When the final whistle blew on Marquette’s season last year, after the Golden Eagles dropped an NCAA Tournament first-round game to Murray State, there were many reasons for optimism in Milwaukee coming into this season.
For one, the Golden Eagles were coming off a 24-win year, one that saw them go 12-6 in the BIG EAST, finishing one game behind Villanova for the regular-season crown, and secondly, Marquette was returning all five starters, which had some preseason prognosticators salivating over how far the Golden Eagles could soar this season.
Heck, optimism was so high, the Golden Eagles looked to have the rare opportunity to unseat the Green Bay Packers as the top sports choice in Wisconsin.