Marquette Basketball: Next steps for Golden Eagles after Murray State defeat

What does this mean for Wojo?

The angry Twitter mob can put down their pitchforks. Wojciechowski isn’t going anywhere, nor should he.

Yes, the end of the season was a mighty disappointment and the horrific loss to Murray State should be largely placed at the feet of the coaching staff, but over the first 27 games, Wojo took another step forward on the sidelines. He continually builds top-tier offenses, is a master at drawing up plays out of timeouts, is a high-level recruiter in both the high school and transfer markets, and his players have legitimately improved over the course of his tenure. Even looking past the stars like Howard and Hauser, Wojciechowski’s leadership has turned Anim and John – two guys who were glued to the bench as freshmen – into valuable starters.

This doesn’t mean Wojo gets off completely scot-free though. The sloppy defense and lazy turnovers in crunch time over the final few games are certainly not indicative of great coaching. And in Wojo’s two NCAA appearances over five seasons, his teams have been absolutely boat-raced in the first round by very beatable opponents (a 93-73 loss to 7 seed South Carolina in 2017 and an 83-64 loss to 12 seed Murray State in 2019). Two games is a very small sample, and it’s not as if Marquette has failed to beat anyone out of conference during Wojo’s tenure, but it’s not a good look to lose by a combined 39 points on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Wojciechowski is seemingly beloved by the university administration – deservedly so, as he is a fantastic ambassador for the school and fills his team with high-quality people – and MU has already extended his contract once through the end of the 2021-22 season. He is definitely around for the long haul, and while he has had his fair share of bumps along way, it’s also fair to say that he has noticeably improved over his five years at the helm (though maybe not as much as some would like).

Next year is not a make-or-break season for Wojciechowski. If Marquette puts up a similar campaign with an early tourney loss, I would be very surprised if the university decided to make a move. Wojo did what he needed to do this season – clean up the defense and comfortably land a tournament bid – to keep his seat at room temperature.

Now, next season’s team should be much better if Howard returns, so the vultures will be circling if there isn’t legitimate growth in 2019-20, but here’s betting Wojo manages to improve on this year’s 24-10 (12-6 Big East) record.

Marquette still posted a collection of thrilling wins in a packed arena on a nightly basis. Nearly every team has a sour taste in its mouth by the end of the year, and though this flavor is especially tart right now, it’s likely the fan base will look back upon this season with more fondness than frustration in time.