CINCINNATI — You can take either side of the “moral victories” in sports. It comes down to if you believe in them or not.
Xavier went into Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday night to face the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies and very nearly pulled off the upset. Without leading scorer Zach Freemantle, the Musketeers took UConn to overtime in a game that saw 11 ties and 22 lead changes. Xavier shot 13-24 from three-point range against No.11 UConn, 18-21 from the free-throw line and 50 percent from the field. But that wasn’t enough in a 94-89 overtime loss.
Moral victories aside, the effort was clearly there on Wednesday night. Look no further than Dante Maddox Jr. scoring 22 points and hitting five three-pointers in 35 minutes… off the bench.
The question, now, is can Xavier carry that effort from Wednesday night into another battle Saturday afternoon against No. 9 Marquette? This is a crucial game for the Musketeers. The difference, going into a 10-day break, with a win or a loss is massive in terms of momentum and the psychological state of the team.
This is a really good Marquette team, one that has been developed over recent seasons as opposed to assembled through the transfer portal. That’s key here, meaning there are a lot of players on this team that have played a lot of basketball together with Marquette. The Golden Eagles only two losses this season are to Iowa State and Dayton- both ranked teams- and they have wins over Purdue, Georgia and Wisconsin. They also won their Big East opener Wednesday night, 80-70 over Butler.
With that, here are the Players to Watch on Marquette Saturday afternoon.
Players to Watch
1. #1 Kam Jones 6’5″ 205 lbs. Sr. Guard Memphis, Tenn.
20.3 pts, 4.9 rebs, 55.6 FG%, 37.9 3-PT FG%, 75% FT, 75 ast.-17 TO, 32 mpg
An elite scorer who has over 1,000 points in his career at Marquette, Jones has two games this season with 32 points and six games with 20+ points. Jones also has four games with three or more three-pointers and just four games where he shot under 50 percent. In addition, Jones has eight games this season with five+ assists. Jones is also durable, with four games this season where he has played 35+ minutes. He’ll have the ball in his hands early and often on Saturday afternoon.
2. #23 David Joplin 6’8″ 225 lbs. Sr. Forward Milwaukee Brookfield Central HS
14.3 pts, 5.4 rebs, 39.3 FG%, 29.9 3-PT FG%, 88.6 FT%, 11 blk, 31 mpg
Joplin has three games this season with at least 27 points. Like Jones, Joplin is a really good scorer. However, he hasn’t been as prolific of late, with four of his last five games ending with Jones scoring less than 10 points. He has eight games with five+ rebounds, four games with multiple steals and four games with multiple blocks. Meaning, if he’s not scoring, Joplin is still impacting the game in multiple ways.
3. #4 Stevie Mitchell 6’3″ 200 lbs. Sr. Guard Reading, Pa.
11.6 pts, 4.2 rebs, 56.5 FG%, 9-18 3-PT FG, 70.8 FT%, 26.6 mpg
Mitchell is an impact player on defense for the Golden Eagles, with eight games where he has multiple steals. That includes three games with four steals. It’s worth noting that Mitchell led the Big East with 62 steals last year… in conference games. Mitchell has just three games shooting under 50 percent from the floor, and he has seven games with five+ rebounds. Not only is this Marquette team experienced, they’re very versatile. Mitchell embodies that versatility, including by increasing his rebounding by one board per game over his last three games.
4. #2 Chase Ross 6’5″ 210 lbs. Jr. Guard Dallas
11.2. pts, 4.5 rebs, 50.5 FG%, 37.8 FG%, 75.7 FT%, 28 stl, 29.6 mpg
It’s Ross, however, that leads Marquette in steals with 28. That includes four games with four+ steals and two games with five steals. Ross also has seven games this season scoring in double figures.
5. #12 Ben Gold 6’11” 235 lbs. Jr. Forward Wellington, New Zealand
8.6 pts, 3.8 rebs, 42% FG, 34.9 3-PT FG%, 13-15 FT, 24.6 mpg
Gold has five games this season scoring in double figures and six games with five+ rebounds. In addition, Gold has seven games with multiple three-pointers, and he had four blocks in Marquette’s second game of the season against George Mason. Gold also has played 25+ minutes in four straight games.
6. #13 Royce Parham 6’8″ 230 lbs. Fr. Forward Pittsburgh
5.6 pts, 1.9 rebs, 36.1 FG%, 23.3 3-PT FG%, 5-11 FT, 14.2 mpg
In his first season at Marquette, Parham has scored in double figures twice and played 10+ minutes in every game but two this season. Parham was a part of Western Reserve Academy’s run to the Prep National Championship last year, where he averaged 20.7 points and 8.7 rebounds.
7. #35 Caedin Hamilton 6’9″ 250 lbs. R-Fr. Forward Santa Monica, Calif.
2.4 pts, 1.3 rebs, 46.2 FG%, 0-6 3-PT FG, 5-8 FT, 7.9 mpg
Hamilton has scored over five points three times this season. His season high is nine points that he scored against Western Carolina in late November. Hamilton also had a season-high nine rebounds against Maryland earlier in November.
8. #5 Tre Norman 6’4″ 210 lbs. So. Guard Boston
1.6 pts, 11 rebs, 8-22 FG, 2-12 3-PT FG, 1-6 FT, 10.6 mpg
Norman will see action on Saturday. He’s played double-digit minutes seven times this season. That includes a stretch of five times in Marquette’s last six games.
Head Coach: Shaka Smart (4th season)
Most, if not all, College Basketball fans know Shaka Smart from leading Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to the Final Four in 2011. It’s one of the most memorable Cinderella runs in NCAA Tournament history, going all the way from the First Four to the Final Four.
That was Smart’s second season as the Rams head coach. Now, he’s in his 16th season overall as a head coach and fourth with the Golden Eagles.
Entering this season, Smart was 75-30 as the Golden Eagles head coach. That record is now 85-32. Smart has led Marquette to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons as the head coach, including to the Sweet 16 last year. Marquette also won the Big East regular-season and Tournament championships in 2023.
Prior to Marquette, Smart was the head coach of Texas for six seasons. He took the Longhorns to three NCAA Tournaments and led them to the 2019 NIT Championship.
It was at VCU where Smart had his most success so far as a head coach. In six seasons, Smart led the Rams to five NCAA Tournaments and three times advanced in the Big Dance.
With 15 more wins at Marquette, he will have won 100 games at three different schools in his head coaching career. In 2023, Smart was the Big East Coach of the Year as well as the AP, NABC and Henry Iba National Coaches of the Year.
Keys to the Game
1. Limiting turnovers: For as good as Xavier’s effort was on Wednesday night, they had more turnovers than assists at 10-9. That’s not horrible, but it is cause for concern going up against a Marquette team that is looking to turn teams over on defense. Limiting turnovers will be paramount on Saturday afternoon for the Musketeers.
2. Rebounding: Xavier lost the rebounding battle 35-27 on Wednesday night at UConn. In addition, UConn had 14 offensive rebounds to Xavier’s seven. Limiting extra possessions against a really good offensive team in Marquette on Saturday afternoon will go a long way towards the Musketeers pulling off the upset.
3. Finishing: It’s, essentially, the only thing Xavier didn’t do on Wednesday night. The Musketeers were right there on Wednesday night at UConn. Playing at home on Saturday afternoon, the Musketeers must make the plays when it’s winning time. The hard-fought effort can carry over into Saturday afternoon, but it’s crucial it results in a win over No. 9 Marquette Saturday as opposed to the alternative going into a 10-day break over Christmas.
Score Prediction: Xavier 78 – Marquette 76
This is going to be another really good game. Xavier proved they can compete at a high level without Zach Freemantle. Now, the next step is finishing games and winning Big East games. Playing at home on a Saturday afternoon against a top 10 team, the Cintas Center will be electric. Xavier will take advantage and edge the Golden Eagles for a resume-boosting and confidence-boosting win.
