Marquette basketball team has to quickly respond vs. Georgetown after 'most ugly offensive game'

The sixth-ranked Marquette men’s basketball team is going to need a short memory this week.

The Golden Eagles (9-3, 0-1 Big East) don’t have time to dwell on one of the worst offensive performances of the Shaka Smart era because they face Georgetown (7-5, 0-1) on Friday night at Fiserv Forum.

"Response," MU point guard Tyler Kolek said after Tuesday’s 72-57 loss at Providence. "We’re always growing. We’re always finishing forward. So just trying to respond and get a win on Friday."

Tyler Kolek said loss to Providence was the 'most ugly offensive game' in his time at Marquette

Kolek was one of the Golden Eagles’ few bright spots against the Friars with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists. After the loss, Kolek noted that it was the "most ugly offensive game" in his two-plus seasons at MU.

The numbers back up that statement.

Due to their 4-for-20 shooting from long distance, the Golden Eagles' effective field goal percentage – which gives more weight to three-point shots – was 35.7. That matched the lowest mark since Smart became head coach for MU in the 2021-22 season.

The Golden Eagles also had a 35.7 effective field goal percentage against St. Bonaventure in November 2021 in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. That was Smart's first loss at MU, with a reconstructed roster playing its third game in four days.

The MU offense hunts three-point shots and attempts at the rim, the most efficient shots in basketball. The Golden Eagles have overcome poor shooting from deep by capitalizing on chances around the basket. Against then-No. 1 Kansas at the Maui Invitational last month, MU shot just 6 for 25 on three-pointers but made 17 of 23 shots at the rim.

Against Providence, MU was 12 for 25 at the rim.

"We’re not going to win a lot of games scoring 57 points," Smart said. "So there’s a bunch of stuff we need to do better on the offensive end. Providence had a lot to do with that.

"But with that being said, I think the basketball gods allow you to make more shots and finish better when you have ultimate connectivity and we did not have that."

Seven assists matched lowest total for a Shaka Smart-coached Golden Eagles team

The easiest marker of connectivity is assists, and MU notched just seven against 14 turnovers against Providence.

The Golden Eagles' offense at its best is an unscripted blur of cuts, ball movement and spacing. MU often stagnated into one-on-one takes Tuesday night.

The seven assists also matched the lowest in Smart's time at MU. The Golden Eagles had the same number in last season's 87-72 loss at Connecticut.

MU also won its other game in the Smart era in which the Golden Eagles had seven assists, a victory at Illinois in November that was mostly due to Kolek scoring 24 points by driving for shots against the Fighting Illini's drop-coverage defense.

"I think the biggest thing is going back to understanding that at our base, core level what makes us our best," Smart said. "And that’s as a team and individually an understanding that to do that, there has to be a willingness to pour into each other throughout and stay connected throughout.

"I thought (against Providence) at times our guys were like almost embarrassed at how they were playing. It’s like, hey, good teams will do that to you. Do what’s next. And that’s something that obviously we’ve got to spend some time on.”

Georgetown is in Year 1 of a rebuild under new coach Ed Cooley. But as MU found out in its Big East opener at Providence, every conference game can be a battle, even at home.

"There’s a humility that, first of all, you have to have when you come into a place like (Providence) and an environment like this, to understand that’s the only way," Smart said.

"I don’t care what number is next to your name or what you’ve done in the past or what anyone says you are individually as a player, if you don’t have that, then you are not going to be as connected as you need to be."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette looks to bounce back vs. Georgetown Friday at Fiserv Forum