Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Should Villanova remain No. 1?

Record: 8-3

KenPom Rank: 78

NET Ranking: 75 (Q1: 0-2, Q2: 3-1, Q3: 1-0, Q4: 4-0)

Best non-conference win(s): West Virginia (neutral), at Kansas State

Bad loss(es): None

Marquette should feel pretty good about where they stand after the non-conference slate under first-year head coach Shaka Smart. I don’t think many people had them sitting at 8-3; I definitely didn’t. They have struggled a bit against their best two opponents, and the UCLA game was forgettable. But Marquette has shown some real moxie.

Darryl Morsell (13.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 38.3% from three) started the season ablaze and was initially a welcomed offensive surprise for the Golden Eagles. The Maryland transfer is obviously known for his defense but put up 20 or more points in four straight games to open the season. Was this fool’s gold or can Morsell make a big impact on that end? Since that hot start, he has been more consistently good for around 10 or so points but continues to get to the foul line.

The rest of the backcourt is filled with role players who at times have had their different struggles.

Tyler Kolek (6.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.6 apg, 20% from three) seemed to be taking a bigger role for Marquette, but, like most of his teammates, struggles to shoot consistently from three. Greg Elliot (6.4 ppg, 52.4% from three)  has been the lone reliable shooter on this team (can you say that about someone who has only played 7 games?).  Marquette will need more from him moving forward. Kam Jones (7.8 ppg) played hero in the win against Kansas State, can he help out on the offensive end? The theme for the teams at the bottom of the Big East is offensive consistency or lack thereof.

Justin Lewis (15.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 27.8% from three) is trying to do it all for this team, but maintaining efficiency with high volume can be tough. Especially on a team with limited offensive options. Both Morsell and Lewis, Marquette’s top two scorers, have an offensive rating just over 100 on KenPom (where 100 is average and higher is better). They will need to do more in Big East play, but I’m not sure that will happen reliably enough to consistently win.

No one else in the frontcourt has really stepped in and stood out as a true difference-maker. Although, Kur Kuath (2.9 bpg) has been a shot-blocking menace.

Marquette has been a fun team to watch for the most part. Shaka has his players’ attention, and they are playing hard, but he may need another year or two before he is competing atop the conference. As a team, Marquette can defend reasonably well, but this team struggles on offense, to put it mildly.

The team plays fast (ranked 3rd in average possession length), but what good is that if you’re not hitting shots? If you’re missing, then there is opportunity to crash the glass, right? Unfortunately for Marquette, they’re not a great rebounding team on the offensive end either.

Darryl Morsell is a good player and great teammate, but I’m not sure having him as your second-leading scorer is going to win you a lot of games. Besides Lewis and Morsell, Marquette has no other double-figure scorers but has eight other players hovering around 4-8 points per game. Too much will be asked of Justin Lewis this season, and unless Marquette starts hitting their open shots, I think their ceiling in the Big East is a bit limited.