Marquette Basketball: Breakdown of the Golden Eagles’ 2018-19 non-conference schedule

Nov. 21 vs. Kansas (NIT Tip-Off at Barclays Center)

Last Year: 31-8 (13-5 Big 12)
NCAA Tournament: 1 seed, Final Four
2018-19 Projection: 1st

According to Thursday’s report from FRS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Marquette will play Kansas in the opening round of the NIT Tip-Off in Brooklyn, while Tennessee will face Louisville on the other side of the bracket.

The Jayhawks lost three key pieces from last season – Devonte’ Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Malik Newman – but still enter the 2018-19 campaign as one of the top teams in the nation. That’s because Bill Self has replaced the 46.1 points, 12.0 assists, and 3.9 steals per game from last year’s trio with playmaking from freshmen Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson and transfers Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson.

Marquette was one of the four finalists for the five-star point guard Grimes before he ultimately signed with Kansas last year. Alongside Grimes will be Lagerald Vick, who made his surprising return to Lawrence after pulling out of the NBA Draft, and Dedric Lawson, who averaged 19.2 points and 9.9 rebounds for Memphis last season.

Playing the potential number one team in the nation will be no shock to these Golden Eagles; over the last five years, Villanova has had an average ranking of 3.7 in its 12 matchups against Marquette, including 4 games where the Wildcats were first in the poll. Off course, MU is just 1-11 in those games against ‘Nova, though it does help that the Marquette will play Kansas on a neutral floor, rather than the legendary Allen Fieldhouse.

Still, if Marquette manages to stay within striking distance, Wojo will have to be pleased with his team’s performance. Self has a very different squad from last year’s Final Four squad, but he should be able to steer this team deep into March. This game is about building a battle-tested MU squad for the postseason; it’s unreasonable to expect Marquette to win this contest in November.

MU is 1-6 all-time vs. Kansas, with the last matchup likely still ingrained in the hearts of the blue and gold faithful. The Jayhawks pounded Dwyane Wade’s Golden Eagles in the 2003 Final Four, delivering a 94-61 smackdown that was over from the start.

Nov. 23 vs. Tennessee/Louisville (NIT Tip-Off)

The Volunteers will enter 2018-19 as a likely preseason top-10 team, while the Cardinals are in something of a rebuilding year. So should Marquette fall short against Kansas as expected, Howard, Hauser, and co. will take on a familiar foe in Chris Mack, who left Xavier for Louisville over the offseason.

If Marquette can hang tough against Kansas and beat Louisville in the second game, Thanksgiving week will be a success for the Golden Eagles.