Matt Carlino playing much the same at Marquette as he did at BYU

MILWAUKEE — The headline in Thursday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel could have come right out of the Deseret News over the past three years.

“Carlino gets red hot before fizzling out.’’

That’s Matt Carlino, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard, who was known for his spectacular, yet inconsistent play at BYU for three years.

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After last season, Carlino transferred to Marquette, where he is the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer at 13.9 points per game. Carlino is shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 42.5 percent and 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. He’s also second on the team in assists at 3.3 per game and second in turnovers (2.0).

Those are similar to his career stats at BYU, which were 12.5 ppg, 4.6 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game.

In Wednesday night’s game against St. John’s, Carlino led the team with 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. He hit four straight 3-pointers to help Marquette to an eight-point lead, but then missed six straight shots over the rest of the game as his team lost 60-57.

A report in “Midway Madness’’ described Carlino’s play, which may be familiar to local fans who watched him play in Provo for three years.

“For a stretch, Carlino was a one-man wrecking crew as he nailed three after three after three after three. Four straight times the ball found the bottom of the net after being chucked up by Carlino from behind the arc. Then, there were the three possessions that immediately followed that impeccable display of ability.

"With Carlino clearly feeling some confidence taking over, he launched a shot that was well beyond the NBA 3-point line. Then, he proceeded to dribble aimlessly down the lane and threw up a shot that went in the air only after the shot clock expired. To make matters worse, the next time down the floor Carlino chucked up a shot — while having a hand in his face—that did not even come close to hitting the rim.’’

Carlino is playing as a “graduate student” this year after graduating from BYU after his junior year of eligibility. Before coming to BYU, he started his career at UCLA. Marquette is 10-8 this year and 2-4 in conference play.