One point I've made many times over the years, even if I personally disregard it every once in a while, is that five-star freshmen are rarely as important as college veterans who double as legitimate NBA prospects and decide to return to school.
Auburn's Johni Broome provided a reminder Monday night.
On Tuesday night, it was Marquette's Kam Jones.
Final score: Marquette 76, Purdue 58.
The Golden Eagles' Stevie Mitchell led all scorers with 21 points on 11 shots — but the star of the game was Jones, a 6-foot-5 senior who took 12 shots, made seven of them and finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the 18-point victory over the back-to-back Big Ten champs who had, just four days earlier, disposed of Alabama 87-78. Jones' effort represented the first triple-double for a Marquette player since Dwyane Wade recorded one against Kentucky in the Elite Eight of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
Simply put, Kam Jones was awesome.
We spent some time on him on Wednesday morning's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast. So please check that out, if you get a chance. But now I want to focus on a postgame quote from Marquette coach Shaka Smart.
In a moment of triumph, he tipped his cap.
"Great team-win," Smart said. "So much respect for Purdue. I would say, other than UConn, in college basketball right now, they have the best program. The consistency that they've shown, the fact that they're able to lose a guy like Zach Edey and still have a team that can play with and beat anyone … so that's a great win for us."
Gonzaga might quibble with that quote. Houston could raise its hand. But, I think we can all agree, the sentiment is right. Before Tuesday's loss at Marquette, Purdue had won 39 straight regular-season nonconference games, a streak that dated to December 2020. So rather than bang on Purdue for nearly losing by 20, it's probably more reasonable to applaud the Boilermakers for being willing to challenge themselves in a true road environment four days after playing Alabama at home.
Not all programs would do it.
Marquette moved up to No. 8 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Purdue only dropped to No. 9, which caused Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Duke to all be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Dajuan Harris finished with 17 points and six assists in Tuesday's 84-66 win over UNC Wilmington. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 8-2 |
| 2 |  | Johni Broome finished with 30 points and 17 rebounds in Monday's 102-69 win over North Alabama. The Tigers' next game is Monday against Iowa State. | -- | 10-1 |
| 3 |  | Elliot Cadeau finished with 18 points and eight assists in Friday's 107-55 win over American. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday at Hawaii. | -- | 6-5 |
| 4 |  | Solo Ball finished with 12 points and two rebounds in Tuesday's 81-46 win over East Texas A&M. The Huskies' next game is Monday against Memphis. | -- | 9-3 |
| 5 |  | Curtis Jones finished with 20 points and six rebounds in Monday's 87-52 win over IU Indy. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against Auburn. | -- | 9-1 |
| 6 |  | Graham Ike finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 80-67 win at San Diego State. The Zags' next game is Wednesday against Long Beach State. | -- | 8-3 |
| 7 |  | Milos Uzan finished with 13 points and five assists in Wednesday's 91-45 win over Louisiana. The Cougars' next game is Friday against Hofstra. | -- | 7-3 |
| 8 |  | Stevie Mitchell finished with 21 points and four steals in Tuesday's 76-58 win over Purdue. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday against Georgia. | 5 | 10-2 |
| 9 |  | Purdue committed 15 turnovers in Tuesday's 76-58 loss at Marquette. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Marshall. | 1 | 8-3 |
| 10 |  | Mark Sears missed 10 of the 15 shots he took in Friday's 87-78 loss at Purdue. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday against Illinois. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 11 |  | Igor Milicic Jr. finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 103-68 win over Austin PeayThe Vols' next game is Thursday against Virginia. | 1 | 11-0 |
| 12 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 97-68 win over Lipscomb. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Jackson State. | 1 | 10-1 |
| 13 |  | Tyrese Proctor finished with 15 points and two assists in Saturday's 86-35 win over Wofford. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday at Arizona. | 1 | 9-2 |
| 14 |  | Myles Rice finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 87-71 wn over South Carolina. The Hoosiers' next game is Thursday against UNC Greensboro. | -- | 8-3 |
| 15 |  | VJ Edgecombe finished with 17 points and four steals in Sunday's 104-41 win over Tarleton State. The Bears' next game is Thursday against St. John's. | -- | 7-3 |
| 16 |  | Adou Thiero finished with 23 points and four steals in Monday's 91-72 win over Pacific. The Razorbacks' next game is Friday against Little Rock. | -- | 9-2 |
| 17 |  | John Blackwell finished with 30 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 87-84 win over UT Rio Grande Valley. The Badgers' next game is Friday against UCF. | -- | 9-3 |
| 18 |  | Caleb Love missed 11 of the 13 shots he took in Friday's 103-88 loss at Wisconsin. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Duke. | -- | 5-5 |
| 19 |  | Zhuric Phelps finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Friday's 78-64 win over Ohio State. The Aggies' next game is Wednesday against Southern. | -- | 9-2 |
| 20 |  | Aaron Bradshaw missed seven of the 10 shots he took in Friday's 78-64 loss at Texas A&M. The Buckeyes' next game is Tuesday against Evansville. | -- | 7-4 |
| 21 |  | Arthur Kaluma finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 89-43 win over Mississippi Valley State. The Longhorns' next game is Thursday against Syracuse. | -- | 9-2 |
| 22 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 79-56 win over Kansas City. The Bluejays' next game is Friday against Nebraska. | -- | 7-5 |
| 23 |  | Will Richard finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 84-60 win over Florida A&M. The Gators' next game is Friday against Southern Illinois. | -- | 11-0 |
| 24 |  | Dylan Harper finished with 20 points and six assists in Friday's 98-81 win over Monmouth. The Scarlet Knights' next game is Wednesday against Merrimack. | -- | 7-4 |
| 25 |  | Simas Lukosius finished with 18 points and three assists in Tuesday's 76-60 win at Northern Kentucky. The Bearcats' next game is Saturday against Georgia Tech. | -- | 8-1 |
| 26 |  | Jaylen Murray finished with 16 points and six assists in Saturday's 84-69 win over Colorado State. The Rebels' next game is Thursday against Oral Roberts. | -- | 10-1 |
