Marquette Women’s Basketball Preview: vs Bucknell

For the first time in programme history, Marquette women's basketball is 11-0, easily surpassing the previous record of five wins in a row to begin the campaign. This week, Marquette is rated #18 in the nation; this marks the program's 53rd appearance in the rankings and just its 27th time among the top 20. As I write this for publication on Wednesday afternoon, December 19, there are just 12 teams in the nation still without a loss, and MU is one of just five teams with 11 wins thus far. On Monday, Liza Karlen was selected the Associated Press National Player of the Week in addition to the Big East Player of the Week award.

As of Tuesday morning, Marquette was ranked in the top 30 by the NET, and the Golden Eagles, according to ESPN's Charlie Creme, are slated as the #4 seed. If all goes according to plan, this would mean that NCAA tournament games will be held at the McGuire Centre in March.

But as Hall of Famer Jim Ross would say, business is about to get real. In what appears to be Marquette's final non-conference game of the season on Thursday, the Golden Eagles should be strong favourites to prevail. Prior to their Christmas break, they must formally take care of things. Following their triumph against Creighton last week, they will resume Big East play. That following Thursday's game? On the road, Sunday, December 31, taking on Connecticut.

Given the length of the upcoming layoff and the opponent's profile in the upcoming game, Marquette may undoubtedly become distracted by human nature. On their journey to 11-0, they've experienced a few close calls in non-conference play. The Redbirds' 11-0 lead in the opening minutes of the Illinois State game made it tense from the get-go, and Marquette's inability to close the gap on the Mountaineers until the final siren went off made Sunday's game versus App State anything but a picnic. Marquette basketball for forty minutes They'll win their 12th game in a row and have a nice holiday break if they play the way they want to. However, they cannot sit back and hope for it to happen.