No. 5/4 #MUBB at No. 6/5 Iowa State Wednesday In BIg 12-BIG EAST Battle

The No. 5/4 Marquette University men’s basketball team (8-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) hits the road for a top-10 matchup at No. 6/5 Iowa State (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) on Wednesday, Dec. 4 in the Big 12-BIG EAST Battle.  ESPN+ features the broadcast, with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst) calling the action. Following Wednesday’s outing, the Golden Eagles will return home to host No. 11/11 Wisconsin on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Fiserv Forum.

Series With Cyclones Dates Back To 1960-61

Marquette and Iowa State have met on just eight previous occasions, but the series does date back to the 1960-61 campaign.

MU claimed the first meeting, 70-62, on Dec. 20, 1960 in Milwaukee and the two programs would meet four times in the next five years in a pair of home-and-home series.

The next matchup wouldn’t come until March 15, 1984 in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament, with MU claiming a 73-53 victory in Ames. The most recent outing also came in the NIT, this time the Cyclones were victorious, 77-69, at home on March 25, 2004.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart posted a 9-4 record against Iowa State while the head coach at Texas, including a pair of wins at Hilton Coliseum.

Marquette Off To Best Start Since 2011-12

The Golden Eagles, who have claimed each of their first eight outings, are off to the team’s best start since the 2011-12 campaign.

Marquette opened that season 10-0, not falling until a 67-59 decision at LSU on Dec. 19, 2011. The Golden Eagles finished 27-8 overall and 14-4 in BIG EAST action, advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing to Florida in Phoenix, Arizona.

Through games of Dec. 1, Marquette is one of 17 unbeaten teams remaining in the country.

Marquette Happy To Give & Take In 2024-25

Senior guard Kam Jones is ranked second in the BIG EAST and 13th in the nation in assists per game (6.4) through games of Dec. 1 and Marquette is third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), but the team has really excelled on the defensive end of the court.

Through games of Dec. 1, Marquette leads the nation in steals per game (12.4) and junior guard Chase Ross and senior guard Stevie Mitchell are tied for 17th in the NCAA with 2.8 thefts per contest.

Ross (2nd) and Mitchell (2nd) are joined by Jones (11th, 1.6 spg.) and Joplin (15th, 1.5 spg.), giving MU four of the top-15 players in the BIG EAST ranks.

The Golden Eagles also top the league and are fifth in the country in turnover margin (+8.3) through games of Dec. 1.

Jones Just Doubles Up In Latest Effort

Already in possession of the program’s third triple-double in school history, senior guard Kam Jones collected his second-career double-double in the win over Western Carolina on Nov. 30.

Jones finished with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor and handed out 10 assists in just 25 minutes of action. He also found time to grab six rebounds, block a shot and create a steal.

In his last four outings, Jones has dished out 31 assists and turned the ball over just seven times (7.8 assist-to-turnover ratio) in an average of nearly 30 minutes per contest.

Bench Steps Up In Last Two Outings

In the first six outings of the season, Marquette’s bench corps contributed an average of just 8.8 points per night, highlighted by a 21-point effort in the season-opening win over Stony Brook.

In the last two outings, however, Marquette’s reserves have stepped up their contributions and posted back-to-back season-high point totals of 31 and 37 against Stonehill and Western Carolina, respectively.

In the team’s latest outing versus WCU on Nov. 30, both redshirt freshman Caedin Hamilton (9 points) and sophomore Zaide Lowery (8 points) netted career highs an four other players contributed at least a basket.

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.