The Marquette Golden Eagles have officially made it all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA March Madness Tournament. For the first time in over a decade, Marquette has the opportunity to play with the big boys of college basketball and could potentially be the first Golden Eagles team to climb all the way to the top since 1977.
The Marquette Golden Eagles Must Not Settle For This Moment
The deeper a team advances in the tournament, the more the pressure mounts, and the more pressure that mounts the easier it becomes to settle for what’s already been accomplished. It’s not difficult to get wrapped up in the glory of the tournament, only a handful of teams even have this chance every single year. However when a program that isn’t nearly as big as the blue bloods of college basketball is able to dance all the way to this point, they must capitalize.
Teams such as Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, etc. are used to making it deep in the tournament and have championship DNA built into their school’s history. But what about a team like Marquette that doesn’t get this opportunity every year? Perhaps that’s even more motivation to cash in on the opportunity they’ve been given and bring a championship to a school that’s been hungry for on for decades.
Shaka Smart Has the Chance to do Something Special
Shaka Smart is quite young to be coaching a team that’s this far in the tournament. At only 46 years old and in only his 3rd season coaching the Golden Eagles, He’s breathed new life into a program that’s been searching for hope for many years. The Madison native knows how much this could mean to not only Marquette basketball fans, but the state of Wisconsin in general. Marquette is a historic basketball school that has produced plenty of NBA caliber players, however the program is just missing that brand new championship to validate their success.
Take the Wisconsin Badgers for example, a BIG 10 program that hasn’t seen too much success themselves in the March Madness tournament. The Badgers have only made it to the Sweet 16 a handful of times in their existence, all of which came after the turn of the century. As far as championships go, they do have one, however it came in 1941 when basketball was practically a completely different sport. The Badgers did make the tournament this season, however were upset by James Madison in the first round.
Shaka Smart understands this, and he understands that moments like this don’t come around very often for a school like Marquette. However Smart has shifted the identity of the program and the perception of it has changed drastically since his arrival.
Smart has his squad primed to go even deeper in the March Madness tournament, as the road to the Elite 8 is looking much clearer now that the dust has settled on many of the tournament favorites already. The key for Marquette now is simple; do not become complacent and do not stray too far away from what got you here in the first place. If the Golden Eagles can continue staying true to their identity and play their brand of basketball, there’s no reason why they can’t make this the season they finally get over the hump.
The Marquette Golden Eagles with face off against the NC State Wolfpack on Friday, March 29th. Marquette is currently the favorite to advance to the Elite 8 as 6.5 point favorites in the Sweet 16. If Shaka Smart and his team can play up to their potential and take care of business, then it’s looking like it could be a very special season for the city of Milwaukee.