Shaka Smart overachieved relative to preseason projections in his first season at Marquette, finishing exactly four spots better than expected in the Big East standings while making the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Then, he lost three of his top four scorers.
Consequently, Marquette was picked ninth (for the second straight year) in October's Big East preseason poll. If you've been paying attention, though, you likely know the Golden Eagles are exceeding expectations once again. They're now 15-5 overall and 7-2 in the league following Wednesday's 83-75 win over Providence. It was the perfect ending to an incredible night on which the school honored Tom Crean and his 2003 Marquette team that Dwyane Wade and Travis Diener took to the Final Four.
"It's fun to play in those moments -- especially in an environment like Fiserv [Forum] was tonight," Marquette guard Kam Jones told reporters after scoring 18 second-half points and finishing with 21 to help Marquette improve to 11-1 at home.
Jones, by the way, has emerged as one of the season's breakout stars. The 6-foot-4 sophomore from Memphis played for Team Thad on the grassroots circuit but was not seriously pursued by his hometown Tigers while in high school and ultimately picked Marquette over Florida. After averaging 7.4 points in 18.5 minutes per game as a freshman, Jones is now averaging a team-high 16.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.9 minutes as a sophomore. He is among the biggest reasons Marquette is tied with Xavier in the win column atop the Big East standings and in position to secure its first conference title since Buzz Williams guided the program to a Big East crown in 2013.
The Golden Eagles are No. 14 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Their next game is Saturday at Seton Hall.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 23 points and four assists in Tuesday's 80-60 win at Tulane. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Temple. | -- | 32-5 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds in Monday's 64-63 win at Michigan State. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday at Minnesota. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 78-66 win at Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Missouri. | -- | 25-12 |
| 4 |  | Drew Timme finished with 18 points and two assists in Saturday's 115-75 win over Portland. The Zags' next game is Thursday against Loyola Marymount. | -- | 27-8 |
| 5 |  | Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 68-54 win over Colorado. The Bruins' next game is Thursday at Arizona State. | -- | 16-17 |
| 6 |  | Keyontae Johnson finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 83-82 win over Kansas. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 19-15 |
| 7 |  | Kansas missed 23 of the 26 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 83-82 loss at Kansas State. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against TCU. | -- | 23-11 |
| 8 |  | Jaren Holmes finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 78-67 win over Texas. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 9 |  | Texas finished with more turnovers (13) than assists (11) in Tuesday's 78-67 loss at Iowa State. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | 1 | 21-13 |
| 10 |  | Zakai Zeigler finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 70-59 win at Mississippi State. The Vols next game is Saturday at LSU. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 11 |  | Kihei Clark finished with 20 points and five assists in Wednesday's 78-68 win over Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at Wake Forest. | 2 | 23-11 |
| 12 |  | Arizona allowed the Ducks to shoot 53.1% from the field in Saturday's 87-68 loss at Oregon. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against USC. | 2 | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | Xavier missed 16 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 73-72 loss at DePaul. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against Georgetown. | 4 | 16-18 |
| 14 |  | Kam Jones finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 83-75 win over Providence. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Seton Hall. | 2 | 27-10 |
| 15 |  | TCU finished with more turnovers (19) than assists (8) in Wednesday's 74-65 loss at West Virginia. The Horned Frogs' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | 4 | 21-13 |
| 16 |  | Keyonte George finished with 27 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 81-74 win at Texas Tech. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | 1 | 24-11 |
| 17 |  | Terquavion Smith finished with 25 points and five assists in Tuesday's 78-66 win at Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack's next game is Saturday at North Carolina. | 1 | 26-15 |
| 18 |  | Norchad Omier finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds in Monday's 82-78 win over Syracuse. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday at Duke. | 1 | 15-17 |
| 19 |  | Jaylin Williams finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 67-49 win at LSU. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | 3 | 27-8 |
| 20 |  | Providence missed 14 of the 18 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 83-75 loss at Marquette. The Friars' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | -- | 21-14 |
| 21 |  | Nicholas Boyd finished with 16 points and four assists in Monday's 76-62 win at Western Kentucky. The Owls' next game is Thursday at UTSA. | -- | 25-9 |
| 22 |  | UConn finished with more turnovers (18) than assists (16) in Wednesday's 67-66 loss at Seton Hall. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Butler. | 7 | 37-3 |
| 23 |  | Matthew Mayer finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 78-60 win at Minnesota. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Indiana. | -- | 29-9 |
| 24 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 78-61 win at San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Thursday at Pepperdine. | -- | 26-8 |
| 25 |  | Duke missed 17 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 72-64 loss at Clemson. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Miami. | -- | 27-9 |
| 26 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 68-64 overtime win over Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights' next game is Thursday at Michigan State. | -- | 15-17 |
