Marquette's Markus Howard showing he's not just a scorer. He also can play defense.

Marquette's Markus Howard has a well-earned reputation as one of the most explosive scorers in college basketball.

The junior guard has never been known for his defense. That might be changing this season.

Howard's effort has been a big reason why the Golden Eagles (8-2) have made tremendous strides as a defensive team. As a result, they have jumped back into the Associated Press rankings this week at No. 21.

"His biggest improvement has come at the defensive end," MU coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "He's competing at a level that he hasn't on the defensive end. He's guarding at a level that he hasn't on the defensive end.

"And his intelligence defensively has been very good. Because he's doing both those things without fouling. That's a huge growth in his game."

Indeed, in many games last season Howard often was whistled for two fouls before halftime. That would earn him a seat on the bench for extended minutes. 

With MU still trying to find its offensive identity this season, the Golden Eagles can ill afford to have their leading scorer (22.9 points per game) off the court for long stretches. He is playing 35.7 minutes per game.

"It’s just been attention to details,” Howard said. “Being in a stance, moving my feet better and making sure I’m staying in front of guys.

"Not getting blown by and using my height to my advantage. Being low to the ground that I am with my size (5 feet 11 inches), using that to my advantage so I can get into the defender and staying in front. 

"I think that's been my biggest improvement, making it a focus of my game, not just my scoring."

Howard's tireless conditioning work in the off-season also helped him become a two-way player.

"Just continue to be adamant about being consistent with weight training," Howard said. "It's definitely been a point of emphasis to continue to get stronger."

Howard was often the primary defender on Wisconsin sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice in the Golden Eagles' 74-69 overtime victory on Saturday at Fiserv Forum. 

Trice went into the game averaging 17 points per game while shooting a scorching 30 for 50 (60 percent) on three-pointers. He scored only 10 points against MU and was 1 for 6 from beyond the arc.

Howard worked in concert with his teammates to navigate UW screens that often end with Trice getting open looks for threes.

"He's really terrific in pulling up with his right hand," Howard said. "We saw it in scouting on film that was primarily where he was getting most of his shots in prior games.

"So we wanted to be sure to try to eliminate that. I felt that we prepared the right way ... and felt we executed pretty well."

That attention to detail is part of the reason why MU is ranked No. 42 in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. The Golden Eagles were ranked 182nd last season and 165th in 2016-'17, usually relying on highly efficient offenses in order to win. 

This season's MU team has grinded out big nonconference wins against Louisville, Kansas State and UW. 

"To be able to win games that aren't necessarily offensively artistic, I think that's beautiful, too," Wojciechowski said. 

When it was pointed out that his team is different defensively than the last few seasons, the MU coach elicited laughs by saying "Thank goodness."

He went on to praise his players.

“Our team competes on defense," Wojciechowski said. "They understand we need defense in order to win until we get the offensive end figured out.

"We’re a solid basketball team that has a chance to get a lot better."