Marquette knew that yesterday’s game would be a challenge versus Wichita State. They’re ranked number six in the nation, and some college basketball reporters think they’re the best team in college basketball. Marquette knew they had to play damn well in order to have a chance in this one. While the Golden Eagles showed some promise, they could not find a bucket late plus the lack of scoring from people not named Rowsey or Howard hurt the team. Marquette drops their second game of the season, but there’s more promise than disappointment after this one.

Howard and Rowsey can’t be the only answer
If not for Markus Howard in the first half, Wichita would have ran away with this basketball game. Howard scored 17 points in the first half and proved to be Marquette’s offense early on. Andrew Rowsey picked up some of the slack in the second half. The duo combined for 51 of the Golden Eagles’ 66 points. No other player had more than two made baskets. That’s not a good sign.

The bench continues to look promising
One thing to really be excited about through four games is Marquette looks like they have depth on this roster. It might be young, but it’s going to give them some meaningful minutes. Sacar Amin, Greg Elliott and Jamal Cain add such a dynamic defensive element to Marquette that the starters really do not. Those guys played their asses for the second straight game, and the scoring will come to them. I like that Cain and Amin shot the ball 10 times combined. They should have confidence to shoot even if it’s not the best look.

What if the refs didn’t call Sam Hauser tight?
One thing to think about this game is Sam Hauser only played 22 minutes. He never got in a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball due to picking up three fouls in the first half. All three were of the ticky-tack bullshit variety. This might be a different game if Hauser was able to be the third scorer with Rowsey and Howard like we’ve seen in past games. Hauser having no flow really disrupts how other things happen for Marquette.

Next up
Marquette sees LSU in the consolation championship on Wednesday night. This is a game where Marquette cannot slip up in with LSU projected to be the worst team in the SEC this season. Tigers did muddy up a game versus Michigan earlier this week and will hope to do the same against Marquette.

Charlie.