The Marquette Golden Eagles are off to a 5-1 start on the 2023-2024 college basketball season. After a successful week in Maui, Marquette moved up from number five to number three in the AP Top 25 poll. This is the first time since March 6, 1978, that the Golden Eagles are in the Top 3 ranking in the AP Poll.
This could very well be the Marquette Golden Eagles’ best college basketball team in quite some time. In Maui, they defeated the UCLA Bruins 71-69 and defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 73-59 but lost to the Purdue Boilermakers 78-75.
Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey (15) shoots a free throw against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the first period at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports
The only teams that are ranked ahead of Marquette are Purdue at number one and the Arizona Wildcats at number two. Kansas dropped from number one to number five in the country after the Maui Invitational.
There are three other teams in the Big East Conference that are ranked in the Top 25 AP Poll. The UCONN Huskies are ranked fourth, the Creighton Blue Jays are ranked 15th, and the Villanova Wildcats are ranked 18th.
Marquette Golden Eagles Have a Softer Schedule This Week
Marquette will have two games this week, and it is a lighter schedule. They will face Southern University on Tuesday night before facing the Wisconsin Badgers on the road in an in-state rivalry on Saturday. These are games that the Marquette Golden Eagles should win easily.
Marquette is one of the best teams in the country for a reason, and they will be a top-five college basketball team all season long. Head coach Shaka Smart has his players playing with energy on both ends of the floor.
Kam Jones is averaging 16.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.3 SPG for the Golden Eagles so far this season.
Oso Ighodaro is averaging 15.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 BPG, and 1.2 SPG for Marquette so far this season.
Tyler Kolek is averaging 13.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.5 APG so far this season for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
They are the three best players on the team. It is very possible that all three of those players make the Big East Conference team in some sort of fashion this season. The Marquette Golden Eagles fanbase should be happy that they are ranked this high. Marquette has the potential to cut down the nets come April.
