Selection Sunday is one of the most exciting days of the year for sports fans, and now that it’s come and gone, we can begin to get excited and assess the bracket. For Marquette, that excitement will begin in Cleveland on Friday night, as the Golden Eagles snagged the predicted 7 seed in the South Regional bracket.
7 Seed – Marquette: 23-10, 4th in Big East
10 Seed – New Mexico: 26-7, 1st in Mountain West
Marquette slides into the tournament with some inconsistent play in the back half of their Big East schedule, having lost 7 of their last 12, including a lopsided loss to St. John’s in the semifinal of the Big East Tournament. The great thing about the NCAA Tournament is that none of that matters and Marquette has tournament experience, three senior starters, and is extremely well coached.
Marquette will rely on that experience and senior leadership led by a red hot Kam Jones, who is averaging 28.0 points per game over his last 3 contests. If Marquette intends to make a deep run, Jones will have to continue to anchor the scoring behind their stifling defense. Key contributions have mostly rotated around Kam Jones, with Stevie Mitchell, David Joplin, and Chase Ross all capable of having big games as a side dish to Jones’ scoring output. Marquette isn’t great inside on either end of the floor, so look for New Mexico to try to exploit the paint against Ben Gold, who has shown inconsistency over the course of the season.
The recipe for success Marquette all season has been their ability to slow down the pace on defense and force turnovers. Stevie Mitchell leads the charge as one of the best defenders in the country, and his ability to get steals and turn them into points is something that the Golden Eagles will bring with consistency. New Mexico will have to take care of the ball and maintain equal possessions if they wish to pace Marquette on the scoreboard.
New Mexico comes in as the regular season champions of the Mountain West Conference and are coming off of a 3-point loss to Boise St. in the Mountain West Tournament Semifinal. The Lobos have the ability to score, but it’s their defense that got them a conference title and into the tournament. They are in the top 25 in both defensive efficiency and defensive rebounding percentage, led by 6’10” 245 lb. senior Nelly Junior Joseph, who averages over 11 rebounds per game and has over 50 career double-doubles. Dominant big-men have proven to be a real problem for Marquette the last couple of seasons, and they’ll have to contain Junior and others on the glass to keep possessions on their side.
New Mexico also rosters the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, Donovan Dent. Dent averages over 20 points and 6 assists per game, and looks to do a lot of his scoring driving through the paint. Marquette will have to lock down the 1-2 punch of Dent and Junior and force New Mexico’s role players to beat them.
New Mexico has more than earned their place in the field as a top-10 seed. They match up well against Marquette’s weaknesses and won’t be an easy out. Marquette will need to control the pace on both ends of the floor, rebound, and attempt to limit the damage done inside from Dent and Junior to stay ahead. Marquette still owns the talent advantage, and if the Golden Eagles can force their usual turnovers, and if Kam is Kam, they should be able to take care of the Lobos and move onto the second round.
Marquette and New Mexico tip off at 6:25 CST on Friday from Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
The Barn 