I started this over the weekend before we were told Tyler Kolek would miss the remainder of the regular season with an oblique injury. Not that I thought Tyler was miraculously fine after one weekend off, but definitely a different vibe knowing he’s out at least the next 2 games.
Oso Ighodaro, on the other hand, should be back. And that means more than even the biggest Oso fan realizes.
But enough about them, we can (and will) talk about those 2 plenty the rest of the way. What I wanted to focus on was the incredible effort Marquette gave on Saturday at Creighton, both as a team and individually. The score is what it is, but as someone predisposed to write off a lopsided loss once we learned Oso was out, I was incredibly heartened at how the game played out.
Some 14-point losses are garbage time closeouts of 20-point game-long deficits. This was not it. A two-possession game down the stretch with 2 starters out and 2 key reserves playing through illness (Chase Ross and Tre Norman), the gas tank was drained of every last drop before the Jays were able to pull away in the final minutes.
Kam Heater
It’s not enough to say that Kam is en fuego right now. He’s playing at an offensive level that would be obscene for a single game, let alone the past month
Take another peek at the splits above. Yes, 8 games is a smaller sample than 20, and shooting over 50% from 3 is going to skew a lot other offense-related numbers, but this isn’t just a few big games from 3 dominating the stats. He’s shooting over 70% on 2-pointers on 6 attempts a game, 41 of those coming at the rim. I feel like I say this a lot, but I’ll say it again, that’s an INSANE number for a player under 6’6″ with limited athleticism.
His ability to break down a defense on his own off the dribble makes him the missing component for Marquette’s offense this season. Not that he left, but he wasn’t playing at this level for most of the season.
Just watch the dribble to split the D, then the crafty Euro around the defender, finishing with a patented Kam kiss off the glass.
Kam was always going to be vital, but seeing him thrive in an environment without Kolek or Oso driving the offense was a great sign that he’s going to be a monster once more next season.
Jop’s Hops
I’m going to be watching this until I’m 90.
Joplin came into the season, his 3rd in college, not having recorded a dunk. It was something Shaka had talked about as a goal for Joplin.
But I don’t think anyone had “Joplin Yam on the 2-time reigning BEPOY” on their Bingo board. This was one of the most unexpected results that I can remember. And while some might say, who cares about the dunk, Marquette lost and played poor defense, I think Joplin’s overall mentality during the game was clear and inspiring: attack.
He hasn’t been great this season at finishing near the hoop, and hadn’t gotten there a whole lot. But as one of the only players able to create for himself on Saturday, he didn’t just settle for stepbacks and 3s. He attacked in a way we hadn’t seen this season.
Another way to visualize the 2pt breakdown.
Joplin is now shooting 68% on close 2s the past 8 games. It’s a huge deal.
Keep Shooting, Ben
While Ben Gold didn’t have a great shooting day, and drew the ire of some fans on social media after going 1-8 from distance, I’m here to say not only did I think he should have shot that many 3s, but it makes me incredibly excited for the future that he had the confidence to do so.
Of those 8 attempts, 6 were unguarded. Yes, it stinks that he went 1-6 when left unattended, per Synergy, and Creighton clearly was willing to gamble, but as the team as a whole has proved this season, Shaka and the staff encourage taking good shots, even if the past results haven’t been positive. We kinda all saw this play out in frustrating fashion for over half the season this year.
But that confidence means the world. I trust that Ben gets a good chunk of those in practice, and I also trust Marquette wants Ben shooting those shots in the game, because it breaks the entire drop scheme. I’m veering straight into conjecture territory, but if he hits 1 additional 3 on Saturday, the result is a coinflip. If he hits 2, MU wins. His shooting is a gamebreaking weapon, and I’m so excited to see it expand come next year.
Thievie ORebs
I wrote a lot about Mitchell’s defense, and have talked about his offense from time to time, but did you know that Mitchell is only a hair behind Ben Gold for 2nd on the team in offensive rebounding rate?
His ability to slither between the defense and swipe the board from under their noses might as well be a steal.
He’s the only player in the Big East under 6’4″ with an OReb rate over 6% this season.
And again, it isn’t just that he’s grabbing the boards, he’s scoring on a ton of them himself. He only trails Oso by 2 points, with 21 putback points this season, per Synergy.
Expectations?
I won’t talk about 2025 until the end of the season. Too much meat left on this bone.
And at the risk of looking foolish come November, and dependent on roster fluctuations, I now expect Marquette to remain a top-half team for next season. Is that foolish on the back of 1 40-minute performance that resulted in a double digit loss? Maybe.
But although one tiny sample shouldn’t be enough to sway me either way, there’s enough runway for me to rev the engines and attempt a takeoff.
Again, more on this in a month or so, but be sure to keep this one for reference.
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