PHILADELPHIA – Marquette is just different than the rest.
While most Division I coaches spent last spring scouring the transfer portal, Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart might not have even known where to look.
Marquette is the only Power Five program not to have taken a transfer. Smart likes consistency and regularly starts the same five players, joining Saint Mary’s as the only two Division I schools to have the same starting five in every game this season.
While much of college basketball has fallen in love with analytics, like KenPom’s ORtg (Adjusted offensive efficiency) and DRtg (Adjusted defensive efficiency), among other metrics that have value, the Golden Eagles think differently, preferring to measure seeming immeasurables such as “force,” “hunger,” “passion” and “effort.” Nah, you won’t find those in any database rankings.
Marquette’s Shaka Smart Doesn’t Use the Transfer Portal. He’s Still Winning.
The Golden Eagles’ win over Purdue Tuesday night was another victory for continuity in an age of change
The success Smart has had at Marquette with his we-go-left-when-you-go-right approach is inarguable. He takes a .722 winning percentage (96-37) into Saturday’s game at Georgetown and the Golden Eagles are on course for a fourth NCAA Tournament berth in as many seasons with Smart at the helm. And it has been more than just winning; there has been a steady level of consistently quality play from the Golden Eagles.
So it certainly was surprising to see Marquette’s recent dip, a four-losses-in-a-six-game stretch that culminated with a shockingly poor performance in an 81-66 loss at Villanova on Feb. 21 that was nowhere as close as the final indicated. It was so bad that Smart pulled his starters for much of the contest, with 6-foot-3 senior guard Stevie Mitchell, 6-11 junior center Ben Gold and 6-8 senior forward David Joplin combining for just nine points in 60 total minutes.
Villanova outshot Marquette, something the offensively talented Wildcats can do to foes. But Villanova also outhustled and outmuscled the Golden Eagles, something that doesn’t happen often to the culturally talented Golden Eagles.
I asked Smart what the problems were in the program.
“There’s a basketball answer to that, defensively and offensively, but for me I always start on the cultural side,” Smart said. “We have to understand it starts with having an extreme hunger as a group.”
Asked about the starters’ limited minutes in a follow-up question by another reporter, Smart said, “Fill in the blank: Passion, effort, violence, hunger. And other guys were playing better. Starts with the level of violence with which we play, which I think is preceded by extreme hunger. I’m going to have to do a better job figuring out a five-man group where everyone has that level of hunger.”
Tuesday’s home win over Providence, a feel-good blowout in which the Golden Eagles connected on a season-high 17 3-pointers, was a positive step. But a better indicator of whether the Golden Eagles are reaching Smart’s demandingly high – and different – standards will come in the final two regular-season games, Wednesday at UConn and March 8 against visiting St. John’s.
By any means, those contests will be measuring sticks for Marquette entering postseason play.
Who is the real Villanova?
Villanova has handed first-place St. John’s one of its two league losses, routed Marquette and defeated UConn.
But a home loss to middling Georgetown and a road setback at bottom-of-the-pack Providence have hurt. The Wildcats then followed up the impressive performance against Marquette with a near-clunker Wednesday at 10th-place Seton Hall, digging out of a 16-point deficit before eking out a win.
The story was similar in nonconference play; as an example, the Wildcats picked up an impressive win over Cincinnati but lost to eventual Ivy League afterthought Columbia at home.
The Wildcats have a good chance to state their case as more of an upper-echelon Big East team with a comfortable finish to the regular season, beginning with Saturday’s home game against Butler, which is 6-11 in the Big East, followed by Tuesday’s regular-season finale at short-handed Georgetown, playing without 6-foot-10 star freshman center Thomas Sorber for the rest of the season.
Anchored by the nation’s leading scorer in 6-foot-8 senior forward Eric Dixon (23.3 points per game), Villanova likely will be a team that nobody will want to play in the conference tournament. The Wildcats, based on previous performances, could make a deep run at Madison Square Garden. Then again, based on previous performances, they could go home after one game. Depending on what happens there, more about the real Villanova will come into clearer picture.
Around The Rim
– Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber had season-ending foot surgery Wednesday, a crushing blow to the Hoyas and the standout freshman, who appeared to be headed toward becoming an NBA lottery pick. Now, you’d think he would return for another season of college ball, needing to show pro scouts he still can put up a near double-double — he averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 24 games — following the injury.
– UConn coach Dan Hurley was asked about the Huskies’ improvement against the full-court press following Wednesday’s win over Georgetown. The mercurial coach deadpanned in reply, “I mean, I think the press (meaning the media) has been an “a——” to me all year.” Hurley then seemed to realize he was being asked about the Hoyas’ defense, although with him, you never really can tell when he’s kidding.
– St. John’s has clinched at least a share of its first regular-season Big East title since 1991-92. That was Lou Carnesecca’s final season as coach, the nickname still was “Redmen” and Malik Sealy was the star player. This season, the Red Storm have done it with lockdown defense that has masked poor perimeter play on offense: St. John’s entered the weekend shooting just 30.2 percent from three-point range.
– Creighton is the only league foe that can catch the Red Storm atop the regular-season standings. The Bluejays will be one of the favorites, along with St. John’s, Marquette and UConn, in the Big East Tournament, where they’ll enter with at least 20 wins for the 10th consecutive season.
Games to Watch
– Creighton at Xavier, Saturday, 4:30 p.m., FOX
On paper, this looks like the most competitive of four nationally televised league games Saturday, and it’s important for both. Creighton needs to win to keep alive its hopes of catching first-place St. John’s; fifth-place Xavier is trying to fend off Villanova for the final first-round bye in the conference tournament.
– Marquette at UConn, Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., FS1
This contest will tell much about both. Has Marquette regained its swagger after losing four of six during a recent dip? Have the two-time defending national champs gotten back their mojo with the return of 6-7 star freshman forward Liam McNeeley after he missed eight games?
-Big East Tournament, March 12-15
The 46th edition of the conference tournament will happen for the 43rd time at Madison Square Garden, a glorious four days of hoops happiness for college basketball fans and heartbreak for all but one Big East team. It starts with the Nos. 8 and 9 seeds tipping at 4 p.m. on March 12 and culminates with the championship at 6:30 p.m. on March 15.
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for The Associated Press and several other outlets for nearly three decades. His website, Big5Hoops.com, is a leading voice for coverage of the Philadelphia Big 5. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), will be available wherever books are sold on March 1, 2025. It can be preordered by clicking HERE. Follow Bracy on social media by clicking HERE. Contact him by email: aaron@big5hoops.com.
