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Marquette picked to finish sixth in Big East Preseason Poll

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Steve Wojciechowski

With four starters returning from a team that compiled a 24-7 overall record and a 13-5 conference mark, Villanova has been chosen to win the 2020-21 regular-season crown in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  The Wildcats, who tied Creighton and Seton Hall for last year’s regular-season title, received nine first place votes and a total of 99 points in the poll.

The Wildcats have now been tabbed for first place in the preseason poll in six of the last seven years.  They have won or shared the BIG EAST regular-season crown six of those times under head coach Jay Wright.

Creighton has been picked to finish second with Providence third.  Connecticut, which has returned to the BIG EAST this season after a seven-year absence, edged Seton Hall for fourth place.

The Marquette Golden Eagles were picked to finish sixth.  Steve Wojciechowski faces the task of replacing the nation’s scoring leader, Markus Howard, from last year.  The Golden Eagles finished 18-12 a year ago.  Their top returning scorer is guard Koby McEwen.

Xavier was picked to finish seventh, followed by Butler, St. John’s, DePaul and Georgetown.

Morrow leaves Marquette basketball

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The Marquette Golden Eagles will face Butler on Friday night without senior forward Ed Morrow.

Morrow has been on an indefinite leave for personal reasons since Jan. 15 and now has informed coach Steve Wojciechowski that he is leaving the program for good.

Morrow averaged 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 games for the Golden Eagles this season.  But his playing time went down with the emergence of 7-foot graduate transfer Jayce Johnson.

Morrow transferred to Marquette after playing two seasons at Nebraska.  He sat out the 2017-18 season because of transfer rules.

Last season, Morrow appeared in 33 games and averaged 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.

Wojciechowski gets extension at Marquette

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Steve Wojciechowski

Marquette is locking up men’s basketball coach Steve Wojciechowski long-term.  His new deal now runs through the 2023-’24 season.

Marquette won 23 games during the regular season and finished second in the Big East, but the Golden Eagles lost six of their last seven.

After guard Markus Howard announced in early April that he was returning for his senior season, brothers Sam and Joey Hauser announced that they were leaving the program.

Despite the fact that Wojciechowski has led the Golden Eagles to three straight postseason tournaments, they’re 0-2 in NCAA Tournament games.  Marquette did win a pair of games in the 2018 National Invitation Tournament.

Marquette was in line to claim the Big East championship but dropped its final four regular-season [Read more…]

Marquette climbing up the Top 25 polls

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Steve Wojciechowski

A pair of victories last week for the Marquette Golden Eagles is catching people’s attention.  Riding a three-game winning streak, the Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1 Big East) moved up six spots on Monday in both Top 25 polls.

Marquette climbed to 13th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 15th in the Associated Press writers poll.

The rankings are the highest since Steve Wojciechowski’s took over (fifth season).  It’s also the highest the Golden Eagles have been ranked since they were No. 11 in the coaches poll and No. 12 in the AP poll during the 2012-13 season under Buzz Williams.

Marquette shoots for its fourth straight win on Tuesday night when they face Georgetown (12-5, 2-2) in Washington D.C.

Marquette headed for the N.I.T., will host Harvard (AUDIO)

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Steve Wojciechowski – File Photo (Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)

When the NCAA was handing out tournament bids on Sunday night, the Marquette Golden Eagles were left out.

Instead, Marquette will face Harvard in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday (6 p.m.) at the Al McGuire Center.  The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Marquette (19-13) had a number of moments during the season where they couldn’t afford to slip and they did.  Regular season losses at St. John’s and DePaul were back-breakers.

To their credit, the Golden Eagles did have quality road wins against Creighton, Seton Hall and Providence, but as it turned out, Marquette wasn’t even one of the first four teams left out of the NCAA tournament field.  That distinction belonged to Baylor, Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s and Southern California.

Six Big East schools made the NCAA Tournament field: Villanova, Xavier, Providence, Creighton, Seton Hall and Butler.  Villanova and Xavier landed number-one seeds.

The last time Marquette played a game in the NIT was March of 2005 when they fell to Western Michigan 54-40.

The tournament will experiment with new rules this season, including an extended three-point line, four quarters instead of two halves, a 20-second shot clock after offensive rebounds and a wide free-throw lane.

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski on the new rules for the tournament :23

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski said his players are excited about the opportunity :15

Marquette falls to Villanova in Big East quarterfinals

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Steve Wojciechowski – File Photo (Courtesy of Marquette Athletics)

Marquette’s NCAA Tournament hopes took a big hit on Thursday night when they fell to Big East power Villanova 94-70 in New York.

Jay Wright became the winningest coach in Villanova history with 414 wins (414-165).

The Wildcats (28-4) took control in the second half as they shoot for their third Big East Tournament title in four years.  Mikal Bridges hit four three-pointers and scored 25 points.  Big East player of the year Jalen Brunson added 21 points.  The Wildcats hit 15 of  their 29 three’s, including 11 of 17 in the second half.

The Golden Eagles (19-13) got 23 points from Markus Howard and 22 from Andrew Rowsey in the loss.

Marquette will now sit and wait to see if their record, as well as the strength of the Big East Conference will be enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament.  It would seem unlikely, but the Golden Eagles will stay prepared for whatever postseason tournament comes calling.

“I believe we’re an NCAA Tournament team,” Coach Steve Wojciechowski said.  “But that’s not something I get to decide on.  I think our team has had a really good year, especially considering our youth.  And I think our team is capable of winning games in the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova moves into tonight’s Big East semifinals against Butler.

Marquette adds another Hauser on signing day

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Steve Wojciechowski

Steve Wojciechowski and the Marquette men’s basketball program landed the state’s top 2018 recruit in Stevens Point’s 6’8 forward Joey Hauser.  It means Joey will join his older brother Sam on the Marquette roster starting next season.

Joey Hauser officially signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday.  He’s joined by Brendan Bailey from American Fork (Utah) High School.  Bailey officially signed in 2016 but is on a two-year Mormon mission in Washington D.C.

Joey Hauser led Stevens Point to three straight WIAA Division 1 championships.  He averaged 23.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game last season as a junior.

Joey’s brother Sam averaged 8.8 points a game as a freshman with the Golden Eagles last season.

Marquette adds Judson to coaching staff

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The Marquette men’s basketball team has hired veteran coach Rob Judson as special assistant to head coach Steve Wojciechowski on Tuesday.

Judson has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including the last four at Indiana under former Marquette coach Tom Crean.  Judson was the Hoosiers’ director of basketball operations for two seasons before moving into an assistant coaching position prior to the 2015-16 season in Bloomington.

Judson was also an assistant for Illinois from 1996-2001, where he served as a top recruiter for Lon Kruger and Bill Self and watched the Fighting Illini make four NCAA tournament appearances in five years and win Big Ten crowns in 1998 and 2001.

Marquette adds transfer forward Ed Morrow

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Ed Morrow

Ed Morrow, who spent the last two seasons at the University of Nebraska, is joining the Marquette men’s basketball program.  Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski made the announcement Tuesday morning.

The 6’7 Morrow will arrive on campus this summer and have two years of eligibility with the Golden Eagles after redshirting in 2017-18.

The Lincoln, Nebraska, native appeared in 54 career games, earning 19 starts with the Cornhuskers.  As a sophomore last season, Morrow posted game averages of 9.4 points and 7.5 rebounds, starting 18 games.

Heldt & Hauser lead Marquette past St. John’s (AUDIO)

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Matt Heldt – Photo Courtesy of Marquette University Athletics

Freshman Sam Hauser hit five three pointers and finished with a team high 19 points and little used sophomore Matt Heldt had career highs in points (15), rebounds (10) and minutes (29) to help the Marquette Golden Eagles knock off St. John’s 93-71 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday night.

Heldt entered Tuesday’s game with the fewest minutes logged among the teams nine scholarship players.  But he had six points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s win over Xavier and earned more minutes last night.

Marquette (17-10, 8-7 Big East) also got 18 points from redshirt junior Andrew Rowsey and 16 from Katin Reinhardt as the Golden Eagles took another step towards earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.

The Golden Eagles have three games left in the Big East regular season, two of the three coming on the road.  It starts on Saturday with a trip to Providence.

Marquette made 12 three-pointers on the night, giving them a program record of 275 in a season.

AUDIO: Matt Heldt on his first career double-double :16

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski on Matt Heldt :19

AUDIO: Steve Wojciechowski says Helt deserved the opportunity :15