For No. 15 Marquette men’s basketball, it’s the second year in a row its started off 5-0. Though, that’s the best the Golden Eagles have been able to do since their 2011-12 campaign — when they won their first 10.
To continue the march towards another start similar to that, they are going to need to go through Georgia: a team they haven’t played since Dec. 2, 2017 when they lost 66-73.
The Golden Eagles (5-0) and the Bulldogs (5-0) both boast undefeated records going into Saturday’s matchup, but each record tells a different story.
Who’s that coming down the track?
The mean machine in red and black come into this matchup with the same record as Marquette, but haven’t had to play a team ranked inside the KenPom top 100 so far this season. Tuesday, the Bulldogs won against Alabama A&M — who is ranked 345th in KenPom— by the largest margin they’ve beaten an opponent by since 2006 (48). Per KenPom, the best team they’ve played this season was 105th ranked Georgia Tech on Nov. 15, eking out eight point win.
Bulldog rebounding is where Marquette is going to have to put a good deal of focus.
Georgia ranks 27th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage while Marquette is at 136. On the offensive glass, the Bulldogs are fifth. Georgia ranks in total as the second best rebounding team in the entire country, per KenPom.
Junior forward RJ Godfrey leads the team, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game. First-year forward Asa Newell sits just behind at 7.2 while also leading the squad in scoring with 16.8 points per game.
In their game against Alabama A&M, senior guard Tywin Lawrence recorded a career-high six steals, just one short of tying a school record. He averages a team-leading 1.8 steals.
Marquette riding high
In Marquette’s most recent game against Purdue on Tuesday night, senior guard Kam Jones claimed the third triple-double in school history. Similarly, senior guard Stevie Mitchell scored a career-high 21 points and nailed the three-pointer that solidified Jones’ accomplishment. Mitchell has hit double-digit scoring in has last three outings.
Jones leads the team with an average of 22.6 points per game this season, shooting almost 63.8 percent from the field.
Junior forward Ben Gold, who struggled through the first four games shooting the 3-point range, shot 3-for-6 from beyond the arc against the Boilermakers. In the first four games of the season, the 6-foot-11 big man went 5-for-26.
How to follow:
Where and when: Make sure to set your alarms and break out your coffee mugs because tipoff is set for 10 a.m. CST in Nassau, Bahamas.
Watch: FloHoops features the broadcast, with Evan Stockton (play-by-play) and Lexi Ayala (analyst) calling the action.
Live updates: Follow @JackAlbrightMU and @MUWireSports on Twitter/X.
This preview was written by Ben Hanson. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.
