Marquette men’s basketball’s NCAA tournament chances are fading fast.
The Golden Eagles (5-4) fell to Oklahoma (5-2) in the final moments of a 75-74 loss in Chicago on Saturday. Marquette has lost all three games its played against high major opponents this season, and its schedule does not let up anytime soon as Wisconsin and No. 1 Purdue loom.
Despite their 75-72 overtime win over Valparaiso (5-3) Wednesday, plenty of questions remain for the blue & gold.
Here are some thoughts from the Golden Eagles’ 1-1 week:
Nigel James Jr. has submitted his bid for starting point guard
For much of the season, the Golden Eagles have been led on offense by senior guard Chase Ross — who is averaging 20.3 points per game.
Despite Ross’ 21 points pacing Marquette on Friday against the Sooners, it was first-year guard Nigel James Jr. who took control of the game down the stretch, scoring 11 of his 20 points in the final seven minutes of the contest.
“He’s got a lot of guts, he’s got a lot of toughness,” head coach Shaka Smart said Friday.
“Nigel did a good job of deciding, no matter what (defense) they’re in, ‘I’m going to find a way to get in the paint, and then he finished.”
James Jr. converted several tough layups at the rim, something the Golden Eagles have struggled with mightily at times this season. The blue & gold finished 9-for-23 on layups against Oklahoma, lowering their season-long layup conversation rate to a measly 53% (93-for-174).
“It’s a big difference when you get in the paint and you finish compared to if you don’t,” Smart said. “So [Nigel] was huge for us.”
James Jr. continued his gutsy play against the Beacons, finishing with a career-high 21 points and five assists. He went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in overtime to secure the Golden Eagles’ win.
The Huntington, New York native is Marquette’s second leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points per game, while also being second in steals with 16 on the year.
The Golden Eagles still expect to get redshirt junior guard Sean Jones back at some point soon, who has been sidelined since Nov. 12 with a shoulder injury. But James Jr. has shown through his six starts he can lead the team, potentially giving Smart a tough decision once Jones returns.
Why can’t Marquette put together a full 40 minutes?
Marquette has struggled to put together a full 40 minutes all season. The Oklahoma game was the perfect example of that.
The Golden Eagles have had stretches where they look like a team capable of seeings their name show up on Selection Sunday, like when they nailed 7 of their first 11 3-pointers to lead the Sooners 37-24. But those positive moments have repeatedly been negated by extremely poor stretches of play, like the seven-plus minutes with five points and no made field goals in the second half on Friday.
And the biggest issue is, the poor stretches have shown up much more consistently.
“It’s a tough pill for us to swallow,” Smart said after the loss. “As a young team, we have to learn that lesson, and we have to understand that the only way to win is to stay with it, even when everything’s not going your way. Because, over the course of a 40 minute game, if you’re playing a good team, they’re going to make a run.”
Even against Valparaiso, the blue & gold scored just 23 points in the first half, in which it shot 9-of-31 (29%) and 1-of-13 (7.7%) from deep, heading into the locker room trailing 27-23, before going 5-for-7 on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
Marquette ranks dead last in the country (365 out of 365) at making contested spot-up jumpers, per Synergy Sports. Diving deeper into their struggles, the Golden Eagles were shooting 15.6% on catch and shoot 3-pointers as of Dec. 1. They’ve been able to survive as a middle of the pack 3-point shooting team in the past, but the difference was it was converting at a high-rate at the rim.
In an offense where mid-ranges are sacrosanct, Marquette cannot afford to struggle so mightily both at the rim and from deep, especially when its given up an average of 85 points per game in its four losses.
What’s on tap?
The Golden Eagles are off to Madison to take on Wisconsin (5-2) in the I-94 rivalry on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. CST.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.