Golden touch

Good morning! We’re in a stretch where there’s at least one terrific college hoops game slated every day for almost a month. What a time of year.

Let’s get into it.

1. Kam Jones cooks up a triple-double, and Marquette’s D cooks Purdue

Old-school Shaka Smart basketball is back. Tuesday’s 76-58 win over No. 6 Purdue proved it.

At his core, Shaka is a defensive-minded coach who wants to create havoc through pressure and deflections. On a team loaded with fast guards and wings, it’s a style that can turn even the best ball-control teams into turnovers. I mean, watch Chase Ross on this play.

It wasn’t that extreme all night, but it did cause problems for Purdue, which was coming off just three turnovers vs. Bama. Marquette forced 15 Purdue turnovers on 68 possessions, which forced the Boilermakers into tough shot attempts (they made 40% of their attempts) and a never-ending discomfort.

Purdue (4-1) mustered just 0.85 points per possession, which you can directly attribute to Marquette’s defensive intensity more than Purdue performing poorly offensively. Braden Smith (11 points, eight assists) wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t his usual self as someone who controls the game. That’s a credit to Stevie Mitchell and the Marquette defense.

"I don't think until Stevie graduates and moves on will we fully feel what we had in him,” Smart said. “So I just encourage everyone to enjoy this year while we have him here."

Purdue hung around and more accurately, Marquette couldn’t pull away, until a 6-0 run over a three-minute stretch pushed the game to 63-50, which felt like an early dagger.

Kam Jones is pretty good. That’s something everybody knew, but he’s more than a scorer. Jones secured the first Marquette triple-double (17 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) since Dwyane Wade in 2003. That guy was pretty good, so Jones is joining some prestigious company. He talked to the Field of 68 After Dark about the triple double, and earned big praise from Painter.

“He played like a seasoned veteran,” the Purdue coach said. “He didn’t just come out and pull up for 30 footers or take bad shots. We gave him a lot of attention and the game just kind of went its way and then all of a sudden he just picked his spots at the right time and dominated the game in other areas.”

Maybe the best part of Marquette’s win is showing it can win without a herculean scoring effort from Jones. Mitchell, Ross and Ben Gold pitched in 10+ points each.

2. What’s going on at Kansas State?

Most considered Kansas State a big winner from the transfer portal over the summer. But it’s clear that the portal wins aren’t directly translating to the court. Yet.

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