Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Providence, SJU trending oppositely

By Lukas Harkins

ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 01: Head coach Ed Cooley of the Providence Friars looks on in the second half of the game against the Pepperdine Waves during the Wooden Legacy at the Anaheim Convention Center at on December 1, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - DECEMBER 01: Head coach Ed Cooley of the Providence Friars looks on in the second half of the game against the Pepperdine Waves during the Wooden Legacy at the Anaheim Convention Center at on December 1, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 11
Next
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 04: Elliott of Marquette celebrates. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 04: Elliott of Marquette celebrates. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

. Marquette Golden Eagles. 6. player. 474. .

Marquette dropped a home game to Providence during this past week that it probably should have won. The Golden Eagles essentially had every opportunity down the stretch of that game to defend the Fiserv Forum but were unable to seal the deal even with 39 points from star guard Markus Howard. It would be easy to get wrapped up in talking about that loss, but it is also important to mention that the team knocked off Villanova also since the last installment of my power rankings.

That win over Villanova, in my opinion, will have a bigger positive impact on Marquette’s resume than the loss to Providence will have a negative one by the time the season ends. On the whole, there are some reasons to panic about Marquette’s play so far this season (most notably its wildly inconsistent nature) but it’s too early to do so. The Golden Eagles have been all over the map so far this season and we still have to figure out who they are really going to be.

If I had to hazard a guess for the team moving forward, Marquette will be an opening-weekend exit at the NCAA Tournament. While I am not all that high on the team’s potential due to its inconsistencies, I would be a fool to simply disregard the idea that the Golden Eagles will be a threat if they make the Big Dance due to the presence of Howard. He is the “oh, I’m going to put up 40+ points tonight” type of player that can take over in the biggest moments.

Howard is yet to win an NCAA Tournament game in his career. I find it hard to imagine he will leave Milwaukee as one of the best players in program history without at least one defining postseason performance in a win.

Home/Big East