Marquette Golden Eagles NCAA Basketball Betting
It’s been a fantastic start to life at Marquette for Shaka Smart, with three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 in the first three seasons. Smart has established continuity in the program, even during a time when the transfer portal runs amok. With all of the returners he has back, even though he lost two very important players, the Golden Eagles should once again be a top 25-30 team.
The losses of Tyler Kolek (15 ppg, 5 rpg, 8 apg) and Oso Ighodaro (13 ppg, 7 rpg) are probably as big of losses as any other duo in the country. Kolek was the team’s true point guard, an All-American level player, and Ighodaro was the guy who made things go inside, an All-Big East player.
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We’ll start the list of returners off with the most important one, Kam Jones (17 ppg). Jones shared the backcourt in recent seasons with Kolek, and now it’ll be his turn to have more control and possibly add a little more to the Golden Eagles’ offense outside of scoring. We already know Jones is an elite three-level scorer (50.1% FG, 40.6% 3P), but his development to lead this backcourt could be the reason he goes down as the Big East Player of the Year by season’s end.
Keeping the list of returners rolling, the Golden Eagles bring back David Joplin (11 ppg, 4 rpg) and Ben Gold (5 ppg) as important returners in the frontcourt. Joplin was expected to have a large breakout last season after Olivier Maxence-Prosper left for the NBA, but it never really happened that way. Now, with Ighodaro gone as well, a breakout for Joplin won’t be an “added bonus” for the Golden Eagles but rather a real necessity if they wish to compete at the top of the Big East. Joplin gives a bit of everything to the Golden Eagles as it is: an efficient scorer and solid defender. Gold will be an interesting breakout candidate to watch for himself, a true stretch-five who is still working on filling out to match the physicality of some of the Big East centers he will run into. Joplin and Gold, both taking a step forward in place of Ighodaro, will be one of the keys of the season for Marquette.
The final four players to return from last season for Marquette should all see a slight increase in their production in 2024-25, having been buried in the depth chart last season. Guards Tre Norman (2 ppg) and Zaide Lowery (2 ppg) should be impactful guys off the bench in the backcourt, while forwards Al Amadou (1 ppg) and Caedin Hamilton (Redshirt) will hope to break into the end of the rotation this season.
Four freshmen fill out Shaka Smart’s roster for 2024-25. Damarious Owens (4*, NAT 64) and Royce Parham (4*, NAT 88) both come into their freshman seasons looking to improve the depth at the three and four spots for Marquette, and we think both should have a big impact off the bench. Joshua Clark (Unranked) and Luke Jacobson (Unranked) are the final two commitments, but in my eyes are both more likely to redshirt than to see real-time for Smart’s squad this season.
Shaka Smart has already established himself as a great coach for Marquette in just three seasons, combining regular season success, postseason success, and roster continuity that may only be matched by Houston and Purdue over that same time frame. He has a big task on his hands this year, looking to fill the gaping holes left by the departures of Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro. Still, with plenty of guys back in the system, we have confidence in Smart and Marquette to once again be competitive on the national landscape.
Smart has proven to be a perfect fit.
Latest NCAA Tournament Results
| YEAR |
RESULT |
| 2024 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (11) NC State, 58–67 |
| 2023 |
Lost Second Round vs. (7) Michigan State 60–69 |
| 2022 |
Lost First Round vs. (8) North Carolina, 63–95 |
| 2019 |
Lost First Round vs. (12) Murray State, 64–83 |
| 2017 |
Lost First Round vs. (7) South Carolina, 73–93 |
| 2013 |
Lost Elite Eight vs. (4) Syracuse, 39–55 |
| 2012 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (7) Florida, 58–68 |
2024-2025 NCAA Basketball Top Teams
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