Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 points and Jimmy Butler added 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, as 11th-seeded Marquette easily dispatched 14th-seeded Providence, 87-66, on Tuesday in the first round of the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden.

Jae Crowder chipped in 10 points for the Golden Eagles (19-13, 9-9 Big East), who avoided a three-game losing streak and likely kept their spot on the strong side of the at-large bubble for an NCAA tournament berth. Marquette will be looking to continue its run in the Big East tournament on Wednesday when it faces sixth-seeded West Virginia.

The Golden Eagles came out strong in the first half, jumping out to a 17-0 lead after five minutes and extending it out to 33-11 on Butler’s tip-in with 9:08 left in the period. The Friars began to crawl back into it behind 15 points from Vincent Council but still trailed 46-33 at the break.

A 10-3 run to begin the second pulled Providence to within 50-43, but Butler and Odom combined to score Marquette’s next eight points as it pulled away again.

Council finished with 21 points and Big East leading-scorer Marshon Brooks added 20 in his final game for the Friars (15-17, 4-14).