When Marquette drew Murray State in the first round, it felt like a good draw for Marquette. The matchup actually looked petty good on paper with Marquette ability to stop interior scoring and the Golden Eagles had more size than the Racers. Ja Morant did have the hype around him, but the Golden Eagles should have been able to make things happen. Instead, Marquette received a complete ass-kicking by Murray Stat as they lose 83-64 in one of the worst losses in Marquette postseason history.

Player of the Game: Ja Morant – Yes, he is worth the hype. I never thought that Ja Morant was worse than what people made him out to be yet I still didn’t expect him to be this good. Morant became the headline of the first day of the Tournament. He finishes with 17 points, 16 assists, and eleven assists. He only shot the ball nine times but impacted the game so much. Markus Howard should watch the tape of Morant and learn how to be a point guard. Ja taught a master class in being a point guard.

Silver Star: Tevin Brown – One of the bigger keys of the game for Marquette was stopping the players not named Morant. That didn’t happen. Tevin Brown knocked down five threes and hit his first five of seven. Brown made it absolutely pour from the outside. That is a tough task to beat a team where the point guard got a triple-double and another guard knocked down five threes.

Thing to go into 2019-2020 season – Here’s the good news for Marquette – Everyone could come back. Howard might head to the NBA, but honestly, there is some unfinished business. I know some want Howard to go to the league, but part of me believes this will be an eye-opening loss for him. Howard comes back along with a majority of the roster. They also add Greg Elliott, Koby McEwen and Dexter Akanno. All three are guards which should help out Howard. Golden Eagles do have one roster spot open though for next year.

Next up: Marquette will wait the decision on Howard. We’ll see if he stays or leaves. The other thing is will they have any transfers? Jamal Cain might be a logical option for transfer as well as Ike Eke but who knows. There is always the chance of a surprise transfer or someone staying with the squad.

Charlie.