Big challenge awaits MU in Big East opener
The Big East schedule isn’t for the faint of heart.
The challenges start right away for the Marquette men’s basketball team when the Golden Eagles (9-3) welcome Xavier (12-1) to the BMO Harris Bradley Center to open conference play on Wednesday.
Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski is well aware of how good the Musketeers (ranked No. 5 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 6 by The Associated Press) are this season.
“They’re a top-10 team. They return everybody from an Elite Eight team last year,” Wojciechowski said. “(Senior wing Trevon) Bluiett is a national player of the year-type candidate. (J.P.) Macura is a four-year stud in the Big East. The kid (Quentin) Goodin, who plays point guard for them, has made a big jump from his freshman to his sophomore year.
“Obviously they’re really wellcoached. They rebound, they play defense, they’re an elite shooting team.”
Then Wojciechowski took a brief pause for comedic effect and added, “other than that they’re probably not very good.”
The Musketeers boast one of the most efficient offenses in the country. The returning players will also be looking to exact some revenge after MU swept both games last season.
Bluiett is averaging 19.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 48.8%, including 45.1% on three-pointers.
Macura chips in 12.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. He is also a rugged defender (1.7 steals per game) who relishes getting under an opponent’s skin, especially in road games.
Goodin has struggled a bit taking care of the ball (team-high 32 turnovers), but he is also averaging 6.1 assists per game.
Xavier’s only loss was to Arizona State on Nov. 24. In the 102-86 defeat, the Musketeers allowed 20-of-32 shoot-
ing on two-pointers and 13 of 27 on three-pointers,
MU will likely need a similar hotshooting night to upset the Musketeers.
It’s no secret that the Golden Eagles are heavily reliant on three-pointers, with 41.9% of their points coming from beyond the arc.
MU is shooting 40.1% on threes, the No. 26 mark in the country. In their three losses, the Golden Eagles shot 31 of 89 (34.8%) from distance.
The majority of the shooting damage comes from senior Andrew Rowsey and sophomores Markus Howard and Sam Hauser.
That trio is shooting 125 of 286 (43.7%) on three-pointers. The rest of the Golden Eagles are at 14 of 61 (22.9%) from distance.
“They have three of the best shooters in the entire country,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said.
“So much attention is paid to the two little guys (Rowsey and Howard) because they do such a phenomenal job of opening things up for their teammates. They’re a threat anywhere on the floor. I love the way they push the ball in transition. And Sam Hauser is having a special year. So we have our work cut out for us.”
Xavier ranks ninth nationally in effective field-goal percentage (which weighs three-pointers more) at 59.1%, and MU is 18th at 58%.
So the Big East opener could be a high-scoring affair and the first of many tough battles in the conference.
“I think we challenged ourselves in the non-conference and I think overall we did well,” Wojciechowski said. “Probably had a game here or there that we could have won that we didn’t (but) we probably had a game here or there that we could have lost but we didn’t.
“I think it prepared us well for the Big East. The Big East is as good of a conference as there is in the United States. Our league is old, talented and extremely well-coached.”