Can Marquette Win The March Madness?

There is no doubt that the Big East is one of the most competitive leagues in the NCAA at the moment. After producing last year’s national champions in the form of UConn, several other teams have shown that they have the potential to accomplish something similar this time around. Now, with the shocking exit of Creighton from the Big East tournament, many have started wondering which team can match the might of Huskies. One such team that has grabbed everyone’s attention through their remarkable conference campaign is Marquette Golden Eagles.

It appears that they are now one of the programs to watch out for in the March Madness. With their all-round play, several experts are rooting for them to repeat their 1977 heroics. However, despite their majestic run in the regular season, it’s not gonna be a walk in the park for them.

Marquette’s conference dominance

After finishing second on the table, Shaka Smart’s lot of talented ballers have raised a lot of eyebrows because of the supreme brand of basketball they have presented. In the 20 games that they have participated in, they have won 14 which include victories over heavyweights like Kansas and Texas. In addition to this, they gave Zach Edey and Co. a run for their money in their marginal 75-78 loss at home. Further, they have been absolutely flawless when playing at home. They have just lost 2 games this season out of which one was a neck-to-neck contest against the defending champions UConn.

The No.10 ranked team knows how to settle scores as was evident in their game against Providence. After losing their first game, they made a resounding comeback against them in the next by decimating the Friars 91-69. They have a chance to go one-up against the same opponent when they meet them in the Big East tournament semi-finals.

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At the same time, the Golden Eagles do have an impressive stat chart that adds more value to their contention.

What do the numbers suggest for Marquette?

So far, Marquette has come forward as a formidable offensively driven team. They have scored a total of 2526 points while maintaining an average of 78.9 points per game. Consequently, this places them at the 59th position in the country. At the same time, they are dishing out 16.1 assists per game which is a respectable figure considering it ties them at 45th. Yet, work needs to be done on their defensive front. As it turns out, they concede an average of 69.7 points per contest which is slightly higher when we compare it with teams like UConn (63.8). Moreover, they have an unsatisfactory number while grabbing rebounds. A subdued average of 32.8 per contest ranks them way back at 393.

On an individual level, they do possess some players that can be impactful. Junior guard Kam Jones has been their standout performer currently holding the best scoring average of 16.7 in the team. In addition to this, 6′ 3″ guard Tyler Kolek is the best distributor overall with an impeccable assist rate of 7.6 per game. Meanwhile, towering senior Oso Ighodaro is showing capabilities in both departments. He has an efficiency of 60.1% while shooting his field goals and is also the best rebound player on the team grabbing them at 7.2 per game.

Now, with the business end of their campaign approaching, it is essential to assess their road ahead.

What’s next for Golden Eagles?

After a hard-fought quarterfinal victory against Villanova Wildcats, Marquette now advances to the Big East tournament semi-finals. Here, a formidable and grueling challenge awaits them at the Madison Square Garden. After holding off Creighton in the quarterfinals, Providence poses a serious threat to their conference championship aspirations. While both teams have gotten the better of each other earlier, there is no telling who has the upper hand before the fixture. As for the Golden Eagles, their experience in taking down ranked opponents can be a vital aspect heading into the game.

With March Madness just around the corner, the next two games in the Big East tournament will set the tone on how Marquette will deal with the pressure of knockouts. With each game bringing a new set of challenges, the interesting thing to notice will be the kind of mentality they adopt as a team. Also, it will be interesting to see how they will be able to bounce back if unfortunately they are knocked out in the semi-finals or the Finals in the next two days.

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What are your hopes and expectations of the Marquette Golden Eagles? Let us know in the comments section.