UMBC VS. MARQUETTE

HOW TO WATCH

Time: Tuesday, November 6, 8 p.m. CT

TV: FS1 (Brian Anderson, Stephen Bardo

Watch Online: Fox Sports Go

For the second straight year, a Big East team is opening their season in a new arena! In 2017 it was the DePaul Blue Demons hosting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Wintrust Arena, this year it’s the Marquette Golden Eagles hosting the UMBC Retrievers at Fiserv Forum.

I think it’s worth noting that UMBC became the first 16-seed to ever defeat a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this past March. The Retrievers pulled off a 74-54 victory against the Virginia offense that was once called “too slow” by a family of turtles.

Alright, enough jokes about Virginia. Back to UMBC. They’re not exactly the same team as last year. They lost Jairus Lyles, First Team All-America East guard, who had 28 points in the win over Virginia. They lost KJ Maura, Third Team All-America East guard, to graduation. They lost Jourdan Grant to graduation. These losses add up, especially on offense. The three combined for 39 of UMBC’s 73.1 points per game last season. While Joe Sherburne and Arkel Lamar return, it’s hard to imagine the Retrievers having the firepower to hang with Marquette in this one.

The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, return pretty much everyone (sans Andrew Rowsey) from a very talented team last season. Markus Howard will likely spend every non-conference game this season trying to break his three point record set last year against Chicago State (11), while Sam Hauser will look to pick up where he left off at the end of last season. Marquette also finally has transfers Joseph Chartouny and Ed Morrow, which should make for a very fun time on offense. I didn’t mention Joey Hauser, either, who is projected to be even better than Sam.

It’s going to be a fun year in Milwaukee, and it starts with Tuesday’s game against the Retrievers.