Losing Oliver-Maxence Prosper to the NBA, How Far Can Marquette Go This Season?

The Marquette Golden Eagles men’s basketball team extended their unbeaten run to 3-0 during the NCAA regular season. The team is currently fourth-seeded and looking to carry over their form from last year. They are prime contenders for the NCAA tournament and if they can upend some of the biggies, who knows things might fall in their lap this season. But how have they performed till now?

The Marquette clobbered the Illinois Fighting Illini with a decent margin of 71-64 in their third game. The Tyler Kolek-led team had edged past their rivals in both halves. Kolek smacked the highest 24 points for his team and was backed by their guard Kameron Jones and forward Oso Ighodaro who potted 15 and 13 points respectively. They did surprisingly well in defense too as all of their players contributed their part in rebounds.

Eagles Soaring High

The Golden Eagles had previously defeated the Rider Broncs and the Northern Illinois Huskies on 11 November and 7 November. While they decimated the Broncs by a blowout margin of 95-65, they upended the Huskies with a huge difference of 92-70.

Jones was the highest scorer with 23 points during their contest against the Broncs, and Ighodaro rebounded a towering 11 points. Notably, against the Huskies, the Marquette players Jones, Kolek, and Ighodaro besotted 20, 14 and 13 points respectively. All in all the Milwaukee team has gelled in well and performed as a unit.

Kolek has been the gelling glue for the team. He looks under control, can score and pass efficiently. His another attribute is that he can plan layups really well. He has quite a pleasing pace. He might not be the best point guard, but has improved his shooting skills over time and takes appropriate decisions.

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The Marquette earlier lost one of their most important players, the power forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper to the NBA. The 21-year-old was acquired by the Dallas Wings. But other than him, most of their major last year rooster came back this year and made the Eagles an integrated team.

Marquette: The Conventionals

While other teams are acquiring players during the transfer season, the Shaka Smart coached team didn’t and chose to go the conventional way. The team chemistry shows that thoughtful and traditional mindset on the court. Team bonding is one of the most significant reasons why many mid major teams upset high major teams. And hopefully, the Marquette can do so this season.

Other players who might take onus can be their forward David Joplin and guard Jones. While Joplin was a supporting sixth man last year, he can turn into an efficient scorer this year. Jones on the other hand has demonstrated his skills in the three games he has played. He averages a whopping 19.3 points with an astounding 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

Since the team is more or less similar to last season’s, their proficiency can be judged from how they performed last year. The Eagles had an endearing record of 29-7, 17-3 in the Big East. They went onto win the regular season championship. They defeated some of the most dominant teams including the UConn and bagged the Big East Tournament title. As a result they earned an entry to the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seeded team. Though they won the first round, the Fiserv Forum team couldn’t progress ahead as they lost to the Michigan State during the next round.

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If the Marquette are to win the Championship, they will have to stick to their attribute that differentiates them from other teams which is their cohesiveness. Joplin will have to step up his game while Kolek will have to make the right decisions. With a team so good and Shaka’s properly conceived coaching, they can once again win the Big East and get an entry to the NCAA tournament where they will have to give their best shot.