5 Takeaways from Marquette basketball narrowly beating Kansas State

Takeaway No. 2: Kam Jones did not look like a freshman out there for Marquette Basketball

Jones scored a team-high 15 points. He was 4-8 from three-point range and made two clutch triples.

With 5:40 left to go, Justin Lewis found Jones open in the corner. Lewis was so confident the three-pointer made by Jones was going in, Lewis was celebrating while Jones was in mid-shot. The shot gave Marquette a seven-point lead–its largest lead of the game–and capped off an 11-4 run.

The Marquette Golden Eagles went the next 5:08 without a basket as the Wildcats cut the lead to one with 45 seconds left. Jones calmly broke the scoring drought with 32 seconds left by knocking down another three.

Jones was poised in crunch time and was not fazed by the hostile environment. He played like a senior out there–except missing a free throw in the final seconds of the game.

Takeaway No. 3: Justin Lewis had a great bounce-back game from his uneven performance against Wisconsin

Lewis had 14 points against the Badgers but also committed six turnovers and pulled down just four rebounds.

He came back and played a great all-around game against the Wildcats. He scored 14 points in this contest but also ripped down nine rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked three shots, and had just one turnover.

He hit a big three-pointer to close out the first half to give the Marquette Golden Eagles the lead going into the locker room.

Lewis showed he could create shots for himself and others in the second half as a lot of the offense ran through him.

"“He basically became our point guard for a stretch there,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. Throwing him the ball, kind of backing down in the post and trying to play against the double team. “He made some phenomenal passes. When he had a lot turnovers in the Wisconsin game, that really bothered him. He takes a lot of personal pride in playing the right way. That assist-to-turnover ratio pretty much flipped tonight.”"