Kansas Jayhawks vs Marquette Golden Eagles Predictions: An Offensive Explosion?
The Kansas Jayhawks advanced rather easily in the opening round of the Maui Invitational, while their opponent had a real challenge last night. But the Marquette Golden Eagles are the most complete team that Kansas has faced this season, ranked 4th in the AP Poll.
A lot of people are looking forward to the potential of a Purdue-Kansas matchup tomorrow, but both of those teams have huge tests today to pass first. Will the Jayhawks be able to stymie Marquette tonight? Or will the offense be electric enough to overcome a less than ideal defensive night? Or will Kansas lose their first game in Maui in their last three appearances?
Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hope over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.
Kyle Davis
Check out our Marquette Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Derek Noll
Kansas will have to cut down on the turnovers when they take on Shaka Smart’s Marquette Golden Eagles, and you’ve gotta believe that Bill Self has stressed that to his team. Kansas should be the fresher squad, having played the earlier game and strolling to the win even though the starters played more than I expected. Marquette is balanced and three different players lead in the key offensive stats, Kam Jones in points, Oso Ighodaro in rebounds, and Tyler Kolek in assists. KU will have to be wary of this triple threat and the defense will have to step it up from the way they played against Chaminade. In the end, I think they will and KU will outlast Marquette to get to the title game.
Kansas 78, Marquette 73.
Brendan Dzwierzynski
I love that KU is getting another game like this early in the season. Like Derek said, this has to be a cleaner game from Kansas against a good team like Marquette. I do think KU is the better team, but as Marquette proved on Monday night it can flip a game on its head quickly and punish you for your mistakes. I’m going with Kevin McCullar as my No. 1 player to watch, not because of the consecutive triple-doubles but because of how badly his defensive prowess will be needed against the Golden Eagles. If the Jayhawks are able to protect the ball and play at their pace (read: fast and loose), I think they’ll earn the win.
Kansas 80, Marquette 77.
Andy Mitts
Hunter Dickinson has been unbelievable as the primary scorer for the Jayhawks, but the real key to Kansas’ success so far has been Kevin McCullar. His back-to-back triple doubles is the first time a Jayhawk has done that in successive games, and his defense has keyed so many good opportunities. He is the secondary ball-handler for now, and his intensity on the defensive end is going to help against a Marquette team that doesn’t really turn the ball over and shoots fairly well.
Overall, the Jayhawks have a great defense that doesn’t rely on steals to be effective, and their offense is one of the best shooting offenses in the country. Hunter Dickinson should score between 25-30 without much trouble, but the game will really come down to how sharp KJ Adams is and if Elmarko Jackson, Nick Timberlake or Johnny Furphy can get hot. Give me Furphy for double digits and Kansas to win a tight one.
Kansas 82, Marquette 80
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