Super Scintillating Selections Top 30 Countdown: #7 Marquette Golden Eagles

Seat belts need to be on for the remainder of the Super Scintillating Selections. I'm looking at the remaining teams and am already envisioning myself pulling out hairs trying to figure out who will take home the hardware. From here on out I will not be giving a prediction for the featured team. For the predictions on the remaining teams you will have to listen to my podcast I will be releasing Tuesday 3/14. The podcast will include previews of highlighted matchups, predictions for the seven remaining teams, possible Cinderellas, future content ideas I've been brewing in my head, and more.

Today is all about Mr. Shaka Smart and his Golden Eagles of Marquette. Shaka Smart, Mr. Havoc and the holder of the greatest hair glow up of all time, has a team that can make a Final Four run. Marquette has the Big East player of the year (Tyler Kolek), Big East 6th man of the year (David Joplin), and Shaka won Big East coach of the year. A lot of talent on their roster and a veteran coach that has found success at every school he has coached at.

Marquette won the Big East with a 17-3 record and finished the regular season with a 25-6 overall record. Their notable wins include Baylor by 26 points, Creighton x2, UConn, Providence, Villanova (x2), and Xavier. That's a resume I can get behind.

Let's get into it.

Why can Marquette make it back to the Final Four for the first time since 2003?

1. Sharing is Caring. Unselfish basketball has been a part of Shaka Smart’s coaching with VCU, Texas and now Marquette. For example, when you think of a conference player of the year what kind of stats do you think of? Points, points, and more points. Not the case here. Tyler Kolek (Big East POY) isn't the highest scorer on the Golden Eagles, but he is the best player. He scores 12.7 points a game, but also averages almost 8 assists. As a team, they average 18 assists per game, #4 in the nation. If you sat your dad or grandfather down to watch one of their games I wonder how many times he would say “Now this is a team that plays the game the way its supposed to be played”.

1. Shot Selection. I think you would struggle to find a team that loves to share the ball but takes bad shots. These two, in my mind, go hand in hand. The stats I would think about looking at to back this up are adjusted offensive efficiency, effective FG percentage, and overall shooting percentage. They are top 5 in the nation in all categories. No other team in the nation gets as much out of an offensive possession as Marquette and it is just beautiful to watch.

1. Golden (Eagles) Hour. You have heard the term ‘Second Half team” right? I say it all the time about my times, usually just to give myself hope for what is to come. Rarely does it work out. Well, the second half is Marquette’s golden hour. 42 second half points, #8 in the nation. Silly stat? Yes. BUT, don't overlook this. A sloppy first half is inevitable in the tournament. You want a team that can make adjustments at half time, and that never gives up on themselves.

What is holding them back?

1. GRAB THE BALL. This team gets outrebounded often. They give up almost nine offensive rebounds a game. That is nine more possessions the opposing team has. #312 in rebounding. Not gonna get it done.

1. Wreaking Havoc (upon themselves). On ball defense is not their strong suit. Opponents shoot very well against them. They give up almost eight 3-pointers a game, and are #268 in the country in opponent FG percentage allowed.

The Golden Eagles will show up ready to play on offense and are one of the best teams in the country. Shaka might want to install the havoc defense to provide a spark on the defensive end.

Next Game: 3/9 Big East Tournament vs. winner of St. Johns/Butler