Game Preview: Wildcats vs Marquette

Marquette returns to Manhattan for the second time in three seasons. It was almost two years to the day that Kansas State lost to the Golden Eagles 73-65 in Bramlage Coliseum. Marquette also won at home against K-State 83-71 in 2019.

The Wildcats will see a familiar face in new head coach Shaka Smart. He has the Golden Eagles off to a solid start this season at 7-2, including wins over Illinois, West Virginia and Ole Miss. The losses have come at the hands of St. Bonaventure and Wisconsin.

Bruce Weber is 5-7 while at K-State against Smart. The first two were won by Smart and Weber responded with a run of five wins in the next six contests before Shaka won the final four games between the two head coaches.

Smart has a young team made up of eight first or second-year players in his top 10, mixed with a pair of grad transfer seniors. He's also returned to playing at a faster pace, much like he did as head coach of VCU.

They have an adjusted pace of over 75 possessions per game. That is the second-fastest pace in the country. Pace could be a factor because of that. Also, Kansas State is playing faster. Four of their seven games have been at 70 possessions or more.

The biggest pace aspect to watch will be Marquette's offense against the Wildcat defense.

The Golden Eagles have the fastest offensive possessions in the country, averaging 14.1 seconds, while K-State forces opponents to run clock with an average defensive possession length of 18.0 seconds, which is 292nd-slowest.

Marquette's defense has been a slight strength over their offense and the Golden Eagles rank No. 67 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency at 0.96 points per possession.

They are best at forcing turnovers. They rank No. 103 with a turnover rate of 20.8 percent of opponent possessions. Marquette is No. 116 in eFG% (effective field goal percentage) defense (47.8 percent).

Their two-point percentage defense is No. 119 in America at 47.3 percent and their three-point percentage defense ranks No. 139, nationally, at 32.6 percent. Only 32.5 percent of their opponent's shots are from distance.

The Golden Eagles are average on the defensive glass and at sending opponents to the free throw line. They allow an offensive rebounding rate of 29.8 percent and a free throw rate of 29.8 percent. Both rank No. 178, nationally.

Offensively, Marquette ranks No. 92 in adjusted efficiency at 1.06 points per possession per game.

Their strength is attacking and making trips to the free throw line. They rank No. 18 in the nation in free throw rate at 41.7 percent. They are also attempting nearly 24 free throws per game and making 70.7 percent of them.

They make 53.2 percent of their twos (No. 76) and 32.9 percent of their threes (No. 187) for an eFG% of 51.6 percent (No. 119.) Marquette attempts nearly 25 three-pointers per game, which is a lot. It accounts for 43.1 percent of their baskets, which is top 75 in the country.

The Golden Eagles are average in regards to ball security. They've produced a turnover rate of 19.3 percent (No. 193). Their offensive rebounding rate of 24.4 percent (No. 276) is pretty poor.

Kansas State's offense against Marquette's defense is pretty even in all factors.

K-State has struggled in the shooting department against quality opponents. We'll see if that changes this time around with the game being in Manhattan. But they were below average in both Kansas City and Wichita.

The Wildcats took care of the ball against the pressure defense of Wichita State on Sunday, and repeating that against another team that likes to do the same will be very important.

Defensively, Kansas State has the advantage in the majority of categories. But the overall matchup is still pretty even.

K-State's eFG% and three-point defensive numbers have been excellent this season. Another key will be to not send the Golden Eagles to the free throw line a bunch. That is the largest weakness of the Wildcats against the top strength for Marquette.

Though, the Wildcats are adept at being able to exploit the Golden Eagles' weakness of turnovers.

Shaka Smart has a lot of young talent that features eight freshmen or redshirt freshmen in his top 10. Two freshmen are redshirts, two are transfers from other programs and four are true freshmen recruits.

The rest of the rotation includes a pair of senior grad transfers.

Justin Lewis is one of the returners and leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game, nearly doubling his output from a season ago. The 6-foot-7 forward also leads the team in rebounding with 7.6 per game. Lewis has scored at least 14 points in eight of nine games this season.

6-foot-5 guard Darryl Morsell grad transferred from Maryland and is second in scoring at 14.8 points per game.

Morsell consistently scored between eight and nine points per game every season as a Terrapin and earned Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. He started this year hot by scoring at least 21 points in each of the first four games, while hitting 8 of 11 from distance.

But that streak has slowed. Morsell leads Marquette from beyond the arc at 44.1 percent on 3.8 attempts per game.

Tyler Kolek is a freshman guard transfer from George Mason. It was there he averaged nearly 11 points per game, while hitting 35.8 percent on nearly seven three-point attempts per game.

He's scoring 7.7 points per game this season and leads the time in assists at 5.3 per game. His shooting acumen from deep has dipped to just 25.6 percent from behind the line on 4.3 attempts per game.

Guard Kam Jones is a true freshman pouring in 7.6 points per game. He's shooting 30 percent from three-point land and taking 4.4 per game.

Big man Kur Kuath is another familiar face. The former Oklahoma post is the second grad transfer. He is playing a similar role to the one he had in Norman. that includes 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 18 minutes per game.

His 12 points against Kansas State last season was his third-best scoring output as a Sooner.

Three bench players are averaging at least 16.9 minutes per game.

Oso Ighodaro is a 6-foot-9 forward that splits time with Kuath and averages 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. 6-foot-8 forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper is a Clemson transfer that averages 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Guard Steve Mitchell averages 5.1 points per game. David Joplin is a 6foot-7 forward playing only 10 minutes per game. But he is a threat from the three-point line at 35.5 percent on 3.4 attempts per game.

FAN: K-State has a golden opportunity to grab a solid win and take another step forward. They have played slightly better each time out against quality opponents after being blitzed early by Arkansas, playing well for three-fourths of the game against Illinois and then finishing out a defensive grinder against Wichita State by making the key plays in the last five minutes. I look for that trend to continue against a solid Marquette team. It looks like a game that might feature more efficient offense and shooting with a higher pace, but Kansas State makes the plays down the stretch to win another one late. Wildcats defeat Marquette, 78-73.

DY: We will surely see more points between these two teams than what we witnessed in Wichita on Sunday. K-State is playing a little faster than normal and the Golden Eagles zip up and down the court with reckless abandonment. The Wildcats have struggled from the field in the three games against quality competition. They're due for a better performance shooting the ball. As long as they avoid turnovers against the mighty ball pressure of Marquette and don't send them the line at too high of a clip, they should be good enough to take down Shaka Smart and company. Though it may have helped to not have Nijel Pack against the Shockers, they'll need him to win against the Golden Eagles in Bramlage Coliseum and I have a sneaking suspicion that he plays. Kansas State slips past Marquette, 74-70.

FLANDO: K-State needs to take care of the basketball. If not, it will mean quick points for Marquette. The good news is the Wildcats are coming off their lowest turnover total for a game this season. If they can continue the progress they have made in that area and on defense as well, Kansas State should have a chance for a win in the end. The only worry I have is that they struggled against Albany's press, early. Will they be able to overcome a Shaka Smart-led press? That is a different animal. On top of that, Nijel Pack is doubtful with a concussion. Marquette wins, 71-67.

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