MILWAUKEE — After securing a share of the Big East regular season championship Saturday, Marquette University had two players earn All-Big East honors Sunday.
Junior guard Vander Blue was named All-Big East Second Team, while junior forward Davante Gardner is Honorable Mention All-Big East.
Picked to finish seventh and having had no preseason All-Big East selections, the Golden Eagles have now had at least two postseason all-league selections in each of their eight seasons in the Big East.
Developing into Marquette's main offensive weapon and leading scorer, Blue averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. With his scoring up six points per game from a year ago, Blue also increased his shooting percentage from 41.3 percent in 2011-12 to 46.1 this season. His scoring average jumped to 15.0 points per game in Big East play.
The culmination of Blue's breakout season came Saturday when he hit two clutch baskets in overtime to give the Golden Eagles a share of the conference title. Blue tied the game at 67-67 with a layup with 49 seconds left and then won the game with another tough layup at the buzzer.
Coming off the bench in all 30 of Marquette's games, Gardner averaged 11.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in just 21.5 minutes per game. Gardner shot 57.7 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the line -- good for fourth in the Big East in both categories.
All-Big East First Team
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut, junior
Otto Porter, Georgetown, sophomore (unanimous)
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville, junior
Russ Smith, Louisville, junior
Jack Cooley, Notre Dame, senior
Bryce Cotton, Providence, junior
All-Big East Second Team
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati, junior
Vander Blue, Marquette, junior
Jerian Grant, Notre Dame, junior
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse, sophomore
C.J. Fair, Syracuse, junior
All-Big East Third Team
Markel Starks, Georgetown, junior
Peyton Siva, Louisville, senior
Tray Woodall, Pittsburgh, senior
Brandon Triche, Syracuse, senior
JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova, sophomore
Big East Honorable Mention
Davante Gardner, Marquette, junior
Kadeem Batts, Providence, junior
JaKarr Sampson, St. John's, freshman
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall, junior
Big East All-Rookie Team
Omar Calhoun, Connecticut
D'Vauntes Smith Rivera, Georgetown
Steven Adams, Pittsburgh
Chris Obekpa, St. John's
JaKarr Sampson, St. John's (unanimous)
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova (unanimous)
Follow Andrew Gruman on Twitter.
