Marquette Basketball: A New Challenge Awaits

Marquette's basketball team is stepping into the 2025-26 season with a mix of experience and new faces. They have some tall players and skilled ones coming back. But they will miss two key players at the start. Alec Novotney, their top scorer, is out until January due to shoulder surgery. Matt Graham, another important player, is also injured, but it's unclear how long he'll be out. These two players bring calm and leadership to the team, which will be a big challenge for the rest of the players to fill. Last year, Novotney was a standout player, scoring over 20 points per game on average. He was also great at rebounding, assisting, and stealing the ball. He earned many awards and became the seventh player in the program's history to score over 1, 000 career points. The team finished with a 17-16 record overall and a 6-3 record in their conference. This year, the team will rely on junior guard Griffin Dobberstein and junior forward Lucas Craig. Both started most games last season and will need to step up early. Dobberstein is a hard worker who can score in different ways. Craig has been improving his mid-range shot and playing more physically. Other players to watch include junior guards Easton DeBernardi, Braxton Nelle, Ben Walker, Caden Durdan, and sophomore guards Nehemiyah Thomas and Sawyer Ernat. The team will also count on forwards Connor Baker, Luke McCullough, and Blayden Cassel. These players went through some tough times last season, but they have experience playing together. They will need to step up, especially in the first two months without Novotney and possibly Graham. The team will also need to improve in taking care of the ball and rebounding. They lost a tough player last year, Jaxon Rix, who protected his teammates. They need someone to fill that role this year. Marquette starts their season against Earlville at the Huskers Hardwood Tip-Off Tournament. Their home and conference season starts on December 2 against DePue.