Marquette Basketball: The good, bad, and the ugly for the Golden Eagles
By Brian Foley
Marquette Basketball has picked up the pieces with a couple of key wins after a rocky start, and could now be the 2018-19 Big East favorite.
With the Marquette Golden Eagles (8-2) on a brief hiatus around the school’s finals week, it’s a good time to take stock of the season thus far.
Despite entering 2018-19 with the highest expectations of the Steve Wojciechowski era, the Golden Eagles sputtered out of the gate with disappointing performances against both Indiana and Kansas.
But Marquette salvaged its Thanksgiving holiday with a comeback overtime win against Louisville, which then kickstarted a five-game winning streak. Marquette owns the best resume of any Big East team and sits 22nd in the NCAA’s NET system.
MU’s offense is not as effective as it has been in the past – it is ranked 33rd nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, down from 8th and 12th in the previous two seasons – but its defensive improvements – up to 41 after two years at 165 and 182 – is now the foundation for a true Big East contender.
In Wojo’s first four seasons, Marquette was only 2-19 when shooting 40 percent or worse against high-major teams. The Golden Eagles are 2-0 in such games this year. They need to start shooting and scoring more consistently, but they can still win in spite of a poor offensive showing. That is a big step for this program and signals growth for the future.
Along with its post at 22nd in NET, Marquette is ranked 39th in T-Rank, 35th in KenPom, 21st in the AP Poll, and 20th in our Busting Brackets power rankings. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly for the Golden Eagles as we hit approach the one-third mark of the season.