#11 Marquette: 69-62 loss versus Butler
Marquette – the lone ranked team who lost at home so far this week – fell shockingly, losing 69-62 to Butler after surrendering a 35-28 halftime lead.
The Golden Eagles now stand at 2-3 in the Big East after losing only a total of three Big East regular-season games last year.
Where Marquette has struggled has been on offense, where they have averaged an effective field goal percentage of just 43.7% in their past five games – a number far off from their average of 52% of the season, according to BartTorvik.
Tyler Kolek has struggled as of late too, scoring just five and two points on 2 of 19 combined shooting over the past two games.
Level of concern: 7/10
This Marquette team does not look like the same Marquette team we saw in Maui. Offensive issues have hurt this team throughout the past five games and finding a way to get Tyler Kolek is crucial for a team that recently lost an integral part of their roster – Sean Jones – to a torn ACL for the remainder of the season.
Marquette is off for the weekend before taking on Villanova at home on Martin Luther King Day followed by a road trip to take on Rick Pitino and St. John’s. Their metrics have taken a bit of a hit recently as they are now just 1-2 in Quad 2 games. It’s a crucial upcoming stretch for a team that is looking to get back on track.