THE RUNDOWN
After a 16-point loss to St. Johns in the Big East tournament, the Marquette Golden Eagles snagged the seventh seed and will face off against the New Mexico Lobos on Friday. Landing in the South Region, if they can beat out the Lobos, there’s a chance that the Golden Eagles will have a second-round rematch with last season’s tournament.
Marquette will have to shake off their end-of-regular-season jitters to avoid a round-one upset against the 10-seed New Mexico. The Golden Eagles have not faired well in their last few games of the season, losing three of their last five games. Including two losses to St. Johns, one of those happening in the Big East Semi-final, the Red Storm would end up winning the entire tournament. While Marquette has shown flashes of a dangerous team this season, offensive consistency will be key if they’re to make some noise this March.
Second-team All-American Kam Jones has been phenomenal this season for the Golden Eagles, but he’ll need the supporting cast to step up when the moment calls for it. Marquette has multiple players who can put up 10-20 points on any given night, but they have crumbled at times when the moment calls for it. They are stagnant when they need to elevate on the offensive end.
However, this has been the best team Marquette has had in a while and has proven that they will fight any team tooth and nail on the defensive end. Stevie Mitchell may need to move out of his comfort zone even more, potentially helping to create on the offensive end when Jones isn’t on the floor. But this is a young and scrappy Marquette squad that has beaten the odds more than once this season, those odds will be against them for the majority of this tournament.
UPCOMING
Looking ever-so-slightly ahead, if Marquette tops New Mexico in the first round, they could face a revenge match in just the second round of the tournament. That of course means that Michigan St. Spartans will need to beat the Bryant Bulldogs, but coach of the year Tom Izzo is not likely to allow an upset in the first round.
Taking a flash to the past, Marquette after landing a high two seed in the tournament lost to Michigan St. in the second round of the tournament in 2023. Losing 69-60 against the seventh-seeded Spartans, ended the Golden Eagles season abruptly with how much anticipation there was for the team to make a deep run. They have two more full seasons of experience since that tournament, and if they are successful in pushing past the first round, the result will be different this year.
Kam Jones has shown throughout the season that he can elevate his team no matter the situation. It will be whether or not the surrounding cast can continue to be consistent on the offensive end. Have a slow offensive game at your own risk, because when Tom Izzo comes to town, the wraps get pulled tighter with the swathe of experience he brings to the tournament.
Marquette will go as far as coach Shaka Smart brings them, coaching easily one of the most consistent teams over the last three years since being hired in 2021. Still considered a younger coach, but this is the tournament for him to etch his name in NCAA history, with only one seventh seed ever winning the championship, can Marquette be the next? It would be quite suiting, considering the team that’s the only team to win it as a seventh seed is the 2014 UCONN Huskies, another Big East team.
