The Golden Eagles have been a train-wreck on the defensive end of the floor for two years, and we’ve reached the point where the inability to get stops has turned into something of a calling card for the Wojo era.
Every year that he has been the head coach at Marquette, their defense has gotten worse. Last season, the Golden Eagles finished 182nd in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric. Only six high-major programs finished below them: Washington State, East Carolina, South Florida, Tulane, Memphis and Iowa. Only four teams reached the NCAA tournament with a worse defensive rating — Texas Southern, LIU Brooklyn, NC-Central, Iona — and Iona, a No. 15 seed, was the only tournament invitee that was not in a play-in game.
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The only reason I can see why a team would be this bad on defense is if the coach just does not care. To a significant extent, defense depends on desire, effort and discipline. In other words, teams don't play defense because they won't play defense. If team's won't play defense it is because the coach will not make them play defense. Defense is harder work, both for the coach and for the team. Defense does not have the glitz and glamor of offense. It appears that Marquette is the poster child for bad defense.
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