Hey y’all, sorry for the late preview. Casey and I both had unexpected, unavoidable things come up yesterday.
Luckily, Marquette isn’t a tough team to preview because they’re not particularly good at playing the game of basketball this season. Honestly, I could hit publish now, and you’d have all the information you need about Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles, but I’ve got an hour before I’m scheduled to attend a holiday market, so I’ll give you a little more. If you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes look at my writing process, I’m composing this preview in an oversized Grinch…. house hoodie/poncho? I don’t know, I bought it at a Buc-ees in Alabama; I call it a Groncho.
Anyways, I’m wearing a Groncho with a tortoise shell cat sitting in my lap, purring, making biscuits, not because she loves me, but because she loves the Groncho. I’m writing these paragraphs to warm up my brain and fingers, because neither function well before 8 AM.
12/6: L – 76-96 vs Wisconsin @ Wisconsin
12/2: W – 75 – 72 (OT) vs Valparaiso @ Home
11/28: L – 74 – 75 vs Oklahoma @ Neutral
Position
#
Player
Class
Height
Weight
Min
Pts
Reb
Ast
PG0Nigel James Jr.Fr.6’0”19023.712.22.73.6SG10Adrien StevensFr.6’4”21519.16.32.11.3SF2Chase RossJr.6’5”21032.519.54.23.6PF18Caedin HamiltonSo.6’9”24519.44.84.40.8C12Ben GoldSr.6’11”23527.99.57.20.8
Position
#
Player
Class
Height
Weight
Min
Pts
Reb
Ast
PF13Royce ParhamSo.6’823021.38.150.7PG5Sean JonesSr.5’10”18521.86.52.34.5SF7Zaide LoweryJr.6’5”20524.28.93.21.9
(Per KenPom.com – National Rank in ())
Adjusted Efficiency: 110.4 (120)
Adjusted Tempo: 70.8 (67)
Average Possession Length: 14.8 (14)
Effective Field Goal%: 49.1 (237)
Offensive Rebound%: 33.3 (116)
Adjusted Efficiency: 102.4 (81)
Adjusted Tempo: 70.8 (67)
Average Possession Length: 18.1 (322)
Effective Field Goal%: 50.9 (177)
Offensive Rebound%: 29.2 (125)
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Marquette isn’t a good basketball team. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so harsh; Marquette would be a decent mid-major program this season. I’m not trying to bag on the Golden Eagles, but that’s the truth. The only team they’ve defeated in KenPom’s top 200 is Valpo. They beat them in overtime, and KenPom has Valpo at 198. Every game they’ve played against a team in the top 100 has been a loss. They were embarrassed by Wisconsin last week. Things have gone terribly wrong in Shaka Smart land.
The Golden Eagles’ struggles were highly predictable. Shaka “Dabo” Smart doesn’t like using the transfer portal, and they lost their top three scorers from last season. He replaced them with guys who may be good at some point in their career, but who are not currently good college basketball players. That’s a tough row to hoe when every other team in the nation is loaded up on 27-year-olds in their 8th season of college basketball, and the hoeing has indeed been difficult.
They try to play Shaka smart brand basketball. They want to push the ball in transition, look for early opportunities on offense, and slow the game down with their defensive pressure. The concept is still sound, but the execution has been lacking. The goal is to get a high-quality look early in the shot clock, then force the other team into turnovers and late-clock situations. I don’t think that’s a game they want to play against Purdue because the Boilermakers not only have the best point guard in college basketball, but they have CJ Cox, Gicarri Harris, and Omer Myer. Pressing Purdue seems like a losing proposition, and Braden thrives in late shot clock situations. Marquette needs you to play their game. I don’t think Purdue will fall into that trap, but even if they do, they’re probably better at playing Marquette’s game than Marquette.
Chase Ross is a solid player who is masquerading as a star. That’s not his fault. I can’t think of many high-major programs that would make Ross the centerpiece of their team. They’d be thrilled to have him in the rotation, but he’s not Kam Jones, and they desperately need him to be Kam Jones. Expect the Boilermakers to focus their defense on keeping Jones out of the paint. He’s a 32% three-point shooter, and I’m willing to bet that Coach Painter is interested in seeing if that number is accurate. Purdue will go under screens and invite Ross to chuck early 3’s.
The other player you may recognize from last season is Ben Gold. Maybe Shaka was expecting a massive leap from Gold this season? If that’s something he was counting on, he was sadly mistaken. Much like Ross, Gold is a solid player. There’s nothing wrong with that. Several teams in the top 25 desperately need a skilled 6’11” big man who rebounds and can step out and shoot the three. He wouldn’t be the third leading scorer on any of those teams, though, and he’s the third leading scorer on Marquette. While I don’t think Gold is anything special, I am looking forward to seeing him match up against Oscar Cluff in a big man brawl between New Zealand and Australia.
Outside of those two, starting freshman point guard Nigel James should be good, maybe even elite, at some point in his career, but that point is still a dot on the horizon 10 games into his college basketball career. Braden may have his sights set on the quad/double that eluded him against Minnesota. I kind of feel bad for the freshman point guard, because he’s about to learn a couple of harsh lessons on national television. Then I remember what Kam Jones did to Purdue last season, and my sympathy rapidly dissipates.
This is the worst-case scenario for Shaka Smart. His thin, inexperienced, and marginally talented team is going up against a deep, veteran, Purdue team with elite talent. Chase Ross is the only Marquette player who would start for Purdue. I’ll take it even further; Ross is the only player on their roster who would see playing time for Purdue.
Not only do the Boilermakers have a significant talent and experience advantage, but Marquette’s style of play should, if anything, help Purdue. This game, as they say, could go ugly early.
Sorry for the late preview and Boiler Up!
