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2024-25 Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball Predictions and Odds to Win the National Championship

by Ryan Cobbett - 10/22/2024

Marquette Golden Eagles basketball predictions Kam Jones

Marquette put together one heck of a season last year, finishing 25-9 in the regular season with a 14-6 record in the Big East while reaching the Sweet 16. The Golden Eagles came storming out of the gates, as they knocked off #23 Illinois on the road, while knocking off #1 Kansas within their first five games of the season. From there, they picked up resume boosting wins against #12 Texas and #22 Creighton. However, the one team they could not beat was the UConn Huskies, who knocked off Marquette in all three of their matchups, including in the Big East Tournament final. After losing to the Huskies in the conference tournament, Marquette was the 2-Seed in the South Region. They blew past 15-Seed Western Kentucky, winning by 18, before getting past a hot Colorado Buffaloes squad. However, they were knocked out of the tournament by the tournament darling 11-Seed North Carolina State.

Guards Kam Jones (17.2 PPG) and Tyler Kolek (15.3 PPG) as well as center Oso Ighodaro (13.4 PPG) proved to be quite the electric trio for the Golden Eagles. Jones and Kolek both shot over 38% from deep, and Ighodaro averaged a team leading 6.9 RPG and 1.3 BPG while shooting 57.6% from the floor. The Golden Eagles were fourth in the Big East averaging 78.1 PPG on 47.8% shooting. They were also fourth in the conference from beyond the arc. However, they really struggled from the charity stripe, where they shot just 70.3% from the line which was the worst in the conference. Their defensive play matched their offense as they ranked fourth in the Big East allowing just 69.8 PPG, holding opponents to just 42.6% from the floor.

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Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball Key Additions/Losses

Marquette lost a lot of talent after their season concluded with two of their stars heading to the NBA. Kolek is now with the New York Knicks while Ighodaro is with the Phoenix Suns. The two former Golden Eagles were the second and third leading scorers on their squad last season, with the two combining to average 28.7 PPG, with Kolek leading the team and the nation with 7.7 APG, while Ighodaro led the team in RPG. Forward Jack Riley, who appeared in just 11 games for Marquette, is also no longer with the team. Riley is the only other player from last year’s team to not return.

Kolek and Ighodaro leave incredibly big shoes to fill within the Marquette starting five. However, leading scorer Kam Jones is back while David Joplin, Stevie Mitchell, and Chase Ross will play ‘next man up’ for Marquette as the trio look to compliment Jones. With the minimal departures, the Golden Eagles were one of a few schools that did nothing in the transfer portal with no player entering nor a new player coming to Milwaukee. They did sign three recruits out of the high school ranks. Four-star forwards and high school teammates Damarius Owens and Royce Parham both come over from Western Reserve Academy while Marquette also brought in center Joshua Clark who was rated as the 45th best center in the class.

Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball X-Factors

The ‘Next Man Up’ Trio- Joplin, Mitchell, and Ross are all going to be starting alongside Jones in place of Kolek and Ighodaro. Joplin averaged 10.8 PPG last season while shooting over 35% from deep. Mitchell averaged 8.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG while ranking second on the team in offensive rebounds and leading the team with 1.9 SPG. As for Ross he averaged 6.1 PPG and was a reliable threat from beyond the arc as he recorded a 36.2% 3P%. All three have potential to be consistent scorers and record a lot of good minutes for the Golden Eagles, and they have complete confidence from the staff as there are no incoming transfer players. The trio should be able to deter enough attention away from Kam Jones and allow him to improve on his numbers as he has the potential to be one of the nation’s leading scorers.

Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball Notable Games

Home- #14 Purdue, #15 Creighton, #3 UConn

Away/Neutral- Maryland, #5 Iowa State, #15 Creighton, #3 UConn

Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball Key Odds:

NCAA Champion: +6000

Final Four: +1500

Conference Winner: +650

Wooden Award: Kam Jones - +2200

AP Top 25- 18th

Andy Katz’s Power 37- 30th

KenPom- 22nd

Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball Predictions

Marquette has a couple of resume building opportunities early in the season as they play Purdue and Iowa State as part of their non-conference schedule. We should get a good look at how they measure up against two of the better teams in the country. Will the trio of former role players be able to replace the production lost by Kolek and Ighodaro? Kam Jones certainly takes a lot of pressure off them as he is one of the nation’s best players and with the increase in production he is bound to see this season, he is a legit contender for the Wooden Award. The Golden Eagles will be a good group, but they lost two NBA caliber players from last season’s team and did not bring in any top tier talent to replace them. They will give UConn and Creighton fits in conference play, but I think they are a tier below both in the conference and are not a huge threat to make a run in the March.

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