The Marquette Golden Eagles had BIG East Media Day on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Marquette was the king of the BIG East Conference last season and won the regular season and tournament championship.
Entering this season, they are projected to finish first in the conference. The Creighton Blue Jays are projected to finish second in the conference, and the reigning national champions, the UCONN Huskies, are projected to finish third in the conference.
A lot are expecting the Villanova Wildcats to bounce back this year and are projected to finish fourth in the BIG East Conference. One of the surprises entering this season is that the St. John’s Red Storm, coached by Rick Pitino, is projected to finish fifth in the conference. St. John’s is going to be one of the national media’s darlings throughout the course of the 2023-2024 college basketball season.
The Marquette Golden Eagles are ranked fifth in the nation to start the year. They were 17-3 in conference play last season and 29-7 overall. Marquette will begin regular season play on November 6 against the Northern Illinois Huskies and conference play on December 22 against the Georgetown Hoyas.
Marquette Golden Eagles Tyler Kolek Picked as the BIG East Preseason Player of the Year
Kolek was the BIG East Player of the Year last season. He was picked to be the BIG East preseason player of the year as well. Tyler Kolek is a senior point guard for the Marquette Golden Eagles this season. Head coach Shaka Smart is happy to have him back for another season.
Toughness, Togetherness, OUR BRAND OF BASKETBALL #MUBB | @KolekTyler pic.twitter.com/sYUbqhOSmX
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) October 24, 2023
Kolek, a season ago for the Marquette Golden Eagles, averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 7.5 APG. Along with Tyler Kolek,
For the first team BIG East in the preseason, the names that were listed are Villanova’s Justin Moore, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander, Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, and St. John’s Joel Soriano.
For the second team BIG East in the preseason, the names that were listed are UCONN’s Donovan Clingan, Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman, Villanova’s Eric Dixon, and Marquette’s Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro.
The Marquette Golden Eagles were well represented and well respected across the BIG East Media Day. Head coach Shaka Smart told the media on Tuesday:
“We believe player development is personal development.”
“We believe player development is personal development…” –@CoachShakaSmart #MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/wmiKiYIv0c
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) October 24, 2023
The team chemistry for this Marquette basketball program is going to matter this season. They are going to be challenged out of the gates, and a goal for them this season is to repeat as BIG East Conference Champions. However, the primary goal is to reach the Final Four, which is something that has not been done since 2003. The Final Four this year will be at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and they haven’t cut down the nets since 1977, when they won it all against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
