Basketball remains on an upward trajectory at Marquette, with the Golden Eagles continuing to ascend under head coach Shaka Smart. After faltering while at Texas earlier in his career, Smart has reinvented himself in his home state and has done fantastic work through three years with Marquette. That brief tenure already includes 75 wins, three trips to the Big Dance, and a solid place near the top of the Big East standings.
One year after his Marquette squad won regular season and conference titles in the Big East, Smart’s Golden Eagles came back with a 2nd place finish behind the eventual national champions, securing 27 wins and eventually a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. That postseason run was Smart’s first trip beyond the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament since he took VCU to the Final Four thirteen years ago, but could it be the start of sustained success in Milwaukee?
With UConn coming off back-to-back national titles, it’s clear that Marquette is slightly behind the Huskies, though they’re certainly only directly behind them. The Golden Eagles have played well in recent years in the Big East and actually return a lot of the talent from last season’s success. A few faces like Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro aren’t around any longer, though the talent that remains is certainly significant.
Believe it or not, that returning talent was so significant that Marquette is one of the few prominent programs who did not add anyone using the Transfer Portal this season. There are a lot of familiar names on campus, and we’ll take a few moments to look at each of those notable players as well as Marquette’s schedule in the months to come. What exactly lies in store for this program come March?