Marquette Basketball: Reviewing Golden Eagles’ first 9 games of 2019-20
By Brian Foley
What to Watch
Symir Torrence’s progression: Torrence struggled to find his sea legs in his first few games, but as he gets acclimated to collegiate action, Marquette is beginning to see glimpses of his well-regarded talent. After receiving a pair of DNPs in Orlando, Torrence has averaged 15 minutes per game in MU’s last two wins over Jacksonville and Kansas State, dishing out eight assists with zero turnovers in the process.
The Syracuse native still makes classic freshman mistakes on the defensive end, and he is not really much of a scoring threat to this point. But freshmen with innate vision and precision are a rare breed, something that bodes well as Torrence rounds out the other areas of his game.
Jayce Johnson, back from injury: After missing the first week of the season recovering from a knee injury, Johnson has provided some impact minutes off the bench of late. His scoring isn’t his calling card, but his size, length, and motor are incredible assets. Johnson yanked down 22 rebounds in just 44 minutes over three games at the Orlando Invitational. Foul trouble has been an issue, but as he returns to full health, I expect Wojo to make Johnson the first big man off the bench instead of Morrow.
The free throw rate: The good – Marquette ranks 6th among high-major teams in offensive free throw rate, up from 30th a year ago. The bad – the Golden Eagles are just 82nd among high-major programs in free throw rate allowed.
Marquette’s Big East title contention may rely on two crucial aspects: turnover rate and free throw rate allowed. It tough to win consistently against quality opponents when you spot them free possessions and easy points every night.
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The Golden Eagles are in decent position right now, and with three non-conference cupcakes remaining, Marquette should enter the Big East portion of its slate at 10-2 and in the midst of a five-game winning streak. MU will be thrown into the fire once conference play begins, with four of its first five games coming against teams currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament field. How Marquette answers that opening stretch in January will answer a lot of questions regarding their March hopes.