2008 Marquette Basketball Picks & Predictions

Tom Crean’s departure to Indiana stunned and saddened many at Marquette University, but he left plenty of talent for Buzz Williams, Crean’s former assistant. The Golden Eagles were 25-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big East last season, which earned them a trip to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Kentucky 74-66 before falling to Stanford 82-81. Marquette has made three straight NCAA Tournaments since joining the Big East in 2005-2006. Six of the Golden Eagles’ top seven scorers and six players who saw action in all 35 games return for Williams this season, including Dominic James who is only 343 points behind Marquette’s all-time leading scorer, George Thompson. Keep reading our college basketball predictions to see if we think Buzz Williams will lead the Golden Eagles to a fourth straight NCAA tournament. Check out BetUS where the Marquette Golden Eagles are at +450 odds to win the Big East conference.

Marquette will once again be weak in the frontcourt. Lazar Howard will be asked to do a lot more as a junior than he did as a sophomore and that will be no easy task. Howard was overmatched physically much of his sophomore campaign as he was playing out of position at power forward, but he still managed to nearly double his scoring and rebounding averages from his freshman year. Howard averaged 12.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds. He also knocked down 41 3-pointers and shot 45.1% beyond the arc. Sophomore Trevor Mbakwe, a 6’7” and 240-pound forward, was expected to be a major contributor as a freshman but played only 11 games before undergoing knee surgery. If he is healthy and regains his leaping ability he will provide some major energy and muscle up front. Senior Dwight Burke is a big body and finally showed flashes in 17 games last season, but he needs to be more consistent defensively and on the boards. Sophomore Joe Fulce, a juco transfer will be counted on to provide energy and athleticism off the bench on the wing. Freshman Chris Otule could help immensely in the paint, but he is considered a project so it is impossible to know how quickly he will adapt to a college game.

Jerel McNeal, the senior shooting guard, carried the Golden Eagles down the stretch last season. Over Marquette’s final six games McNeal averaged 23.0 points on 52.3% shooting and 6.1 rebounds. He will be expected to keep that offensive mindset while playing his usual ball-hawking defense. Dominic James’ numbers were down pretty much across the board, most likely because he played almost the entire Big East season with painful wrist and ankle injuries that took a toll on his confidence. He managed to improve his 3-point shooting and man-to-man defense last season, and a healthy return should see James become the all-time leading scorer in Marquette basketball history. Wesley Matthews is a versatile guard that can play point or small forward if necessary and at times was the glue that held the Golden Eagles together last season. His ability to play multiple positions makes him a dangerous weapon. Maurice Acker will be the primary backup at point guard. He has the ability to knock down the open shot, which will be huge as Marquette lacks the dead-eye gunner in the backcourt.

Final Analysis

This team will experience some rough moments early as the players adapt to the new coach, but this is a very experienced team, which should help. Marquette will see several players coming off of injury-ridden seasons that could be major factors in Big East play if they stay healthy all season. We have Marquette finishing in the upper-middle of the Big East pack, which should earn them their 4th straight NCAA berth. With our NCAA basketball picks we don’t expect Marquette to make too much noise in the NCAA tournament, but with as much experience and senior leadership that this team has anything can happen. BetUS has Marquette at 60-to-1 odds to win an NCAA Championship this season.

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