It was an up and down week for Marquette men’s basketball, who checks in at No. 11 in the latest AP Poll — down two spots from last week. It’s the first time since mid-November that the Golden Eagles haven’t been in the top 10.
Here are my thoughts from the Golden Eagles’ 1-1 week:
Let’s talk about the slow starts
This may be the most obvious takeaway I have written about in my time doing this notebook, but it feels foolish not to address it.
In both games last week, the Golden Eagles trailed by double digits during the first 20 minutes of play. First, they were down by as much as 10 in the first half Tuesday in an eventual come from behind victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse against Butler. Thanks to a career-high 22 points from senior guard Stevie Mitchell, Marquette was able to escape Indianapolis victorious.
However, the same could not be said for the Golden Eagles’ second game of the week against UConn. After junior guard Chase Ross scored MU’s first points of the game to make the score 3-2, the Huskies went on a rampage. Over the next 17 minutes, UConn would go on an extended 39-18 run to open a 22-point lead with 2:27 to play in the first half. The 22-point deficit was the largest that the Golden Eagles had faced all season.
A 9-1 Marquette run capped off by a last second 3-pointer from Ross helped trim to halftime deficit to 13, but the damage had already been done.
MU wouldn’t get closer than six points in the second half, as it lost its fourth game of the season 77-69 to sophomore guard Solo Ball’s career-high 25-point performance for the Huskies.
Despite outscoring UConn 40-35, forcing it into 12 second-half turnovers and scoring 19 points off those turnovers, the Golden Eagles were unable to climb out of yet another steep first half disadvantage.
“I’m more concerned with the details underneath, the why,” Smart said about the slow starts after the game. “We want to get off to a great start every game. Even in our nine wins in Big East play, I think we’ve been down at halftime in five or six of them. It’s not the recipe for being the best you can be.
“…We have to have a better understanding that beating Marquette is a quality win, and that there’s a level of desperation that the other team has when they play us.”
Marquette is 7-3 when trailing at halftime this year. Sure, having a 70 percent win rate in those games proves it is capable and experienced in pulling off comebacks. However, the fact that they have trailed in 10 of their 22 games after 2o minutes this season is the more concerning part for the Golden Eagles.
Having to constantly fight back isn’t a recipe for winning the Big East, and it’s not a recipe for going deep in March. Teams like DePaul and Butler might let you comeback against them, but tournament-caliber teams like UConn, Xavier and St. John’s will not.
Missed free throws have become a glaring issue
Marquette is shooting 73.1 percent from the charity stripe this season, which ranks sixth in the Big East and 140th nationally as of Monday. The Golden Eagles have had some tough outings from the free throw line this season, including shooting 5-for-10 at Iowa State and 14-for-24 at DePaul.
This is something that has quietly flown under the radar for the better part of the season, but Saturday, it reared its ugly head.
Marquette shot 12-for-22 from the line against the Huskies, tying a season-high 10 missed free throws. In a game where it lost by eight points, it’s safe to say those free throws could’ve helped make a difference.
“I don’t think it was necessarily a mental block,” Ross said. “It was just the atmosphere, with it being National Marquette Day, just feeling the energy, it was a little weird.
“This day’s a little tricky. Just feeling the energy and vibes around, you want to perform for the crowd. Just thinking about it a little too much.”
Despite the struggles, this is still the best MU has shot from the charity stripe since Smart’s first season in 2021-22, when it shot 74.1 percent. But for an offense that makes its money off 3-pointers and layups, being able to make free throws is a necessity, and 73 percent isn’t going to cut it.
A big week lies ahead
There is no time to sit and sulk over the National Marquette Day loss because a date with No. 12 St. John’s is right around the corner. The Golden Eagles swept the Red Storm last season and have not lost to them since Jan. 31, 2021, but this year is different for the Johnnies.
They currently sit with an overall record of 19-3 and are in sole possession of first place in the Big East at 10-1. The only knock against St. John’s up to this point is that it only has one quad one win according to the NCAA’s net rankings. In comparison, Marquette has already racked up five.
Tip-off for MU-St. John’s is set for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. CST in Madison Square Garden. Then it’s off to Omaha to face Creighton at 1 p.m. CST on Saturday at CHI Health Center.
The Golden Eagles got the best of the Bluejays earlier this year inside of Fiserv Forum, 79-71. Since then, though, Creighton is on a seven-game win streak while outscoring its opponents by nearly 13 points a game during that stretch.
Marquette is still very much in the race for the Big East regular season championship, but a pair of games this week against two of the top three teams in the league standings will go a long way in deciding who is in the driver’s seat heading down the stretch.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.