SOUTH BEND, IND. ? Notre Dame coach Mike Brey posted a list of this season’s losses by ranked teams on the locker room wall. Villanova beating Michigan State, North Carolina over Kansas and Stanford defeating Florida were all included.

“I put up all of the so-called upsets and told them, ‘Why not us?”‘ Brey said.

Why not?

The Irish not only beat No. 13 Marquette 92-71 on Monday night, it was the largest margin of victory against a ranked opponent since unranked Notre Dame beat No. 3 Missouri 98-67 on March 3, 1990.

Chris Thomas paced the Irish (6-1) with 32 points and 10 assists, driving the lane when he saw openings and hitting three-pointers when he didn’t.

Thomas was 7-of-9 from the field in the second half, including 3-of-4 from the perimeter.

The three three-pointers came during a 17-6 run as the Irish regained control after the Golden Eagles cut the lead to 67-63.

“He continued to slice us up on every front today, whether it was his shooting, his penetration or the assists he had,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said.

The 32 points matched Thomas’s career high set last season against Rutgers. The sophomore guard also had five rebounds.

“He controlled the whole game,” Brey said. “He involved his teammates and took shots when he had them. He made a lot of contributions tonight.”

The Golden Eagles (4-1) made it 67-63 when Travis Diener made two free throws with 9:28 left to cap a 14-6 run that included three-point plays by Robert Jackson and Dwyane Wade.

Marquette guard Travis Diener (34) collides with Notre Dame guard Chris Quinn. Notre Dame defeated Marquette on Monday at South Bend, Ind.

Wade, Marquette’s leading scorer at 25.3 points a game, was just 2-of-8 from the field in the second half and finished with 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting.

Wade said the Irish, who had used mostly man-to-man defense so far this season, did a good job of switching defenses to keep the Golden Eagles off balance.

“They played great defense on me,” he said. “We’ve got to learn to get through that.”

Danny Miller added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Irish.

No. 24 Mississippi St. 100, Alabama A&M 58

Starkville, Miss. – Timmy Bowers scored 19 points and Marcus Campbell added a career-high 16 for the Bulldogs, who won again without center Mario Austin.

The Bulldogs (3-1) were playing their fourth straight game without Austin, who is being held out pending an NCAA ruling on his eligibility.