Busting Brackets
Fansided

Marquette Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Golden Eagles

By Lukas Harkins

GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 17, 2017 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 17, 2017 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 20: The Marquette Golden Eagles bench celebrates. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 20: The Marquette Golden Eagles bench celebrates. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Non-conference schedule breakdown

Considering the Big East is expected to experience a bit of a down season in 2018-19, performing well in difficult non-conference matchups will be vital for Marquette basketball’s potential NCAA Tournament seed down the road. And, with regards to this upcoming campaign, Coach Wojo and Co. landed a few high-quality matchups early in the season. In my opinion, the team will play at least six games that project as Quadrant 1 or 2 games this season:

  • Nov. 14: at Indiana Hoosiers (A)
  • Nov. 21: vs. Kansas Jayhawks (N)
  • Nov. 23: vs. Tennessee/Louisville (N)
  • Dec. 1: vs. Kansas State Wildcats (H)
  • Dec. 9: vs. Wisconsin Badgers (H)
  • Dec. 21: vs. Buffalo Bulls (H)

Quite simply, Marquette basketball is immediately jumping into a difficult schedule with a road matchup against Indiana early in the new season. The Hoosiers project as a fringe top-25 team heading into this season and could be favored against the Golden Eagles. Then, facing the likes of Kansas and Tennessee/Louisville with just one day in between will be extremely difficult. And this does not even include the idea that Kansas State will be a top-25 team and Wisconsin could be significantly better than last season.

Finally, Buffalo at home will be a very difficult game. Even if the Bulls are not on the same level as some of Marquette’s other opponents, they have some excellent pieces and could compete for an at-large bid this season. With that said, Marquette should under no circumstances underestimate Buffalo near the end of the non-conference schedule. A slip-up in that game could shake the confidence of the team heading into Big East play and that could be dangerous.

Even though Marquette could be a preseason top-25 team in the country, the team will likely be the underdog in at least three non-conference games.

Home/Big East