Kansas brings its undefeated record to the NIT Season Tip-Off.
No. 2 KU (3-0) is slated to take on No. 24 Marquette (3-1) in the semifinals at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Jayhawks are coming off an 89-76 win over Louisiana, while Marquette bounced back from a loss at Indiana with a 74-55 victory over Presbyterian.
“They’ve got a guy capable of getting 35 or 40 any night,” KU coach Bill Self said. “(Markus Howard) makes guarded shots and sometimes all you can do it defend him and get a hand up. He makes a lot of bad shots to be honest with you. He’s that talented. He’s going to average more than 20 on the year. He’s a prolific scorer.”
KU takes on Marquette at 6 p.m. tonight.
**Fun fact:** Dating back to 1956, Kansas leads the series by a 6-1 margin. The Jayhawks won the first three meetings and have won the last three with the most recent in the 2003 national semifinal in New Orleans. Marquette’s lone win was also a national semifinal on March 23, 1974.
**Series history:** It has been almost 20 years since the program was in the event’s field, though Marquette did find success in its recent trip to the Barclays Center, winning the title at the 2015 Legends Classic.
**BREAKING DOWN MARQUETTE**
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**TOP PLAYER**
*No. 0 — G Markus Howard | 5-11, 175, jr.*
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Through four games, Howard has been the go-to scorer for Marquette by averaging 20 points per game.
Last season Howard averaged 20.4 points per outing on 40.4 percent shooting from downtown. Howard launched 275 3-pointers in his sophomore season, and has already attempted 32 long balls this year for the Golden Eagles.
https://twitter.com/BBallSociety_/status/1061371462307733504
One thing to monitor, though, is Howard has shown the ability to be turnover prone this year. According to KenPom.com, Howard has a 21.9 turnover rate after posting a 15.7 clip last season. Howard has also been reluctant to get to the rim at times early in 2018.
**SUPPORTING CAST**
*No. 10 — G/F Sam Hauser | 6-8, 225, jr.*
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Hauser is lethal for the Golden Eagles as a spot-up shooter.
In his career, Hauser has made 46 percent of his 3-pointers on 363 attempts. This season, Hauser is just 10 of 29 from long range. To put that in comparison, Hauser went 95-for-195 from beyond the arc in his sophomore season.
In 2017-18, Howard (111) and forward Sam Hauser (95) combined to make 206 3-pointers, which was the seventh-best total among collegiate duos.
Sam Hauser buries a 3 and @MarquetteMBB cuts Indiana's lead to 9!
????https://t.co/fFPPv5Q14T pic.twitter.com/d62K8hNTBK
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) November 15, 2018
*No. 22 — F Joey Hauser | 6-9, 230, Rfr.*
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Hauser earned his first career start in the team’s win over Presbyterian.
Yet Hauser is third on the team in scoring, averaging 12 points per game through four outings. He’s logged the third-most minutes as well with a total of 113. Hauser has also knocked down 16 of 17 free throws.
Joey Hauser drains a 3 as @MarquetteMBB looks to close the gap in the first half!
????https://t.co/fFPPv5Q14T pic.twitter.com/xb4AZjnT0q
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) November 15, 2018
Despite missing most of his senior year with an ankle injury, Hauser was ranked as high as 32nd in the nation by 247Sports.com.
*No. 4 — F Theo John | 6-9, 240, so*
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John has made a trio of starts for Marquette through the first two weeks.
Despite averaging just 18.8 minutes per game, John is fourth on the team in scoring with 7.5 points per contest. He’s been efficient from the floor, knocking down 13 of his 16 shot attempts this season.
*No. 23 — F Jamal Cain | 6-7, 195,, so*
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Cain is coming off his first start of the young season.
This year, Cain is averaging 16 minutes per contest and tallied four blocks and six rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Cain, who has played in 38 games, scored a career-high 16 points against Xavier in December of 2017.
**ONE THING MARQUETTE DOES WELL**
Marquette will shoot a ton of 3-pointers under head coach Steve Wojciechowski. Last season, the Golden Eagles ranked third in the nation by hitting 41.7 percent of their attempts from long range.
**ONE AREA MARQUETTE STRUGGLES**
It might be a small-sample size, but Marquette has struggled to take care of the ball through four games. The Golden Eagles have a turnover rate of 21.8, which ranks 279th in the nation.
**MEET THE COACH**
Head coach Steve Wojciechowski, who is in his fifth season, has compiled a 76-60 record with Marquette. The Golden Eagles competed in the postseason for the second-straight year in 2017-18, advancing to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) to finish off a 21-win season.
**VEGAS SAYS…**
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According to Action Network, Kansas is an 8.5-point favorite over Marquette as of Wednesday afternoon. It has been a rough start to the season for me, as I’ve picked Kansas to cover in all three games thus far. I’ll make it four times in as many games, because surely KU has to cover the spread at some point, right?
**My prediction:** Kansas 84, Marquette 72
Record against spread: 0-3
