In its last two NCAA Tournament appearances, Marquette men’s basketball has moved onto the second round.
But no game is guaranteed in the Big Dance, and the Golden Eagles (23-10) are taking it one game at a time, starting on Friday as they face the 10th-seeded New Mexico Lobos (26-7) in the Round of 64 in Cleveland, Ohio.
“It’s terrific to be in Cleveland,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said at a media availability Thursday. “Spent three years of my life in northeast Ohio. I love this area. But more importantly, I’m really excited to be here with our guys, our team.”
Here’s a preview of what to expect from the Lobos:
Dent and Joseph are stars for UNM
Junior guard Donovan Dent (20.6 ppg) and senior center Nelly Junior Joseph (14.0 ppg) spearhead New Mexico’s offense.
What stood out to senior guard Stevie Mitchell about Dent — who will most likely be guarding him — was just how good the Mountain West Player of the Year actually is.
“You can see that on film,” Mitchell said. “You can see that by the stats. We’re just excited for the challenge that we have in front of us to guard him, five guys, whoever gets switched on to him, whoever starts on him.
“It’s just an exciting challenge. We’re preparing for it, watching film, and have prepared for it all year, going against good players, as well.”
Joseph — who was coached by St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino at Iona — has been compared to Red Storm junior forward Zuby Ejiofor, who scored 33 points against Marquette in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Joseph also pulls down 11.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the nation.
“I think Nelly Joseph is a big domino for Dent and the rest of the team,” Smart said. “Dent is unquestionably the best player, but Nelly Joseph man, I mean, the motor with which he plays and the way he impacts play on both ends of the floor is incredible.”
Fast-paced offense and dominant defense
The Lobos like to play fast and thrive in transition. They finished the regular season with the 4th fastest tempo in KenPom, averaging 15.1 seconds per offensive possession.
Marquette will have to lean on its defensive identity to stop them in transition, which is something that Mitchell said they have been working on all year.
“I think we’ve got a lot of good practice for it going against teams like Xavier who like to push the ball and other teams we played throughout the year that get the ball up the court,” Mitchell said. “But obviously, they’re unique to them, New Mexico, so they’ve got different players, they’ve got different personnel. We’re just trying our best to learn that.”
On the other hand, New Mexico also presents a unique challenge defensively. According to KenPom, it ranks 19th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 95.4 points per 100 possessions.
The Lobos also love to crash the glass, grabbing 39.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 20th in the country. They rank in the top 15 of Division I teams for block rate. Marquette will have trouble scoring in the paint, so it needs to make open shots on the perimeter — an area where the Golden Eagles have been inconsistent this year.
“We talk a lot about our shooting, and we put a lot of work into our shooting,” sophomore guard Zaide Lowery said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go as well as you expect it to, but we pride ourselves on playing defense. If we’re having a good defensive game, we’ll find ways to put the ball in the basket.”
Tournament experience on both sides
While Marquette has made it to the Big Dance four years in a row, this will be New Mexico’s second straight appearance in the tournament.
Last year, the 11th-seeded Lobos were routed by the sixth-seeded Clemson Tigers in the Round of 64, and Dent said the coaching staff has changed the team’s mentality this season in the national tournament.
“Last year, we were just excited to be here,” Dent said. “This year, we want to win here. We don’t want to just be here and say we made it. We want to go on a run here. We want to do the deep runs. I think that’s the biggest thing they changed in the coaching, just the mindset.”
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles have three prior experiences to lean on in preparation for Friday’s matchup, something Smart has emphasized to his players.
“We’ve had a heck of a journey so far to this point,” Smart said. “And all the experiences we’ve had, I tell our guys all the time, you’ve got those experiences in your pocket, so now is the time to pull them out and use them and come together to be our best.”
This article was written by Kaylynn Wright. She can be reached at kaylynn.wright@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @KaylynnWrightMU.
