Marquette basketball is off to a hot start in 2024-25. Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles announced themselves as early National Championship contenders on Tuesday night with a very impressive 76-58 win against No. 6 Purdue.
Star guard Kam Jones has been at the center of the Golden Eagles’ success this season and is clearly an early name to watch for All-American honors and a possible run at National Player of the Year awards. On Tuesday night, he was making an impact all over the floor, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jones’ triple-double is the third in Marquette history and the first since Dwyane Wade in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, according to FOX broadcaster John Fanta and the broadcast on FS1.
Wade recorded his triple-double in the Elite 8 in the 2003 tournament while leading. Marquette to a big win over Kentucky to advance to the Final 4. He finished that one with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. The stage wasn’t quite as big for Jones, but this was still a very big win for Marquette to establish itself as an elite team early in the season.
Marquette will have its third consecutive non-conference test on Saturday when it takes on 5-0 Georgia. If it is able to get a win in that game, the Golden Eagles will almost certainly move into the top 10 in the AP Poll heading into Feast Week.
Kam Jones on fire to start 2024-25 for Marquette
Kam Jones is having a historic season for Marquette so far through five games. The star guard has taken the reins after the departures of Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro and has blossomed into the best player on a Golden Eagles squad that looks like it can compete for a Big East Championship.
Entering Tuesday’s game, Jones was averaging 24 points per game in four games on insane shooting efficiency. Jones was shooting nearly 65% from the floor and had knocked down 12 out of his 22 3-pointers. If you watch Jones play, he isn’t just taking wide open, stand-still shots. He is one of the most explosive shot creators in the nation and can hit a shot with anybody in his face.
Jones’ outside shooting cooled off against Purdue, as he finished just 0-for-3 from three, but he impacted the game all over the floor and didn’t force things offensively. With Purdue dedicating a ton of defensive attention to him, Jones picked his spots and took just 12 shots from the field, making seven of them to score 17 points. He also made a ton of plays for his teammates, recording 10 of Marquette’s 13 assists.
Jones leads a big cast of returning players from a Marquette team that reached the Sweet 16 last season. Kolek and Ighodaro are gone, but Stevie Mitchell, David Joplin and Chase Ross all join Jones in the starting lineup and give the team a ton of experience. If Jones is able to sustain this level of play all season long, Marquette will be a force to be reckoned with in the Big East.
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