#MUBB Hosts Central Michigan Saturday To Conclude Homestand

The team’s deflection total helped the squad finish with 21 steals (14 in the first half) on the night, the highest single-game total since committing 20 thefts against South Dakota State on Dec. 3, 2005 in an 87-52 win.

Six different players finished with at least two steals against the Flyers, with guards Nigel James Jr., Adrien Stevens and Tre Norman each finishing the night with four takeaways.  Marquette forced a total of 25 turnovers, turning those miscues into 24 points and allowing the team to rally from a 12-point second-half deficit  with just over eight minutes left to force overtime.

The program record for steals in a game is 23, set against Texas A&M on Dec. 4, 1982 in a 73-58 victory.  Wednesday’s total (21) was the second-highest in school history.

Player Development A Work In Progress 

Along with Marquette’s freshman class, the team’s returnees find themselves in new roles on the 2025-26 roster and through six games the season statistics are beginning to illustrate the on-the-court development.

As the team’s primary offensive option, guard Chase Ross is averaging a career-best 19.8 points per game this season (10.5 ppg. in 2024-25), but in his 108 career appearances is contributing 7.8 points per outing. Junior guard Zaide Lowery is playing over 10 more minutes per game and as a result has seen his scoring average jump from 4.1 points to 10.3 points per contest.  Sophomore Caedin Hamilton, who averaged just 6.3 minutes per game as a reserve in 29 outings last year, has started all six contests this season and is playing 18.0 minutes per night.

The freshman class of Nigel James Jr., Adrien Stevens, Josh Clark (redshirt) and Michael Phillips Jr. have combined to play an average of 54.6 minutes per game.

James Jr. Proving Scoring Ability 

Freshman point guard Nigel James Jr. has started each of the last three outings and in his most recent action netted a personal-best 18 points to lead the team on Wednesday night against Dayton.

The Huntington, N.Y., native has reached double figures in two of the three outings and has combined to contribute 13.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per content in an average of 27.9 minutes per game.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.