It is possible he could knock both Moten and McNamara from the record books in the same game, or even on the same shot.  ***Howard surpassed this mark February 9th against Butler.***


*92 Made Threes* -- All-Time Three-Point Makes Record by a Marquette Player (Andrew Rowsey)
While Novak has the school record, Rowsey had more career makes including his time at UNC-Asheville. With 91 makes, Howard would not only pass Rowsey, but would move into 16th in NCAA history. This is not technically a scoring mark, which is the reason for the asterisks. At last year's pace, Howard would pass this mark against Providence on February 22nd.  ***Howard surpassed this mark February 12th against Villanova.***

*336 Points in Big East Play* -- All-Time Big East Scoring Record in Big East play (Lawrence Moten)
The asterisk is to note that this refers to conference games only. To break this record, Howard would have to average around 18.7 ppg in conference play. It's definitely a reachable mark, and could come after some of the marks listed below depending on how Howard plays in non-conference play. That would require Howard to average over 28.5 ppg in non-conference play, so expect this to occur before any of the marks below. If he has a season similar to last year, this record would fall around mid-February against Creighton or Providence.  ***Howard surpassed this mark February 12th against Villanova.***

635 Points -- All-Time Sibling Pair Scoring Record (Cheryl & Reggie Miller)
Like the Howards, the Millers overlapped, with Cheryl graduating from USC a year before her brother graduated from cross-town UCLA. They scored a combined 5,113 points and have held the sibling scoring record for more than 30 years, as the younger Reggie graduated in 1987. At last year's pace, the Howards would pass the Millers on February 22nd against Providence. ***Howard surpassed this mark February 18th against Creighton.***

678 Points -- All-time Big East Scoring Record (Troy Bell)
If this record falls, it will have stood for nearly 17 years. Bell played for Boston College from 1999-2003. Bell led the Eagles in scoring all four seasons, was a three-time All-Big East player, two-time Big East Player of the Year, and two-time Second Team All-American. The Eagles won the conference regular season and tournament in 2001 while also making two NCAA appearances during Bell's time there. He had a brief stint in the NBA before spending more than a decade playing overseas. If Howard averages 21.9 ppg for the minimum 31 games Marquette will play this year. It seems likely he will play more games than that and score more points than that, so this should be within reach. At last year's pace, this record could fall at the end of February, possibly on national television against Seton Hall. ***Howard surpassed this mark on February 22nd at Providence.***

695 Points -- Marquette Two-Year Scoring Record (Markus Howard)
Howard's 1,545 points during his junior and sophomore seasons are the best total in history and would be ranked 17th were it a career total. If he can eclipse his sophomore season total of 694, he will break his own record, which he took from Dwyane Wade (1,281) last year. 

742 Points -- Top-25 All-time NCAA Scorers
Not an official record in and of itself, but to crack the top-25 all-time, Howard would have to score more in a single season than any Marquette player before him, but less than he scored a year ago. At last year's pace, this would happen on the final regular season game of the year against St. John's. ***Howard surpassed this mark on February 29th against Seton Hall.***

806 Points -- Markus Howard 2019-20 scoring (29 games played)
Through Georgetown at home , Howard is up to 2,761 points for his career and averaging 27.8 points per game for the 2019-20 season and 21.6 points per game for his career while having made 121 three point field goals on the season. He has scored 517 points and made 75 three point field goals in Big East play.

837 Points -- All-time Marquette Scoring Average Record (George Thompson)
This is a moving target dependent on how many games Howard and Marquette play in, but if Howard gets to 837, he will eclipse Thompson's scoring average no matter how many games Marquette plays. He could set this record with as few as 83 points, but based on last year's pace, would be expected to pass this at home against Villanova. See the chart at the bottom of the article to calculate the moving target at any given time. The total was reduced because Howard missed the game against Jacksonville.

852 Points -- All-time Marquette Single Season Scoring Record (Markus Howard)
To establish the benchmark of expectations, Howard scored 851 points last year. That decimated the record set by Andrew Rowsey (716) the year before, but there is reason to think Howard can establish a new single-season scoring record for the third year running. First and foremost, Howard saw a downtick in his scoring after the injury suffered at the end of the Butler game, as his average dropped from 25.7 ppg before the injury (including the goose egg at Georgetown) to 22.9 ppg after. That 22.9 ppg was also far more inefficient, so with his usage in that span his scoring would've normally been expected to go up (he exceeded 40% usage 13 times last season, 6 of those were in the 8 games after the injury). This is a big number, but probably the baseline for expectations. At last year's pace, this would likely fall in postseason play.

966 Points -- All-time Big East Single Season Scoring Record (Kemba Walker)
Howard would have to break his record from last year by less of a margin than he broke Rowsey's mark a year ago, but this is a massive number. To illustrate, if Marquette went to the Big East Final and the Sweet 16, Howard would have to average over 26.8 ppg to break this record. It would also be one of the ten most prolific scoring seasons since the NCAA adopted the three-point line. Possible? Yes. Likely? No. And if it does happen, it is probably a great year for Marquette fans. This record likely wouldn't fall until the NCAA Tournament, and even then would require an impressive season.

*132 Made Threes* -- Top-5 All-Time NCAA Three-Point Makes (Chris Clemons)
This seems like an unlikely mark to reach, but not impossible. Marquette would likely need a deep tournament run or an increase in made threes per game from Howard, because at last year's pace he wouldn't reach this until Marquette was playing in a Final Four (on the heels of a Big East Tournament Title Game Appearance).  

1,045 Points -- 11th 3,000-point scorer in NCAA history
Now we're getting into the silly territory. This is highly unlikely, but if Marquette had a banner year (Big East title game and Final Four appearance) Howard could reach this mark by averaging 27.5 ppg. In the past 5 years, only 2 players have posted that kind of average, and neither did so for a high-major program. If this happens, it would almost certainly be deep into the NCAA Tournament.

1,054 Points -- Top-10 All-time NCAA Scorers
If he's going to crack the 3,000 mark, might as well swish a few more threes and climb into the all-time top-10. This would put him ahead of names like Hersey Hawkins, Oscar Robertson, and Larry Bird.

1,132 Points -- Modern NCAA Single Season Scoring Record (Bo Kimble)
If Marquette went to both the Big East Final and the NCAA Championship Game, Howard would have to average just over 29.0 points on the season to take down the biggest scoring season since the advent of the three-point line. This would also make Howard the seventh most prolific scorer in the history of the game. This is the mark that I consider to be about as far as I can stretch reality. Pete Maravich did have a bigger season than this, but records were not kept as accurately pre-1985, so this is the modern record. If by some miracle this one were to happen, get out the switchblades because we're cutting down nets in Atlanta again, which is about the same time we could expect this record to fall.

I am going to add an additional category, which is the all-time Marquette scoring average mark. George Thompson is credited for averaging 20.4 ppg, though to be specifically accurate, he scored 1,773 points in 87 games, which comes out to 20.37931 ppg. Coming into the season, Howard had 1,955 points in 99 games, which comes out to 19.74747 ppg. Because of the nature of the season, the scoring average will always be a moving target. Any time Howard scores 21+ points, he will get closer to eclipsing Thompson's mark and any time he scores 20 or fewer he will make passing Brute Force more difficult.

Here is a spreadsheet of how many total points he will need by any given game to pass Thompson's mark. I am starting with the first game and going all the way to the maximum 39 games Marquette could play. The "Points" column will refer to the total points Howard would need to have on the season to eclipse the mark at that point. The "Average" column will refer to Howard's 2019-20 scoring average to that point of the season, absolutely rounded up. So for instance, 41.3 with the 3 repeating will be rounded to 41.4 because he has to be over the mark to be over Thompson's total. In addition, he could easily pass Thompson at some point, then fall behind again if he goes through a slump, which is why the chart continues throughout the year. The average number given above in blue text will provide a barometer for where Howard sits if readers want to look ahead to project when at the current pace he would pass Thompson.

 

Game	Points	Average	Game	Points	Average	Game	Points	Average
1	83	83.0	14	348	24.9	27	613	22.8
2	104	52.0	15	369	24.6	28	634	22.7
3	124	41.4	16	389	24.4	29	654	22.6
4	145	36.3	17	410	24.2	30	674	22.5
5	165	33.0	18	430	23.9	31	695	22.5
6	185	30.9	19	450	23.7	32	715	22.4
7	206	29.5	20	471	23.6	33	736	22.4
8	226	28.3	21	491	23.4	34	756	22.3
9	246	27.4	22	511	23.3	35	776	22.2
10	267	26.7	23	532	23.2	36	797	22.2
11	287	26.1	24	552	23.0	37	817	22.1
12	308	25.7	25	573	23.0	38	837	22.1
13	328	25.3	26	593	22.9	39	858	22.0