NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Marquette rise in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
2. Marquette (5-1)
Marquette’s success last season was a bit of a surprise, but this season is all about proving that last year was no fluke. The Golden Eagles, who have already gotten great play out of Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones, already showed that with a true road win at Illinois, but found themselves further challenged this past week at the Maui Invitational.
These Golden Eagles held on for a 71-69 victory over UCLA in their opening game. David Joplin led Marquette with his 19-point effort in a game where the Golden Eagles were outshot and outrebounded. Tuesday’s efforts were their best of the season, with Marquette getting a 73-59 win over previously top-ranked Kansas, getting 21 points and 9 rebounds from Oso Ighodaro. Things just didn’t fall their way in the title game, though the Golden Eagles leave with their heads held high after a 78-75 loss to Purdue. Kolek had 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists in their first loss of the season.
The trip to Hawaii didn’t end as the Golden Eagles hoped, but it’s clear that this Marquette bunch is really impressive. They’ve already accumulated several very impressive wins and had their best defensive game of the season against the Jayhawks. It’s clear that this team will contend near the top of the Big East standings yet again. Though they’ll get an easier contest against Southern next week, another big challenge comes with a weekend road game at rival Wisconsin.