Marquette men’s basketball has been a work in progress this season.
No, it hasn’t been a linear process, but the Golden Eagles (7-13, 2-7 Big East) are starting to find their footing as Big East play rolls on. The weekend started with an 80-75 loss at DePaul on Friday night and ended with a thrilling 105-104 overtime victory at home against Providence on Monday.
Here are some takeaways from the 1-1 holiday weekend:
Marquette goes as James Jr. goes
The Golden Eagles offense has evolved as the season has gone on. The team’s leading scorer from summer workouts Zaide Lowery is no longer with the team, and senior guard Chase Ross, who was the clear top option through MU’s first nine games, has slowly seen his scoring output decrease.
But one thing is clear; Nigel James Jr. has become the guy for the blue & gold.
First, he led the show in Chicago against DePaul with a team-high 18 points. But that was nothing compared to his second act of the weekend, where he scored a career-high 38 points and dished out eight assists in Marquette’s victory over Providence.
“He was like Tony Parker tonight, living in the paint,” Providence head coach Kim English said. “He had as good of a game I’ve seen a point guard play in my 14 years of college basketball, let alone a freshman.”
James Jr. stepped up for the Golden Eagles when they needed it most against the Friars. His three free throws at the end of regulation helped MU send the game to overtime, and his six points in the extra frame led all scorers, helping the blue & gold to their second Big East win of the season.
“He runs the team,” head coach Shaka Smart said Monday night. “He attacks. He does a really good job finding open seams. I thought eight assists and one turnover tonight was every bit as important as (38) points. We need NJ to be the guy that gets Royce Parham shots. He did that. We need NJ to be the guy that gets different guys on the perimeter outside looks, he did that, and he played with really good poise.”
The first-year guard from Huntington, New York has scored in double figures in 13 of MU’s last 15 games. The main aspects of the game that James Jr. has struggled with this season have been offensive efficiency and turnovers.
His 47 giveaways are a team-high, and his 46.4 % field goal percentage leaves a little to be desired, but Smart understands that these things are going to happen when a first-year is in the driver’s seat.
“He’s a freshman, he’s going to make mistakes,” Smart said. “He’s gonna do a lot of good things, too.
James Jr. has scored 303 points this season, just 10 shy of Ross’ team-leading 313. It figures to only be a matter of time before he shows up on the scouting report as Marquette’s leading scorer.
Despite an emerging offense, defense and rebounding remain a struggle
Marquette got out to blazing starts on offense in each of its last two games. The Golden Eagles dropped 44 points in the first 20 minutes against the Blue Demons on Friday, before posting a whopping 54 points in the first half against the Friars.
After imploding in the second half against DePaul, it looked like Marquette was on its way to doing the same against Providence on Monday. Despite the Friars leading 92-88 with 31 seconds left, James Jr. was able to pull a rabbit out of his hat and secure the victory. But, that doesn’t mask the fact Marquette gave up 50 second half points — the third straight game the Golden Eagles have given up 40 points or more in the final 20 minutes.
“The last games, [we’ve] had just nowhere near the defensive resistance for the other team,” Smart said. “So, my job as a coach is to help the understand we’ve got to have a level of aggressiveness coming out of the locker room.”
Furthermore, the Golden Eagles have gotten manhandled on the glass over the past two games, 84-60. MU has been out-rebounded in 10 of its last 12 games, which is something Smart knows will need to change in the future.
“We got to be more physical,” Smart said after the DePaul loss. “We’ve had some very good games and moments of (rebounding), we’re just coming off playing St. John’s and UConn a few games back, those are the teams in our league that always find a way to pummel everyone on the glass. We just didn’t find bodies well enough; we weren’t physical enough.”
What’s on tap?
Marquette heads to Indianapolis on Friday to take on Butler (11-7, 2-5 Big East). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.