Your Georgetown Hoyas have arrived in Milwaukee for a Wednesday night clash that feels significantly weightier than a typical conference opener. For the first time in years, the Blue & Gray enter BIG EAST play not just looking to survive, but looking to prove they belong in the upper echelon of the conference standings. Ed […]
Your Georgetown Hoyas have arrived in Milwaukee for a Wednesday night clash that feels significantly weightier than a typical conference opener. For the first time in years, the Blue & Gray enter BIG EAST play not just looking to survive, but looking to prove they belong in the upper echelon of the conference standings. Ed Cooley, now in his third season leading the program, has the team sitting at a respectable 7-3 record. While the non-conference slate had its ups and downs, the page turns now.
The Hoyas face a Marquette Golden Eagles squad that is, by their recent standards, floundering. Shaka Smart’s team sits at 5-6, having lost three of their last four games, including a 20-point drubbing by Purdue (Field Level Media).
This matchup presents a specific, tantalizing opportunity. It is not a “make-or-break” game for the season—it is December, after all—but it is an undeniable barometer. Can Georgetown go on the road and defeat a vulnerable conference staple? If the answer is yes, the conversation shifts from “rebuilding” to “contending.”
Marquette is struggling to find its identity. Without heavy reliance on the transfer portal, their youth is showing. The Golden Eagles are shooting a lackluster 32.8% from the field in recent outings and have been prone to scoring droughts.
For Georgetown, the objective is clear: control the pace and exploit Marquette’s inefficiency. The Hoyas are averaging 78.2 points per game, with five players in double figures, led by KJ Lewis (15.6 ppg) and Malik Mack (14.8 ppg). The offensive can show up, but the questions right now revolve around the defensive end.
A pressing concern for the coaching staff remains the backup rotation at the center position. Fans saw the potential of sophomore Julius Halaifonua against Saint Peter’s, where he dropped a career-high 22 points. His offensive touch is undeniable. However, the drop-off in defensive solidity without Vince Iwuchukwu available—when Halaifonua is resting or in foul trouble—is too apparent to ignore. Iwuchukwu, the 7-1 senior transfer, provided a rim-protecting presence that anchored the defense. When he split time with Halaifonua, Ed Cooley and the Hoyas effectively maneuvered to trade paint protection for post scoring. That’s not happening right now.
Against a Marquette team that struggles to finish inside—shooting just 49.8% from two-point range—Georgetown cannot afford defensive lapses (Anonymous Eagle). If the Golden Eagles are allowed easy lanes to the hoop because the interior defense softens, it could wake a sleeping giant.
On the perimeter, the defensive intensity of KJ Lewis will be vital. Lewis leads the conference in steals (2.5 spg) and will need to disrupt a Marquette backcourt that has been turning the ball over less than expected but failing to convert possessions into points (Georgetown University Athletics). If Lewis and Kayvaun Mulready can harass the Golden Eagles’ guards, it will force Marquette into the kind of low-efficiency shots that have plagued their season so far.
Optimism for Conference Game 1 should be high. Marquette is 0-5 against high-major opponents this year. The door is open for Cooley’s squad to steal a road win and set a tone for the rest of the winter. A win here doesn’t crown them champions, but it signals that the days of being the conference doormat are firmly in the past. The pieces are there; now they just have to fit together for 40 minutes.
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Georgetown and Marquette will meet for the 40th time in program history, with the Hoyas holding a 14-25 record in the series. The last meeting between the two teams was March 1, 2025 with the Blue & Gray falling 76-61 at Capital One Arena. Micah Peavy, now with the New Orleans Pelicans, led a trio of Hoyas with 15 points. Cooley maintains a 10-16 record against the Golden Eagles and a 4-6 mark against Smart. In a battle of the big men, GU’s Halaifonua (7-0, C) of Auckland, New Zealand will take the floor against MU’s Gold (6-11, F) of Wellington, New Zealand. Both are products of the NBA Global Academy.
The Marquette University men’s basketball team (5-6, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens its 21st season of BIG EAST Conference competition Wednesday night when the squad hosts Georgetown (7-3, 0-0 Big East) in the league lidlifter. FS1 features the national television broadcast, with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Steve Smith (analyst) calling the action. Following Wednesday’s outing, the Golden Eagles will travel to Creighton on Dec. 20 before scattering across the country to spend the holidays with friends and family. Marquette Opens 21st Campaign In BIG EAST Marquette, which joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2005-06, opens its 21st campaign in the league on Wednesday night when the team faces Georgetown at Fiserv Forum.
Marquette eager to find range vs. Georgetown | FIELDLEVELMEDIA
After a 5-0 start, the Hoyas had dropped three of four before defeating Saint Peter’s. The Hoyas, who average 78.2 points per game, have five players averaging in double figures. KJ Lewis leads with 15.6 points and Malik Mack adds 14.8. Marquette has struggled at times against power conference opponents, losing to Indiana by 23 early in the season and at in-state rival Wisconsin by 20 earlier this month. Two consistent areas of concern, shooting and rebounding, plagued the Golden Eagles again in the loss at Purdue. Marquette shot a season-low 32.8%, including 25.8% (8 of 31) beyond the arc, and was outrebounded by nine.
Marquette Men’s Basketball Big East Preview Primer: vs Georgetown | ANONYMOUSEAGLE
Marquette comes into Wednesday at #263 in the country in effective field goal percentage according to KenPom.com, while Georgetown is at #240. Sources close to a calculator tell Anonymous Eagle that those are both bottom half of the country rankings, and the Golden Eagles are actually in the bottom third of the country since that’s anywhere south of 243. Both teams are shooting under 31% from behind the three-point line, with Georgetown really clanking it at just 29%. Marquette is actually under 50% from inside the arc, just barely, at 49.8%, and when you consider the fact that the Shaka Smart/Nevada Smith offense is “dunks/layups & threes and nothing else,” that’s a real indictment of the Golden Eagles’ ability to finish at the rim this season.
Anyway, the point is: Whichever team suddenly realizes “oh, right, ball go up and over orange circle, then down thru open mesh” will have a notable advantage in this game. Marquette’s problem when it comes to gaining an edge in that department comes by way of the Hoyas’ eFG% defense being much better than theirs. Georgetown is just outside the top 100 on KenPom in effective field goal defense, and they’re pretty darn good at defending two-pointers. Part of that interior defense is the mere existence of 7-footer Julius Halaifonua, who is #250 in the country in block rate and he’s swatted at least one shot in each of Georgetown’s last five games.
Marquette hosts Halaifonua and Georgetown | KARE11
Marquette is shooting 41.7% from the field this season, 0.6 percentage points lower than the 42.3% Georgetown allows to opponents. Georgetown has shot at a 43.8% rate from the field this season, 1.1 percentage points less than the 44.9% shooting opponents of Marquette have averaged. The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ben Gold averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Golden Eagles, scoring 9.3 points while shooting 31.6% from beyond the arc. Chase Ross is shooting 46.8% and averaging 19.0 points over the past 10 games.
Georgetown guard, former Maryland transfer DeShawn Harris-Smith steps away from Hoyas | On3
DeShawn Harris-Smith was among the top additions from the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason for Georgetown. However, a month and a half into the season, he’s not currently with the Hoyas.
According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Harris-Smith has, for personal reasons, stepped away from Georgetown. His future with the program may also be in question moving forward, as it’s been noted that all things related to the team have been scraped from parts of his social media pages.
Georgetown vs Marquette Prediction, Odds & Best Bets Today – NCAAB, Dec. 17 | SPORTS.BETMGM
The winning team model predicts Marquette will win this college basketball game with 58.7% confidence, based on game simulations, player injuries, key player performances and recent matchups. Georgetown vs Marquette Spread Prediction: Based on recent against-the-spread trends, the spread model predicts Marquette will cover the spread with 51.9% confidence for today’s game.
Georgetown vs. Marquette Predictions, Picks, Odds for Wednesday, December 17 | ACTIONNETWORK
The Hoyas should probably be a little closer to even than catching 4.5 points, so inherent value lies with them. I’ll lean on them owning the turnover battle, which should garner them a few extra possessions. They also do a great job at limiting opponents’ ability to gain offensive rebounds, so expect a bunch of one-shot possessions from Marquette. While we always caution road teams, the advantages Marquette has play to Ed Cooley’s strengths. We aren’t going to be bold enough to back the Hoyas straight up, but 4.5 is plenty of points.
Is Marquette Getting Worse? | ANONYMOUSEAGLE
Is Marquette men’s basketball getting worse as this season goes along, or am I just thinking that because none of the flaws are getting corrected from game to game and the lack of fixing anything makes it feel like things are getting worse? I thought about that for a couple of days, and then I remembered: BartTorvik.com does graphs for all sorts of team stats. I grabbed some screenshots on Thursday morning to show you, and I’ll be honest: These are graphs that support the point that Marquette is getting worse as this season goes along. There also isn’t much in support of the idea that Marquette is getting better. The best that the other graphs could show you is that Marquette is roughly the same, give or take.
Marquette’s 2026 Nonconference Report Card | PAINTTOUCHES
It would be easy to say Marquette has failed because it has a losing record, but the record actually doesn’t tell the full story of how bad Marquette has been. Marquette has a losing not because of luck, or bad bounces, but because it can’t score efficiently and lets other teams do so. Offense: F Using KenPom’s data back to 1997, this is currently the 4th worst Marquette offense we’ve seen. Not since Wojo’s first 2 seasons had we we even come close.
Can Marquette avoid a losing record in Big East play? | JSONLINE
College basketball seasons are neatly divided into non-conference and conference portions. For the Marquette men’s team, putting the non-conference slate in the rearview mirror is welcome. The Golden Eagles are 5-6, the first time since the 2000-01 season that they had a losing record in non-conference games.
MU’s best victory thus far has been a lackluster overtime showing against Valparaiso, which is ranked 200th according to statistical website kenpom.com. Now comes the Big East portion, starting with Georgetown (7-3) at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 17. “Non-conference is done,” MU senior Ben Gold said after a 79-59 loss to Purdue on Dec. 13. “Now it’s 0-0 in conference.
At its best this year, Marquette has been a team capable of getting its hands all over the ball on the defensive end, forcing turnovers and turning those into points. But that hasn’t happened nearly consistently enough. “There’s a lot we want to focus on,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “We’re going to keep pounding the rock, I promise you that. And our guys will get better. We will grow.
“I think most importantly, just in terms of our spirit and energy, it’s got to be ‘Marquette.’ It’s got to be who we are, who we’ve been where we’ve been at our best.” It’s been times like the first half on Saturday — where the Golden Eagles were held scoreless for over four minutes on two separate occasions — that have led to this slow start.
Purdue Basketball: Marquette Preview | SPORTS.YAHOO
The Golden Eagles’ struggles were highly predictable. Shaka “Dabo” Smart doesn’t like using the transfer portal, and they lost their top three scorers from last season. He replaced them with guys who may be good at some point in their career, but who are not currently good college basketball players. That’s a tough row to hoe when every other team in the nation is loaded up on 27-year-olds in their 8th season of college basketball, and the hoeing has indeed been difficult.
They try to play Shaka smart brand basketball. They want to push the ball in transition, look for early opportunities on offense, and slow the game down with their defensive pressure. The concept is still sound, but the execution has been lacking. The goal is to get a high-quality look early in the shot clock, then force the other team into turnovers and late-clock situations.
GoldandBlack.com Purdue Basketball Game Preview: Marquette | ON3
Roster turnover has broad-sided Marquette, raising questions about Shaka Smart’s program- building philosophies, which lean toward continuity and development and away from the transfer portal. There are familiar names on this roster from the ones Purdue has played often over the years, but there don’t appear to be any Kam Jones-, Tyler Kolek- or Oso Ighodaro-type stars.
It’s shown up during Marquette’s 5-5 start, which included losses to the Big Ten’s Indiana, Maryland and Wisconsin — the IU and Wisconsin games being blowouts — and an overtime home win over Valparaiso. The problems are many. Marquette is known for its swarming, high-pressure defense. But in its five losses — all high-majors, including Dayton — opponents have scored an average of 87.4 points and not turned the ball over as much as opponents historically have against Marquette, which ranks 80th overall nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Category: General Sports
