Most of Tuesday's attention was on the Champions Classic in Chicago, where Kansas rallied to beat Kentucky after Duke handled Michigan State. But the truth is that Marquette had the biggest win of the night.
Final score: Marquette 71, Illinois 64.
That's a seven-point true road victory in front of a hostile crowd and over a team that's expected to compete at or near the top of the Big Ten this season. Tyler Kolek, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, led Marquette with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists despite playing on an ankle that was less than 100%.
"We didn't think yesterday that Tyler would play," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said afterward. "Our trainers didn't think today that he could play, but Tyler never said that."
Illinois coach Brad Underwood was impressed.
"Did you see his ankle?" Underwood asked reporters. "It was black and blue -- and he played 37 minutes."
Kam Jones continued his nice junior season by taking 13 shots, making six of them, and finishing with 15 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes for the Golden Eagles. The 6-foot-5 guard is now averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 52.6% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point range.
"Marquette's backcourt [of Kolek and Jones] is just short of spectacular," Underwood said. "Kam Jones is one of the most underrated players in the country."
Marquette remains No. 6 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Golden Eagles' next game is Monday against UCLA.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 27 points and 21 rebounds in Tuesday's 89-84 win over Kentucky. The Jayhawks' next game is Monday against Chaminade. | -- | 23-11 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's 83-71 win over Xavier. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Gonzaga. | -- | 34-5 |
| 3 |  | Keshad Johnson finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Monday's 97-59 win over Southern. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Belmont. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | Caleb Foster finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 74-65 win over Michigan State. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday against Bucknell. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 100-57 win over Eastern Michigan. The Owls' next game is Saturday against Bryant. | -- | 25-9 |
| 6 |  | Tyler Kolek finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 71-64 win at Illinois. The Golden Eagles' next game is Monday against UCLA. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 21 points and two steals in Monday's 79-48 win over Stetson. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against Towson. | -- | 32-5 |
| 8 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 25 points and four assists in Tuesday's 87-53 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Indiana. | -- | 37-3 |
| 9 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in Tuesday's 92-64 win over Iowa. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against Texas Southern. | -- | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Matthew Cleveland finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 86-80 win over FIU. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday against Georgia. | -- | 15-17 |
| 11 |  | El Ellis finished with 17 points and eight assists in Monday's 86-77 win over Old Dominion. The Razorbacks' next game is Friday against UNC Greensboro. | -- | 16-17 |
| 12 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 82-61 win over Wofford. The Vols' next game is Monday against Syracuse. | 1 | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | Tyrece Radford finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 79-66 win over SMU. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Oral Roberts. | 1 | 21-15 |
| 14 |  | Jayden Nunn finished with 25 points and four assists in Tuesday's 99-61 win over Kansas City. The Bears' next game is Nov. 22 against Oregon State. | 3 | 24-11 |
| 15 |  | Graham Ike finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 123-57 win over Eastern Oregon. The Zags' next game is Monday against Purdue. | 3 | 27-8 |
| 16 |  | Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner combined to go 1 of 18 from the field in Tuesday's 89-84 loss to Kansas. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Stonehill. | -- | 23-10 |
| 17 |  | Max Abmas finished with 19 points and five assists in Friday's 86-59 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | 2 | 21-13 |
| 18 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 70-55 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Alabama State. | 2 | 22-10 |
| 19 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds in Sunday's 90-68 win over Lehigh. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against UC Riverside. | 2 | 29-8 |
| 20 |  | USC shot 19.0% from 3-point range in Tuesday's 70-60 loss to UC Irvine. The Trojans' next game is Sunday against Brown. | 8 | 15-18 |
| 21 |  | A.J. Hoggard missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Tuesday's 74-65 loss to Duke. The Spartans' next game is Friday against Butler. | 6 | 20-15 |
| 22 |  | Illinois missed 22 of the 33 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 71-64 loss to Marquette. The Illini's next game is Friday against Valparaiso. | -- | 29-9 |
| 23 |  | Marcus Sears finished with 17 points and five assists in Tuesday's 102-46 win over South Alabama. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday against Mercer. | -- | 25-12 |
| 24 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 86-55 win over Idaho State. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Grambling State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 25 |  | KJ Simpson finished with 23 points and six assists in Tuesday's 106-79 win over Milwaukee. The Buffaloes' next game is Monday against Richmond. | -- | 26-11 |
| 26 |  | Leon Bond III finished with 16 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 80-51 win over North Carolina A&T. The Cavaliers' next game is Thursday against Texas Southern. | -- | 23-11 |
