Marquette Golden Eagles
Big East (19-12, 10-8)
Marquette has had an interesting season. There are some huge wins, most notably against Creighton and Villanova three days apart in late January, but there have been some bad losses too. Coach Steve Wojciechowski has some unfinished postseason business after being snubbed by the NIT last year.
Big Wins: 1/21 at Creighton (102-94), 1/24 Villanova (74-72), 3/1 at Xavier (95-84)
Bad Losses: 11/18 vs Pittsburgh (75-78), 2/1 at St. John’s (72-86), 2/11 at Georgetown (62-80)
Coach: Steve Wojciechowski
Why They Can Surprise:
Marquette is loaded on the perimeter and a bevy of shooters can make this team unstoppable on offense. The team as a whole leads the country in three-point field goal percentage at 43.0. Only a handful of teams make more than Marquette’s 10.4 three-pointers per game. Freshman point guard Markus Howard has had some freshman moments during the 2016-2017 campaign, but he leads the team with 13.2 points per game and connects on an amazing 54.9 percent of his three-point attempts. By comparison Andrew Rowsey and Sam Hauser seem like poor outside shooters, but any team in the country would love to have those two on their team. Hauser, a 6-7 freshman, can be a dynamic scorer on those rare occasions he uses his size to attack the basket.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Golden Eagles do need to rely on Hauser more than they would like just because of his size. This is a small team that will play four guards, usually with Hauser at the four spot, around a center. Matt Heldt, a 6-10 center, and Luke Fischer, a 6-11 senior, are tasked with holding down the paint. Fisher averages 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds, and is by far the most productive interior scorer. That lack of size usually causes some big problems in the rebounding department and on the defensive end of the court. Fischer is a decent shot blocker, but he can only do so much and does not always start due to a knack for getting in foul trouble. If Fischer is on the bench and Marquette is having an off day shooting the ball, it could get ugly for Marquette.
Probable Starters:
Markus Howard, Freshman, Guard, 13.2 ppg, 2.2 apg
Andrew Rowsey, Junior, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 2.3 apg
Duane Wilson, Junior, Guard, 4.8 ppg, 1.7 apg
Sam Hauser, Freshman, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Matt Heldt, Sophomore, Center, 2.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Key Role Players:
Luke Fischer, Senior, Center, 11.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Katin Reinhardt, Senior, Guard, 10.9 ppg, 2.1 apg
Jajuan Johnson, Senior, Guard, 11.8 ppg, 2.7 apg, 4.0 rpg
Haanif Cheatham, Sophomore, Guard, 9.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, 4.0 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 82.7 (19th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 74.8 (237, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.0 (12, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.7 (267, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 10.4 (6, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 43.0 (1, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.6 (8, 2)
Rebound Margin: 0.1 (200, 6)
Assists Per Game: 16.8 (18, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.3 (97, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Davidson
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Butler
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Miami
2013 NCAA Regional Final loss to Syracuse
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over BYU
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over Murray State
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Florida
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Xavier
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Syracuse
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to North Carolina
2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Washington
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Utah State
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Missouri
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Kentucky
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Stanford
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/5
