Marquette men’s basketball has been celebrating road victories with milkshakes since Shaka Smart took the helm.
Over his first four seasons as head coach, the Golden Eagles earned 41 of them. This season, however, they still haven’t tasted sweet victory away from Fiserv Forum.
The blue & gold fell to 0-7 on the road after losing at Butler, 87-76, on Friday. Marquette trailed 75-72 with just under four minutes to play, but found itself floundering on offense once again in a late-game situation, finishing 2-for-8 from the field with two turnovers in the final 3:58. The Golden Eagles shot a season low 18.5% from deep, making just 5 of their 27 3-point attempts.
Here are some thoughts from MU’s 0-1 week:
After a slow start, the sophomores are trending upwards
Coming into this season, sophomore forwards Royce Parham and Damarius Owens were expected to take leaps forward offensively with the departure of Marquette’s top three scorers last season (Kam Jones, David Joplin and Stevie Mitchell).
For the first 11 games of the season, both players were coming off the bench. Parham was oftentimes the sixth man, averaging 22 minutes per game. Owens, on the other hand, only played in nine of MU’s first 11 contests, for an average of eight minutes.
Neither were overly impactful on the offensive end, with Parham scoring 9.1 points per game and Owens chipping in 2.6.
However, a switch flipped once conference play started. Parham has started MU’s last 10 games and is averaging 12.4 points per appearance at that time. He’s reached double figures in seven of those 10 games as well.
“His first 10 or 12 games, there was some inconsistency there,” Smart said about Royce Parham after his 18-point performance in MU’s win over Providence. “He’s a talented young guy, and we’ve always known that he can score the basketball. We just got to keep putting him in positions where he can.”
Leading up to Marquette’s Big East lid lifter against Georgetown on Dec. 17, Owens hadn’t played more than 14 minutes in a game. He played 27 against the Hoyas, posting a career-high 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the eventual 78-69 loss.
With the departure of Zaide Lowery on Dec. 28 and the foot injury Sean Jones suffered before Marquette’s game at UConn on Jan. 4, minutes have been up for grabs — and Owens has taken full advantage.
He has played 17 minutes or more in Marquette’s last three games, while also posting double figures in three of the last four contests.
“A lot,” Owens said in response to a question about how much his confidence has grown this season. “It comes with opportunity. Whenever my name is called, I feel like I’m ready. It’ll be the same in the future, so, whatever I’m given, I’m taking advantage of it.”
Free throw struggles persist
The Golden Eagles have not been good at the free throw line this season.
They are shooting 67.8% from the charity stripe (the lone Big East team under 70%), lower than the previous worst mark from the line under Smart, which was 70.3% in 2023-24.
Their best free throw shooter — and the only one above 75% — is someone who left the team almost one month ago in Lowery (83.3%). Behind him is Owens (73.5%), followed by Chase Ross (73.1%), Adrien Stevens (72.7%) and James Jr. (69.5%).
After Marquette’s 96-76 loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 6, Smart talked about how missed free throws were the difference between a double-digit and double possession lead.
“It was at one point in the second half, I think [Wisconsin] got the lead to maybe 11,” Smart said. “I looked at the stat sheet and I’m like, ‘Man, if we make our free throws, it’d be more like four or five.’”
Missed free throws have several ‘what could’ve been’ type of results for Marquette this season. Recently, the Golden Eagles missed eight free throws in an eventual five-point loss at DePaul, another eight in a six-point loss to Seton Hall, and three in a three-point loss to Villanova.
Even in its most recent win over Providence, a 19-of-30 clip from the free throw line almost spoiled one of Marquette’s best offensive performances of the season.
“That’s one of the toughest things to prepare players for, because anything you do outside of the game is pretty poor simulation of the pressure you’re going to feel in the game, in the moment,” Smart said about free throws in clutch moments. “We shoot pressure free throws. Guys work a lot on their free throws on their own, but, honestly, it comes down to poise and guts.”
What’s on tap?
Marquette welcomes the Creighton Bluejays to Fiserv Forum on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CST.
Then, the Golden Eagles are off to South Orange, New Jersey for a date with the Seton Hall Pirates on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.