Sporting News ranks MU #18 in pre-season poll

In TSN's pre-season top 25, MU settles for #18 overall. To nobody's surprse, DeCourcy notes that MU has perhaps the nation's best backcourt:

There are teams that are deeper on the perimeter than Marquette. There are teams that have this point guard or that wing who is considered to be better than any of the Golden Eagles. There does not appear to be any team, though, that has the kind of quality at point guard, shooting guard and small forward that Marquette fields with the James-McNeal-Matthews trio.

......This is the core of what figures to make Marquette special. And these players all have a year in Tom Crean's structured system, which means they'll better understand the nuances of the plays they run. Such players as Travis Diener and Dwyane Wade became much better as they grew to understand how to play Crean's way. All three players are excellent athletes who should make penetrating the first line of defense especially challenging.

Here's the link to DeCourcy's straightforward review of the Golden Eagles.