Marquette Basketball: What does an NIT run mean for Steve Wojciechowski?
By Brian Foley
Marquette Basketball fans are split on Steve Wojciechowski as the right head coach for the program. Does an NIT run sway that stance one way or another?
With two victories in the NIT thus far, Marquette has pushed its season win total to 21, the highest of the Steve Wojciechowski era, and the programs most since 2012-13 when Buzz Williams’ squad finished 26-9.
Wojo is now 73-58 in four seasons with Marquette, good for a .557 win percentage. Going back to Al McGuire, here’s how that compares to the first four seasons of every other head coach with the blue and gold (Rick Majerus and Bob Dukiet only lasted three years apiece at MU):
| Record | Win % | NCAAs | NITs | |
| Hank Raymonds | 84-31 | .730 | 3 | 1 |
| Buzz Williams | 96-45 | .681 | 4 | 0 |
| Tom Crean | 83-41 | .669 | 2 | 1 |
| Mike Deane | 86-43 | .667 | 2 | 1 |
| Al McGuire | 66-45 | .595 | 1 | 1 |
| Steve Wojciechowski | 73-58 | .557 | 1 | 1 |
| Kevin O’Neill | 62-53 | .539 | 1 | 1 |
Obviously, Wojo is still finishing up his fourth season, so he could tack on a couple extra W’s if Marquette advances to Madison Square Garden. But through four seasons, he is locked into sixth place among Marquette’s last seven coaches who have stayed at least four years.
Let’s be clear; Wojciechowski is not on the hot seat yet. Though MU has not had a ton of success recently, there is more context to the situation than pure wins and losses. Wojo is also an excellent representative of the university off the court, which has likely earned him plenty of leash with the administration while he works through on-court issues.
Still, with the offseason looming, let’s detail both sides of the Wojo conversation.