Looking at Brian's last bracket of 2013 is a bit depressing for Marquette basketball fans. Being 8-5 with no significant wins of note outside of conference can do that. Marquette's best win to date is handing George Washington their only loss of the season. GW looks like a team that can hang around the bubble but are no lock to dance.
Marquette was getting blown off the court by Arizona State before having a chance to tie or win at the end. They lose in what was, quite frankly, embarrassing fashion at home to Ohio State prior to that. They lost at the Kohl Center which isn't a bad loss. The two losses that hurt are the loss to San Diego State and against New Mexico who beat them without Hugh Greenwood in what was probably Marquette's worst game of the year.
Despite this, Marquette still ranks 42nd overall in KenPom which shows there is room for growth. Problem is, they've been beset with more bad news seemingly on a weekly basis. Vander Blue announced his going pro last spring seemed to catch the coaching staff off guard and they haven't quite figured out how to replace him. Prior to that, Jake Thomas had announced he would transfer but after Vander's decision, he decided to stick around.
Two heralded newcomers won't play a single minute for the Golden Eagles this season. JUCO transfer Jameel McKay decided shortly after October Madness, he would transfer, eventually ending up at Iowa State. Freshmen PG, Duane Wilson, a player many thought would see significant minutes and possibly even start by conference play, suffered a stress fracture and was eventually redshirted.
McKay's loss probably hurts more next season but Duane Wilson was expected to be Derrick Wilson's primary backup this season. Derrick does okay running the point but at this point, simply isn't any kind of threat offensively. His predecessor, Junior Cadougan took a while to turn into at least a bit of a threat to attack the rim but Wilson the Elder hasn't yet. He is a very good rebounder for a small guy but the Golden Eagles need more offensively and I'm not sure he can provide it. His running mates have been Jake Thomas and Todd Mayo for the most part. Entering today's game, Thomas was 1-14 shooting from 2 and 22-53 from long range. He's a one-trick pony who is a sieve on defense. Mayo is easily Marquette fans most polarizing player. Exceptionally athletic, the ball far too often disappears when he gets it.
The wild card in conference play will be freshmen JaJuan Johnson who has flashed what made him a top-50 type recruit. His shot is akward from deep and he's light but given the lack of overall production in front of him, one wonders if Buzz will trust him enough to give him more minutes as the season goes on. Historically, Buzz doesn't play freshmen very much.
The frontcourt has been a strength as expected. Otule and Gardner combine to give Marquette a versatile and tough duo inside while Jamil Wilson plays in and out. Wilson continues to be erratic and needs to step up as Marquette's best player in the Big East this season. Depth is an issue. Deonte Burton is starting to get more minutes but has a lot of work to do defensively but is an energy guy offensively and will be a highlight regular throughout his career attacking the rim. More and more, it looks like Steve Taylor is suffering through a lost season as his knee injuy persists. Will be curious to see whether Taylor plays much more, if at all this season. Juan Anderson looks like a more conident player and off everyone, is the most improved. He's a fantastic rebounder. When healthy, Taylor has been a rebounding machine as well.
The numbers bear out the issues plaguing this unit. They're a good rebounding team on both sides of the ball amd they protect it for the most part. Like last season, they're atrocious from deep, shooting only 31%. They shoot a respectable 50.5% from 2 but that number should be much higher given the effectiveness of Gardner and Otule. Defensively, teams typically don't shoot well against Marquette. Scoring inside against them is very tough but teams have been able to find open deep shooters. Teams making 3's will almost certainly beat this team. The backcourt needs to better on this side.
Bottom line, the backcourt will determine whether this team dances or not. The Big East is littered with solid backcourts that will make this tough. As hard as Derrick Wilson plays and tries, he's limited and the shooting guards have been unreliable. Not having Vander Blue for his senior season has been a huge loss. And losing Cadougan at the same time has been far more crippling than imagined. 12-14 wins in conference will be needed to be a lock and I'm not sure they're guaranteed.
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