NCAA Basketball: North Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings
By Joey Loose
11. Marquette (23-8)
What’s going to be important for Shaka Smart and company is getting everything healthy at the same time. The Golden Eagles have had an incredible season with some impressive wins, but haven’t been at their best in recent weeks without Tyler Kolek, and briefly without Oso Ighodaro. There’s a high ceiling at Marquette if they have all their talent out there, but what can we realistically expect?
Without Kolek on Wednesday against Connecticut, the Golden Eagles fell short, though they hung with the Huskies in a 74-67 defeat. Kam Jones had 18 points while Ighodaro played well with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Fortunately, Maruqette was able to bounce back over the weekend, surviving a tough challenge at Xavier for an 86-80 win. Jones had 30 points and 9 assists in a phenomenal effort against the Musketeers, while Ighodaro scored 24 points himself.
Unfortunate timing plagued the Golden Eagles, as these recent games with Creighton and UConn were far more difficult without Kolek in the lineup. There’s hope he’ll be back for the postseason in the weeks ahead and clearly Marquette will need him when facing top-level competition. They’ll be one of those heavier favorites with a healthy lineup, and might be able to get some revenge over those other two schools.