Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Butler, Seton Hall secure road wins

Marquette entered conference play with a relatively solid resume. The Golden Eagles ended their non-conference season with a 10-2 record that included wins over Purdue, Davidson, USC, and Kansas State. The team showcased improved defense throughout the first two months while Markus Howard took over several games with his scoring as well. Defense and Howard were expected to be two strengths of Marquette this season and therefore the team’s play during the first two months was not a major surprise.

That is, of course, until Marquette’s defense essentially took a nap against Creighton during its conference-opener. From the opening tip of that road game, the Golden Eagles surrendered wide-open driving lanes and also allowed one of the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams to consistently find open looks. After watching Marquette play strong defense throughout most of non-conference play, this was a jarring performance as they looked completely outmatched by the Bluejays.

Marquette gave up 92 total points in the 17-point loss as its defense was never able to down Creighton’s high-powered attack.

I do believe that Marquette is a better team than what it showed against Creighton but that performance was disconcerting. Thankfully, three of Marquette’s next four games will come at home and that should give the squad a chance to secure some early victories in conference play.

Nothing will come easy in the Big East this season and taking advantage of games in the Fiserv Forum will be crucial for the Golden Eagles.