Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Providence, Xavier surging

Marquette has won five of its last six games (including two on the road) and that has led to a major boost in national perception. The Golden Eagles have been absolutely electric on the offensive end during this stretch as they are getting more contributions outside of Markus Howard.

Marquette’s offense is ranked as the second-best in the BE during conference play and that is largely due to its ability to get to the foul line. The Golden Eagles are drawing contact extremely well and are shooting 78.0% on those attempts.

Additionally, Sacar Anim and Koby McEwen are emerging as legitimate secondary scorer next to Howard. Both of them have scored 10+ points in four of Marquette’s last five games and they are as important as anyone to propelling the team into a tie for third place in the conference. There is definite room for development on the defensive end of the floor but it feels like Marquette is hitting its stride.

This team is now a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament with a month remaining until Selection Sunday. It is also worth mentioning, though, that the Golden Eagles are knocking on the door of potentially landing a very high seed. I currently have Marquette pegged as a No. 5 seed due to its 10-6 record in Q1 games.