No. 15 Marquette made a statement to the college basketball world Tuesday night in not just downing No. 6 Purdue, but dominating the Boilermakers in a 76-58 victory to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Golden Eagles took the lead midway through the first half and never relinquished it as senior guard Kam Jones stole the show and soaked up the spotlight, finishing with the program’s third triple-double performance in program history.
“He’s special. The guy’s a savant,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said of Jones after the game. “The only one who can stop Kam is Kam.”
Jones’ 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists gave him the school’s first triple-double since Dwyane Wade’s legendary 29-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist game vs. Kentucky in the 2003 Elite Eight. The only other Marquette player to record a triple-double is Tony Miller, the school’s all-time assist leader, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve in 1994.
“He’s worked his tail off,” Smart said of Jones. “He’s always had a better ability as a playmaker than people might think, but his role was a little bit different than when we had Tyler [Kolek] and Oso [Ighodaro] because those guys were such good passers and distributors, and we needed him to think score, score, score.”
Jones’ 13 rebounds and 10 assists were both career-highs and an example of how he’s expanded his role within Marquette’s system after Kolek and Ighodaro — who were selected No. 34 and No. 40 in the NBA Draft earlier this summer, respectively — moved on after graduation.
“When he came [to Marquette], he wasn’t that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said, pointing to Jones’ production as a scorer, passer and rebounder. “He came [to Marquette] as a shooter, and now he’s a player. Hat’s off to him.
“He was like a seasoned veteran tonight,” added Painter. “He didn’t kill us until he had to. … He picked his spots at the right time, and dominated the game in other areas.”
What Jones put up in the box score might not be replicable on a night-in, night-out basis for Marquette, but the Golden Eagles dominance as a team against a quality Purdue team was equal parts encouraging and jarring. Marquette had five blocked, forced 15 turnovers and converted those turnovers into 18 points, which was the difference in the game.
They now rank No. 10 in adjusted efficiency margin on defense at KenPom.com and No. 3 in steal rate, the latter of which is an indicator that was reflected in some of Smart’s best teams at VCU when the Rams were known for their havoc-wreaking defensive style.
“We have to be disruptive with this team,” Jones said. “And we can be. We have a disruptive team.”
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