Mythical March Madness: 5 dark horses that would have gone far in 2020 NCAA Tournament

3. Marquette Golden Eagles (9-seed, Midwest Region)

Of the five potential dark horses in the NCAA Tournament had March Madness not been canceled, the Marquette Golden Eagles are 100 percent the least balanced team. Not only is their defense 59 places lower than their offense in KenPom’s efficiency rankings but they are also just not a complete team, which showed up in their overall performance in the 2019-20 season.

Not only did Marquette only post an 18-12 record overall and just an 8-10 record in the Big East but they did not finish the year strong in the slightest. The Golden Eagles ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak, falling to Seton Hall, DePaul and St. John’s — the latter two being far worse than the first defeat — heading into the Big East Tournament that never got played.

While all of this makes you worry about the Golden Eagles and their possible prowess in the NCAA Tournament, they also have one thing that no other team in college basketball has at their disposal and to their advantage: Markus Howard.

Throughout his four years with Marquette, the senior guard has established himself as one of the elite scorers in college basketball over the course of his career. This past season, he averaged 27.8 points per game and had the ability to go off for 50 on any given night. And while one player sometimes isn’t enough to push a team through in the tournament, sometimes it is. Having Howard is a case for the latter and would’ve been enough to make Marquette terrifying for any opponent.