Marquette hopes to ease the pain of an unranked loss in the Big East cap-lifter against Butler – Marquette Wire

No. 9 Marquette men’s basketball (9-2) got quite a wake-up call Saturday night. Giving up a 13 point lead and Task 46 color Points in an event 71-63 loss to Dayton, which was unranked at the time.

The last time the Golden Eagles symbols collapsed her Fighting this hard in the regular season was in theirs almost a year ago 69:62 loss to conference opponent Butler – a team that would eventually be eliminated in the first round of the NIT.

So who better than Butler (7-4) to be Marquette’s lid-lifter conference opponent on Wednesday night?

Learn from losses

If Marquette wants to play a strong 40 minutes of basketball, it needs to focus on the defensive side of the court. In the golden eagle Games against Dayton and Iowa Statethere were two losses this season, steals were hard to come by and the opponent’s paint points were plentiful. During those two matches, Marquette – which ranks 10th nationally with 10.4 steals per game – managed just a measly four.

Flyers guard Malachi Smith put the Golden Eagles’ defensive failures on full display in Dayton’s comeback when he broke through three bodies for an easy layup.

Another one 😈#GoFlyers pic.twitter.com/0fvCA3O0gS

— Dayton Basketball (@DaytonMBB) December 15, 2024

However, there is one hope if the Golden Eagles’ confident defense collapses: a goal for the substitute. Against the Cyclones, after junior guard Chase Ross was sidelined with an ankle injury, Marquette went on a 10-0 run without Iowa State being able to score for three minutes. This was fueled by efficient double-digit scoring from first-years Royce Parham (17) and Damarius Owens (11).

“We need to continue to expand our bench,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said earlier this season. “We need to continue to develop an understanding that when you come off the bench, there needs to be a single focus on helping your team get stops and, as we say, ‘in the circle.'” Then you You are the best in terms of mentality and approach.”

In Dayton, when the backup players were needed the most because of the senior guardd Came Jones’ nasty problem, she neverr made a beep – which made the surprise all the easier for the Flyers.

The Bulldogs have something to brag about

Butler is coming off its third straight loss after losses to Houston, North Dakota State and Wisconsin.

In the last three games the Bulldogs have just shot 36 percent from the field while Averaged just 64.3 points per game. Although Houston has the third-fewest opponent points per game in the nation and Wisconsin is ranked 20th, the Dawgs still shoot as well as Marquette from distance (.336).

These Sourmugs have three players shooting over 40 percent forwardm 3 point while making more than 20 attempts this season: Jahmyl Telfort (.425), Kolby King (.458) and Patrick McCaffery (.470). Marquette only has one in Jones (41.2 percent).

However, Telfort unusually went 1-for-5 from deep in the last game against the Badgers.

One of Butler’s biggest strengths on offense this season has been 7’1″ center Andre Screen. Once he gets a low pass, a mismatch can’t stop him.

SCREEN rocks the edge 💥 pic.twitter.com/NHqfSikE5i

— Butler Basketball (@ButlerMBB) December 14, 2024

Screen leads the team with 20 offensive rebounds and six rebounds per game this season. Marquette will also have trouble cleaning the glass from King (5.1 RPG) and Pierre Brooks II (5 RPG).

A look at the Big East landscape

The Golden Eagles were picked fourth in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll, but their Talons currently hold the No. 1 spot in the conference based on overall record.

Here is the current standings of the three teams that finished ahead of Marquette in October:

1st – UConn (8-3): No. 11 in the AP Poll with three losses, all of which came to then-unranked teams during the Maui Invitational.

2nd – Creighton (7-4): Received just 12 votes in the AP poll last week. The Bluejays dethroned No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4 but lost to No. 4 Alabama by eight points last Saturday.

3rd – Xavier (8-3): Never played against a ranked opponent this season and suffered losses to Cincinnati, TCU and Michigan.

The rest of the Big East standings can be viewed Here.

How to follow the game

The game against the Bulldogs is Wednesday, December 18th at 8pm CST in Milwaukee.

Regard: FS1 will carry the national telecast with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (analyst) on call.

Live updates: Follow @MatthewBaltzMU And @MUWireSports on Twitter/X.

Hear: 94.5 ESPN Milwaukee and Sirius XM.

This preview was written by Ben Hanson. He can be reached at (email protected) or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.