#9 Marquette
Let me start by saying I really enjoying watching Marquette and I think they are very, very good. 21-3 is a stellar record and 12-0 in any conference is impressive. But I still don’t love that those three losses were to the best teams their schedule in Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Miami (FL). It would be absurd to criticize them too much for losing those games, especially when they took Mississippi State down to the wire in Starkville, but my concerns lie in something they don’t have control over.
While I think Marquette has improved since the non-conference season, much like UConn who doesn’t face much in terms of stiff competition, I worry they aren’t getting the competition that they need to be successful in March. DePaul is not the force they usually are and I’m not sold on Butler. The Golden Eagles are already four games clear of those two teams in the standings, so it will be on them to push themselves despite already reaching their conference goal of winning the Big East.
If they stay as a three seed, a second-round matchup with a Texas or Kentucky or Drake could be looming, and while Marquette would be the favorite, there is some potential for some real matchup issues. Ultimately, I think they end up as a two seed and will get through to the Sweet Sixteen, but they have bigger aspirations than that and I find it tough to be sold until I see them play another big-time team.