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

Positives

The return of Greg Elliott and Jamal Cain: After very promising freshmen campaigns in 2017-18, Elliott and Cain both suffered from lost seasons last year, as Elliott was forced to redshirt following offseason thumb surgery, and Cain was simply MIA behind the Hausers in the frontcourt.

But with a new lease on life, both players are thriving in crucial roles off the bench as 3-and-D weapons. Elliott and Cain are also clearly beloved by their fellow teammates and have injected an ounce of energy, athleticism, and unpredictability into Marquette’s system. The Hausers are certainly better basketball players, and they allow for a more natural offensive game plan, but Elliott and Cain’s presence adds some much-needed chaos to MU’s attack, for better and for worse. Unsurprisingly, the Golden Eagles have responded by playing with much more pace this season; MU currently ranks inside the top-25 in adjusted tempo, a significant bump from the past two years.

The defense: In the first four years of the Steve Wojciechowski era, Marquette ranged from average to above average in forcing turnovers. Last year, in response to the defensive crisis and a roster that was not overly athletic, Wojo decided to eschew turnovers, and instead pack the paint and contest as many shots as possible. The team’s defensive rating flipped from abominable to respectable as MU finished 19th in two-point defense and 64th in three-point defense.

Entering this season, with a more athletic crop of players replacing the Hausers, Joseph Chartouny, and Matt Heldt, fans wondered if MU would shift back towards a more turnover-based defense. But Wojo has held firm in his strategy, and well, it seems to be working. Marquette is approaching the 300s in forced turnover rate but is in the top-50 in both two-point and three-point percentage surrendered.

And even when using the vaunted eye test, the continued defensive improvement looks real. Besides Markus Howard, Marquette features impressive size and length throughout its roster. The Golden Eagles have benefitted from some poor shooting opponents, but MU is doing their part on that end as well.

The three-point shooting: Lose the Hausers, and gain two points on your team-wide three-point shooting percentage. Not something I was expecting, but through nine games, Marquette is knocking down over 41 percent of its threes, compared to 39 percent a year ago. The surprising boosts have come from Cain, Elliott, Sacar Anim, and Brendan Bailey, who have collectively drilled 41 percent of their treys, and are now shooting with more confidence and effectiveness.

Regression from that wing quartet seems likely on the surface, but there is some chance they could maintain their high marks. Anim has gradually improved his shooting chops over his five-year MU career, while Bailey came to Milwaukee with a reputation as a shooter, and has shown flashes of a dead-eye stroke (7-12 from deep against Maryland). Elliott is now 20-48 in his brief career, and has attempted multiple threes in seven of the Golden Eagles’ nine games this season. Cain is the wild card; after shooting 47 percent as a freshman, he cratered to 27 percent as a sophomore, before climbing back up to 36 percent in 2019-20. Like anyone, he flourishes with more playing time, something he has earned thus far this year.

With all eyes on Howard, the outside shooting from these four is paramount to MU’s success. So far, so good, and there is reason to believe it can hold relatively steady.

Markus Howard (mostly): Through nine games, Howard has already topped 38 points three separate times, including 51 against USC in the Orlando Invitational semifinals. He is up to 25.1 ppg on 45 percent shooting from behind the arc and is attempting 8.1 free throws per game (his free throws attempted per 100 possessions is on par with a classic James Harden season, a known charity stripe maestro).

He has had a couple weird games mixed in there, most notably a strange performance against Robert Morris where he tallied just six shots, but all in all, Howard has lived up to the billing, even as defenses routinely double- and triple-team him.