NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team backcourts for 2023-24 season

2. Marquette Golden Eagles

On a team that won 29 games overall and got both Big East titles, Marquette is lucky to bring back its entire backcourt rotation for another year. The only guard that left the team was Emarion Ellis, who didn’t even play last season. The most important returning piece for the team is Tyler Kolek, the reigning Big East Player of the Year.

Kolek averaged 12.9 ppg and 7.5 apg, good for first in the conference and third nationally. From a scoring perspective, the 6’3 guard shot 47% from the field, 40% from three-point range, along with 80% from the charity stripe. He also had a season-high 25 points against Xavier, along with 15 assists in a game versus Georgetown.

Leading scorer Kameron Jones (15.1 ppg) is back after his own breakout sophomore season. He went for 20+ points on eight different occasions, including 26 points and six rebounds against Wisconsin. Stevie Mitchell (7.2 ppg) is the other starter and doesn’t get nearly the same attention as the other two but he’s an outstanding two-way contributor on the floor.

Add returning rotation pieces Sean Jones and Chase Ross, Marquette has everything you need in a successful backcourt. We’re unlikely to see much from freshmen Zaide Lowery and Tre Norman but in case of injury, the Golden Eagles have more depth to work with on the roster.