Marquette Golden Eagles are headed to the Big East Tournament on the right foot. They beat Xavier over the weekend, 66-59, in a game where the Golden Eagles were in control for most of it. Whenever Xavier seemed to creep back into this one, Marquette shut the door in their face. It was a nice victory for the Golden Eagles. They finish the year in rather strong fashion winning four of their last five games. Xavier’s bubble chances are on life support now, and Marquette will have a chance to keep playing their spoiler role. It’s unlikely that Marquette will be able to play their way into the tournament. It’s a ‘win the tournament’ scenario for the Golden Eagles.

The first real opportunity for Marquette to take on the spoiler role would be in the quarterfinal against Villanova. The team that has absolutely pummeled Marquette in their two meetings. Now, this Villanova team is not the same one. They lost Collin Gillespie with an MCL tear, and it looks like Justin Moore’s ankle injury is significant. If the Golden Eagles get past Georgetown, can they shock the world and knock off the number one seeded Wildcats? It’s possible due to the injuries, but still, it’s hard to see it.

If they do pull off the miracle, Seton Hall or St. John’s awaits them. Each team has given Marquette fits in the past. Most notably Seton Hall. They always look bigger and stronger than the Golden Eagles. Both of these teams need to build their bubble case stronger and stronger, so, they would probably prefer if Marquette did not win.

Unless Marquette bows out in round one, it will be another year of ‘what could have been’ for Marquette. They had three different three-game losing streaks in the Big East this year. If one of those gets turned into 2-1, another 1-2, and maybe one 0-3 stretch, Marquette is probably dancing again or at least close to it. They have an impressive resume of wins but there are too many losses for them to be considered a bubble team.

They will try to ruin the fun for everyone else though.

Charlie.