Marquette has (not so quietly) gone on an 8-game winning streak, and that means there is no shortage of topics to cover. Too many, at times, which can be detrimental when it comes to selecting just one topic to dive deep on.
So I thought I’d put down a few thoughts that were rattling in my brain before Saturday’s clash with UConn.
I Love Gold
Near the end of the Georgetown game on Feb. 3rd, Ben Gold had a stretch of possessions in garbage time where he played the Oso role to perfection, dictating play from the high post/arc area, and dishing out dimes to cutters. But as it was at the tail end of a 30+ point laugher, I didn’t take much out of it other than Gold looks better out there than earlier in the season in similar situations.
But there was a stretch in the 2nd half against Butler where Gold didn’t just hold his own, he shined in a much needed spot. And did so without Oso on the court, stretching a 6 point lead to 12. Which was surprising to me.
I’ve been beating the Golden Bear (Gold/Oso lineups) drum since November.
And that tandem is still producing incredible results on the floor with an adjusted net rating almost 12 points better with those two on the floor at once vs lineups which they aren’t.
But without Oso, Gold’s minutes have been below Marquette’s baseline.
What impressed me most in the few minutes of his without Oso on the floor is that he impersonated Ighodaro as well as I’ve ever seen anyone do it. He switched 1 through 5 on defense. Played stout interior D and grabbed tough boards. And most strikingly, wasn’t just used as a floor spacer in the corner.
Just like against the Hoyas, Gold had a few possessions run through him near the arc, where he turned one into a drive and 2 points via the stripe as well as this incredible homage to his teammate.
For this season, Gold has doubled his minutes played and has become an integral part of Marquette’s 2nd half adjustments.
Here’s a season long look at his playing time, and MU’s +/- in his stints on the floor in the end half. Not only is there a ton of green, they come in large chunks of contiguous time.
Ben’s 3-point shot is still a 6-pointer in my book, but as the seasons has progressed, his development on both ends of the court has taken him from just a floor spacer and time eater to a featured component and someone you can rely on no matter the time or score.
Clutch Kolek
I could probably write a piece about Tyler Kolek every day, and if I liked clicks and ad revenue, I would. He’s currently playing at a level we’ve never seen from him for a prolonged stretch, even counting in his heater to finish Big East play last season that won him the Big East Player of the Year award.
One area that I don’t think gets enough attention, and one where I’ll still hear from uneducated folks from time to time, is his clutch-ness. When Marquette has needed him most, Kolek has stepped up and delivered exactly what was needed.
If you need a reminder of what he did against Villanova, check out the first few paragraphs of my writeup after that game.
Against St. John’s, not only did his pair of 3-pointers to end and start the half slice a 12-point deficit in the matter of seconds, it also improved MU’s win probability by over 20%, from 34.1% to 54.6%, using TRank’s win probability chart.
It got me digging through a few sites that track this sort of thing, and Kolek’s current run is indeed something notable, even for his decorated career.
Win probability added is very flawed, as it doesn’t give players credit for assists or rebounds, but still, within the scope of this scoring-heavy metric, 3 of Kolek’s most impactful games in his career have come in the last 4 outings.
He sealed the Butler game with his free throws and gave us an iconic image against St. John’s.
The Play
The image
It’s not just the passing. Not just the scoring. When Marquette needs him most, Kolek has delivered.
Stop That Thief
If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend Marks’ breakdown of why Stevie Mitchell is much more than just a glue guy this season.
The last 3 weeks has only bolstered that case.
Against Butler, he was his similar pesky self, becoming only the 2nd player this season to notch 4 steals in a game against the stingy Bulldogs. The first? Stevie last time they played.
Steals in and of itself aren’t indicative of great defense, but the way Stevie can shift the momentum of a whole game with his defensive acumen never ceases to amaze me.
Big 3 Back?
I would not necessarily say that Kam Jones is “back” to his normal self, but the stats do show that Marquette’s Big 3 together are at least playing at the elite level they were at to start the season. Here’s a visual representation of Hoop-Explorer’s Player Impact scores, using a 3-game rolling average.
Kolek himself has logged 3 consecutive, games over 9, when he had only done it back to back times once before against Texas and Notre Dame, which goes to bolster the paragraphs above.
And the reason I’m a big fan of Player Impact is that it combines both box score stats and on/off metrics, to give us a great picture of what any given player’s impact on a game was, that may not be obvious just looking at a box score.
And this measure is why Oso Ighodaro will remain Marquette’s foundation. He’s just great to amazing day in and day out.
National Marquette Day Extended Cut
In case you haven’t seen it yet, just wanted to make sure there was a place for everyone to admire the great work from MU’s social team. We had to watch this on our TV, as the phone didn’t do it justice.
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