I don’t think this is a crucial “gotta win this to get to the NCAA tournament” game for Marquette. It would definitely be helpful in that regard, but it’s not crucial. Marquette will be back in action
on Sunday for a second game in the Coconut Hoops event at Alico Arena, and I think it’s a safe bet to say that they’ll have a better chance to beat Indiana or Gonzaga, no matter who ends up in front of the Golden Eagles there.
However, with Iowa State coming in not only ranked but ranked in the top 10, it’s probably a good idea for Marquette to show up and perform better than they did in their visit to Minnesota earlier this season.
Losing by 40 something in a game that BartTorvik.com had pegged as Gophers by 10 is a very bad way to go through life. The fact that the game kept getting further and further out of control is almost worse news for Marquette, as that kind of indicates that the Golden Eagles couldn’t do a dang thing about anything that Minnesota threw at them. Fall behind by 15 early and lose by 17? Hey, you held it even when the other team had it firmly in their grip. Letting a 19 point halftime margin go over 40 by the final horn, and you could argue that the other team was trying to just run out the clock for most of the second half? Woof.
So, that’s what’s on the board for Marquette to this point of the year. They need something to show people that they belong on the same court with a team like Iowa State. Win or not, that’s not really important here. Helpful, and one of the best wins in program history, sure. But maybe not the key point for this one, not when there’s a definitely winnable game coming just a few days later.
Game #6: vs #10 Iowa State Cyclones (7-0)
Date: Friday, November 28, 2025
Time: 10am Central
Location: Alico Arena, Fort Myers, Florida
Streaming: FloSports, which will set you back $20 if you want to subscribe for a month to watch this as well as Sunday’s game.
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Twitter Updates: @MarquetteWBB
Marquette is 2-3 all time against Iowa State. Two meetings happened before the turn of the century, in back to back seasons in 1989 and 1990, and then the two teams renewed the home-and-home series in 2001 and the next year, but in January of 2003. The most recent meeting was on March 20, 2006, as the Golden Eagles won their second straight game against the Cyclones, this time in Ames in the second round of the WNIT as MU would eventually advance to the title game.
Yes, Iowa State has a very gaudy 7-0 record this season, and yes, they’re ranked #10 in the country, and yes, Iowa State was picked to finish second in the Big 12 this season, picking up two first place votes in the preseason poll. They also haven’t played anyone yet. They have just three opponents north of #270 in the BartTorvik.com rankings and only two up higher than #160. Those are #157 Norfolk State and #154 Drake. ISU won handily in both circumstances, thumping NSU by 46 and scoring a 17 point win at Drake.
That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve their ranking. In fact, if we filter the data on BartTorvik.com to only include actual results from this season, Iowa State is exactly at #10 in the country, largely because they have the #6 offense. That #35 defense isn’t exactly hurting them, either.
One of the reasons they’re good? Turns out, the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year is good. Who know, I know, right? Audi Crooks is picking up where the 6’3” junior left off as an All-American last year. She’s averaging 25.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and just for giggles, Crooks is up to 2.4 assists this season after averaging less than two a year ago. She’s shooting over 75% from the field this year, which isn’t even that crazy because she shot over 60% last season. Crooks is doing this entirely inside the three-point line, and why not, if you can shoot between 60% and 75% there, at some point, shooting threes is a waste of time.
Crooks attracting so much attention inside means her teammates better be ready to launch it, and they are. Fellow starters Arianna Jackson, Kenzie Hare (yes, our old friend) and Addy Brown are all shooting at least 44% from long range this season on somewhere between two and four attempts per game. Jackson is all the way up over 53% to this point of the year and is coming off a 4-for-6 against Mercyhurst on Sunday. Hare, who missed most of last year with an injury, is knocking down 48% of her threes, which is no surprise to those of us who saw her hit 43% in her final season with the Golden Eagles.
If Iowa State has a flaw at this point of the year, it’s that they’re sending opponents to the free throw line a little too much. That’s their only one of the Four Factors on offense or defense where they rank somewhere lower than #100, and only one of two that’s worse than the top 60 in the country. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, they’ve been one of the worst teams in the country (#300!) at getting to the line this year, so that’s not a thing that MU will be able to obviously and quickly exploit.
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