There was a lot to like about Marquette last season.
For starters, the Golden Eagles began the season 10-2, won the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, knocking off nationally-ranked LSU and Ben Simmons along the way, won a road game at Wisconsin and introduced the college basketball world to wunderkind Henry Ellenson.
Oh, and did we mention Marquette also won 20 games, a seven-game improvement over the previous season? But with all those positives to celebrate last year the one thing that eluded Marquette was a postseason bid. A 20-13 finish did not land the Golden Eagles a spot in either the NCAA Tournament or, somewhat surprisingly, the NIT.