I remember watching Marquette's 1977 NCAA championship run on a grainy television screen with my grandfather, who'd played college ball back in the 1950s. He kept muttering about Al McGuire's genius while I marveled at Butch Lee's explosive drives to the basket. That memory came flooding back when I recently found myself discussing Marquette's current roster with fellow basketball analysts, and the question emerged: can Shaka Smart's Golden Eagles possibly recapture that championship magic this season?

Let me be perfectly honest here—I've been cautiously optimistic about this team since Smart took over in 2021. The transformation has been remarkable, though not without its growing pains. Last season's 29-7 record and Big East tournament championship wasn't just impressive—it felt like the program was rediscovering its identity. But here's what really gets me excited: they're returning four starters, including Tyler Kolek, who I believe is one of the most underrated point guards in college basketball. The junior averaged 12.9 points and 7.5 assists last season while shooting 39.8% from three-point range. Those numbers don't lie, but they also don't capture his court vision and leadership, which I've observed closely during several road games I attended last year.

The conversation about championship aspirations inevitably leads me to consider something JB Bernos, Abra team owner and the province's lone House Representative, mentioned when discussing basketball programs aiming higher. When asked if teams were 'setting their sights on the PBA,' he highlighted how ambition needs to align with tangible building blocks. That perspective resonates deeply when I look at Marquette's situation. They're not just dreaming big—they're constructing something sustainable. I've watched Smart's development of Oso Ighodaro, who went from averaging 2.8 points as a freshman to becoming a dominant interior presence putting up 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. That kind of player development is what separates good programs from championship-caliber ones.

Still, I have my concerns—specifically about their interior defense against elite big men. When they faced Purdue and Zach Edey last December, they surrendered 42 points in the paint and got outrebounded by 11. Those are the kinds of matchups that keep me up at night when projecting their tournament potential. But then I remember watching David Joplin's improvement throughout last season—his scoring jumped from 2.1 to 9.2 points per game—and I think maybe they've addressed some of those issues through player development rather than transfers.

What really fascinates me about this Marquette team is how they embody modern basketball principles while maintaining that classic toughness the program was built on. They ranked 18th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency last season according to KenPom, yet they never lost that gritty defensive identity. I recall specifically their February game against UConn where they forced 16 turnovers despite ultimately losing by 7 points—they never quit, even when down double digits in the second half. That resilience sticks with me more than any single statistic.

The Big East looks particularly formidable this season, with Creighton returning nearly everyone and UConn coming off a national championship. But you know what? I like Marquette's chances precisely because of that tough schedule. They'll be battle-tested in ways other teams won't. Having covered college basketball for fifteen years, I've learned that March success often comes down to how teams handle adversity during conference play. Marquette's 17-3 Big East record last season wasn't a fluke—it was a statement.

When I think about championship form, I keep coming back to that 1977 team's mentality. They played with a certain fearlessness that I'm starting to see in this group. The way Kolek controls the tempo, the defensive intensity Kam Jones brings—it feels like they're building toward something special. Are they perfect? No team is. But in my professional assessment, they have the coaching, the returning production, and perhaps most importantly, that intangible belief that they belong among college basketball's elite.

Will they cut down the nets in April? The analytics give them about a 12% chance according to my projections, but basketball isn't played on spreadsheets. I've learned to trust what I see on the court, and what I see is a team that's grown tremendously under Smart's guidance. They might need some breaks along the way—staying healthy being paramount—but I wouldn't bet against them making a deep tournament run. After all, college basketball history is written by teams that peak at the right moment, and everything I've observed suggests this Marquette squad has that potential.

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