Here’s what we’re doing with recaps this year when Marquette and Wisconsin are not playing ‘great’ teams, I’m doing pared-down versions of these recaps. My rule for this is if Marquette or Wisconsin are playing a non-conference team where they’re favored by 12 or more. I feel like being a 12-point favorite or higher means you should blow them out. Marquette had no problem taking care of Loyola(MD) last night with an 88-53 win. This is a great way to kick off the season. Golden Eagles held Loyola to 15 points in the first half.

Player of the Game: Markus Howard – Like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Markus Howard will get a lot of these POG’s during the year. Howard went off in the first half with 30 points and could not miss it. My new favorite thing to do is calling people a ‘bucket.’ Markus Howard is the definition of a bucket. Howard made seven threes and finished 11-for-20 from the field. It was a very effective night from the Marquette point guard.

Honorable Mention: Theo John – Against a bad team, you don’t want to overreact with one game. That said, holy shit Theo John. What a night for him. He had eight blocks last night. Loyola(MD) basically could not make it to the paint. John swatted everything that came into the lane. He led the Big East in blocks last season, and John may be better as a shot-blocker than he was last season if that’s possible. He also added seven points and eight rebounds.

Next up: Marquette gets a long layoff as they’ll be playing against next Wednesday night for a big matchup with Purdue. Two years ago, Purdue blew out Marquette at home. Hopefully, that memory is still fresh for some of the older players in the game. Purdue has yet to the play. They take on UW-Green Bay in their home opener then a matchup against Texas before they get to Marquette. Golden Eagles will have a lot of tape on the Boilermakers.

Charlie.