Marquette Basketball: The good, bad, and the ugly for the Golden Eagles

By Brian Foley | Dec 15, 2018

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts from the bench against the Seton Hall Pirates during the Big East Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22 of the Marquette Golden Eagles attempts a shot while being guarded by Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers in the first half at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Good

Joey Hauser’s impact: Joey Hauser flew under the radar before the season – he missed the majority of his high school senior campaign with injury and enrolled early to redshirt last year – but he has hit the ground running in 2018-19. He is averaging 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 39.3 percent three-point shooting, and ranks 12th among all freshmen with a 59.2 effective field goal percentage (min. 18 percent usage rate).

Wojciechowski has already made the younger Hauser the focal point of the offense several times this season when he sits Markus Howard and Sam Hauser together, and the pick-and-pop slip that Sam has perfected with MU’s guards has translated seamlessly to Joey’s game as well.

Massive defensive strides: Marquette almost had to improve defensively after last season’s fiasco, but no one expected this kind of leap. The Golden Eagles now have good size – three starters stand at least 6-foot-8 and starting shooting guard Sacar Anim is a strong 6-foot-5 – and even though Howard is only 5-foot-11, he is fighting hard and making life difficult on opposing guards (he held Wisconsin’s D’Mitrik Trice to 3/8 shooting last week). MU has also limited its fouls after allowing a ghastly free throw rate last year, cleaned up the defensive glass, and now brings a pair of defensive aces in Ed Morrow and Joseph Chartouny off the bench. Marquette’s defensive improvement is the biggest reason for the team’s early success.

Protecting home turf: The BMO Harris Bradley Center was typically a tough place to play, but in their first season inside the new arena, the Golden Eagles have turned the Fiserv Forum into a viper pit. Marquette is now 7-0 at home with impressive victories over Kansas State and Wisconsin, which were both ranked no. 12 at game time. MU has three more home contests remaining (North Dakota, no. 14 Buffalo, and Southern) on the December slate before traveling to Queens for a matchup with St. John’s to open Big East play on Jan. 1.

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