No. 18 Marquette aiming for 4th straight NCAA Tournament berth under Smart

By The Associated Press The Associated Press

FILE - Marquette's Kam Jones (1) heads to the basket past Colorado's Cody Williams, left, during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, March 24, 2024 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Michael Conroy]

Marquette (27-10, 14-6 Big East)

No. 18 Marquette has been to the NCAA Tournament in each of Shaka Smart’s first three seasons as coach. The Golden Eagles’ chances of making it four straight depend on how well they can replace NBA second-round draft picks Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro.

Players to watch

Kam Jones (senior, G, 6-5). Jones is one of the Big East’s top returning players. He scored 17.2 points per game last season after averaging 15.1 points in 2022-23. Jones has made 251 career 3-pointers while shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc. Smart says Jones has improved his passing ability during the offseason.

David Joplin (senior, F, 6-8). After being named the Big East sixth man of the year in 2022-23, Joplin moved into the starting lineup last season and scored 10.8 points per game last season. Smart believes Joplin is capable of producing much more this year.

Stevie Mitchell (senior, G, 6-3). Mitchell is an outstanding defender and leader who has started 69 games over the last two seasons. He averaged 8.8 points and 1.9 steals last season.

Departures and arrivals

Kolek is now with the New York Knicks and Ighodaro is with the Phoenix Suns. Kolek, the 2023 Big East player of the year, was an Associated Press All-America third-team selection in 2023 and second-team pick in 2024. Ighodaro, a 6-11 forward, was a two-time second-team all-Big East selection.

Smart continued his general practice of avoiding the transfer portal but did add four freshman frontcourt players in Joshua Clark, Luke Jacobson, Damarius Owens and Royce Parham. Clark is expected to redshirt this season.

Caedin Hamilton may be ready to contribute after redshirting last season.

Top games

Marquette opens with a Nov. 4 home game against Stony Brook. The nonconference schedule includes trips to Maryland (Nov. 15), No. 5 Iowa State (Dec. 4) and Dayton (Dec. 14) plus home games with No. 14 Purdue (Nov. 19) and Wisconsin (Dec. 7). The Golden Eagles face two-time defending national champion UConn on Feb. 1 at home and March 5 on the road. Marquette also has two games with No. 15 Creighton: Jan. 3 at home and Feb. 8 on the road.

Facts and figures

Marquette made its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013 last year before losing to N.C. State. … Marquette expects G Sean Jones back after he tore his ACL in January. The Golden Eagles haven’t said when he will make his season debut. … Smart owns a 75-30 record in three seasons at Marquette. … Chase Ross and Ben Gold figure to have much bigger roles for Marquette after earning plenty of playing time as reserves last season. Ross showed his potential last year by scoring 12 points in Marquette’s victory over Kansas. Gold is a 6-11 forward from New Zealand.

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