Matching last season's 15-3 record in the Big East was always going to be difficult for Marquette even if the Golden Eagles proved to be the best team in the country because even the best team in the country last season (UConn) didn't go 15-3 in the Big East.
It's a hard conference — much harder than Shaka Smart's program made it seem a year ago. And if the Golden Eagles forgot as much last season while mostly cruising through the league, they were reminded of it last Wednesday when they lost 69-62 at home to Butler and dropped to 2-3 in the Big East.
That was a rough loss.
It cost Marquette in all computer and human rankings. But the Golden Eagles bounced back impressively and returned to their winning ways Monday with an 87-74 victory over Villanova that snapped their two-game losing skid and pushed the reigning Big East champs to 3-3 in the league.
"Any time you lose a couple of games, particularly the way we lost our last game and the way that we played on offense and shot the ball, there has to be some doubt overcome," Smart said. "I thought the guys did a great job of overcoming that today."
The most obvious explanation for the turnaround is that Marquette's stars got back to being stars. After combining to score just 34 points on 31.8% shooting in the loss to Butler, Tyler Kolek, Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro combined to score 61 points on 70.3% shooting in the win over Villanova. The trio also added 20 assists, 18 rebounds and six steals. They were the biggest reasons the Golden Eagles shot 58.7% from the field against a Villanova team that's been up and down, sure, but still owns victories over the schools ranked No. 4 (North Carolina), No. 7 (Memphis), No. 23 (Creighton) and and No. 24 (Texas Tech) in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Marquette remains No. 21 in the Top 25 And 1.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is Saturday's showdown with St. John's i inside New York's Madison Square Garden. Rick Pitino's Red Storm are 26th in the Top 25 And 1 thanks to a 12-5 record featuring a 4-2 mark in the Big East.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 30 points and 20 rebounds in Saturday's 95-78 win over Penn State. The Boilermakers' next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | -- | 5-1 |
| 2 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 80-67 win over Georgetown. The Huskies' next game is Wednesday against Creighton. | -- | 4-2 |
| 3 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 78-66 win over Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday at Oklahoma State. | -- | 5-0 |
| 4 |  | RJ Davis finished with 22 points and five steals in Saturday's 103-67 win over Syracuse. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Louisville. | -- | 4-1 |
| 5 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 36 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 85-79 win at Georgia. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Florida. | -- | 6-0 |
| 6 |  | L.J. Cryer was 2 of 14 from the field in Saturday's 68-67 loss at TCU. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against Texas Tech. | -- | 3-1 |
| 7 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 23 points and 11 assists in Sunday's 112-86 win at Wichita State. The Tigers' next game is Thursday against South Florida. David Jones finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 62-59 win over SMU. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against UTSA. | -- | 6-0 |
| 8 |  | Max Klesmit finished with 24 points and two assists in Saturday's 71-63 win over Northwestern. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Penn State. | -- | 7-0 |
| 9 |  | Caleb Love was 10 of 25 from the field in Saturday's 73-70 loss at Washington State. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against USC. | -- | 2-2 |
| 10 |  | Kyle Filipowski finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 84-79 win over Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Pitt. | -- | 4-1 |
| 11 |  | JaKobe Walter finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 62-59 win over Cincinnati. The Bears' next game is Tuesday at Kansas State. | -- | 4-2 |
| 12 |  | Johni Broome finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 93-78 win over LSU. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Vanderbilt. | -- | 5-0 |
| 13 |  | Great Osobor finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 87-86 win at UNLV. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at New Mexico. | -- | 5-0 |
| 14 |  | Tre Mitchell was 3 of 13 from the field in Saturday's 97-92 loss at Texas A&M. The Wildcats' next game is Wednesday against Mississippi State. | -- | 6-0 |
| 15 |  | Javian McCollum had six turnovers in Saturday's 78-66 loss at Kansas. The Sooners' next game is Wednesday against West Virginia. | -- | 4-0 |
| 16 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 17 points and five steals in Saturday's 66-42 win over Oklahoma State. The Cyclones' next game is Tuesday at BYU. | -- | 3-1 |
| 17 |  | DaRon Holmes finished with 33 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 72-62 win at Duquesne. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday against Saint Louis. | -- | 5-1 |
| 18 |  | Matthew Murrell finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 69-56 win over Vanderbilt. The Rebels' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | -- | 5-0 |
| 19 |  | Jaedon LeDee had four turnovers in Saturday's 88-70 loss at New Mexico. The Aztecs' next game is Wednesday against Nevada. | -- | 3-1 |
| 20 |  | Colorado State missed 12 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 65-58 loss at Boise State. The Rams' next game is Tuesday against Air Force. | -- | 3-2 |
| 21 |  | Kam Jones finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Monday's 87-74 win over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at St. John's. | -- | 6-0 |
| 22 |  | Quincy Guerrier was 2-of-10 from the field in Sunday's 76-67 loss to Maryland. The Illini's next game is Thursday at Michigan. | -- | 5-1 |
| 23 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 66-65 win over St. John's. The Bluejays' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | -- | 4-2 |
| 24 |  | Joe Toussaint finished with 12 points and two assists in Saturday's 60-59 win over Kansas State. The Red Raiders' next game is Wednesday at Houston. | -- | 5-1 |
| 25 |  | Emanuel Miller finished with 13 points and five assists in Saturday's 68-67 win over Houston. The Horned Frogs' next game is Tuesday at Cincinnati. | -- | 4-1 |
| 26 |  | Daniss Jenkins was 5-of-17 from the floor in Saturday's 66-65 loss at Creighton. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday at Seton Hall. | -- | 5-2 |
