Marquette Basketball: Keys to first round matchup with Murray State

By Brian Foley | Mar 19, 2019

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles directs his players during a time out as the officials determine fouls in the second half against the Seton Hall Pirates during the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles shakes the hand of Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles during the game against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on February 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Lifting Markus Howard’s burden

Morant certainly has more of an NBA future, but he probably isn’t even the best college guard in this game. That honor goes to Markus Howard, the Big East Player of the Year, who is averaging 25 ppg and 4 apg on 41 percent three-point shooting.

Not surprisingly, Marquette’s season-ending swoon corresponds with Howard’s recent struggles. Though he is still averaging 23.8 ppg during this six-game stretch, his shooting marks – 36/30/82 percent – have all dipped precipitously while his turnovers have spiked (5.0 per game). Howard injured his left wrist in the initial loss at Villanova on Feb. 27, and has not been the same player since. During Friday’s 81-79 semifinal loss to Seton Hall, Howard jammed his wrist again and was forced into the locker room with two minutes remaining in the half.

FS1’s cameras captured Howard’s reaction to the injury with the trainer, and though both Howard and Steve Wojciechowski have dismissed the injury, this certainly does not look optimal:

Howard returned for the start of the second half, but he finished just 1-for-15 from the field and missed six free throws (he is a 90 percent career free throw shooter and nailed 66 straight attempts from the charity stripe last year). It’s clear he was playing well below 100 percent against the Pirates, though nearly a week off between games will give him additional time to heal.

Even if Howard is playing with some bumps and bruises, he can still be a deadly offensive threat, as evidenced by his 30 points on 15 shots against St. John’s in the quarterfinals. It will also be a breath of fresh air for Howard to shift away from Big East opponents who have now faced him at least seven times over the course of his career. Murray State head coach Matt McMahon will certainly focus his game plan on the 5-foot-11 scoring guard, but there’s a difference in knowing you have to guard Howard closely and knowing that you must be inside his jersey before he even touches the ball.

If Wojo can crack open a little more wiggle room for his star junior, then Howard will likely have a big game, wrist injury or not.

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