Marquette men’s basketball lands at No. 34 in the KenPom preseason projections

The first of the 2026-27 projections placed the Marquette men at 34th in overall net rating, which is KenPom's dictating rank for a team's quality. Duke is ranked No. 1 in the projections. At the start of last season, the Golden Eagles were projected to be the 47th-best team. After a 20-loss season, they finished 83rd. Marquette's best KenPom finish in coach Shaka Smart's five previous seasons at MU was 10th in the 2022-23 season, when it won the Big East championship. The Golden Eagles headed into the year projected at No. 76.