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Marquette Basketball: Reviewing Golden Eagles’ first 9 games of 2019-20

By Brian Foley

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 13: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles drives against Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half at the Fiserv Forum on November 13, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 13: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles drives against Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers in the first half at the Fiserv Forum on November 13, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT – MARCH 21: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Marquette Basketball is through the toughest portion of its non-conference slate. Here are the positives through nine games and the red flags to monitor going forward.

Marquette Basketball (7-2) hit their typical finals week break with an incredibly similar resume to last year’s blue and gold iteration:

2018-19 (8-2 at this point)

  • Season-opening win against a Baltimore-area mid-major (UMBC)
  • Disheartening double-digit road defeat against a mediocre Big Ten team (Indiana)
  • Poor home showing against a cupcake (Presbyterian) to throw the fan base into an existential crisis
  • Solid showing at a quality Thanksgiving tournament (third place at NIT Tip-Off)
  • Home win over an upper-echelon Big Ten team (Wisconsin)
  • Home win over Kansas State

2019-20 (7-2)

  • Season-opening win against a Baltimore-area mid-major (Loyola (MD))
  • Double-digit road smackdown defeat against a mediocre Big Ten team (Wisconsin)
  • Poor home showing against a cupcake (Robert Morris) following the UW loss to throw the fan base into an existential crisis
  • Solid showing at a quality Thanksgiving tournament (second place at Orlando Invitational)
  • Home win over an upper-echelon Big Ten team (Purdue)
  • Road win over Kansas State

So while there has been plenty of teeth-gnashing from an impatient fanbase, the team is essentially in the same spot it was a year ago. Now this squad does not possess the same game-to-game consistency as last year’s Golden Eagles, so the 2019-20 outfit is unlikely to run off a 21-2 stretch from November to February. But by the same token, this version is also just as unlikely to lose six of its last seven games. It’s entirely possible Marquette enters the conference tournament with a similar record to last year’s regular-season mark (23-8, 12-6), only without the nauseating highs and lows that branded the 2018-19 season.

The Big East has shown its quality this season, particularly if Butler continues to operate on a string and DePaul remains relevant, but no one seems poised to distance themselves from the pack, as indicated by T-Rank’s conference efficiency map. Marquette appears to be in this race for the long haul.

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