Undefeated foes No. 15 Marquette, Georgia battle in the Bahamas

A pair of unbeaten teams will square off in a neutral-site battle on Saturday morning as No. 15 Marquette meets Georgia in Nassau, Bahamas.Marquette will make the journey for just the one game, while Georgia will take on No. 22 St. John’s at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort on Sunday.The Golden Eagles (5-0) are coming off their first marquee win of the season, 76-58 at home over No. 6 Purdue on Tuesday. After the Boilermakers tied the game at 12 with 12:31 left in the first half, Stevie Mitchell’s layup gave Marquette a lead it never surrendered.Mitchell scored a career-high 21 points, while Kam Jones became just the third Golden Eagle to ever record a triple-double, chipping in 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, as Marquette snapped Purdue’s 39-game regular-season, non-conference winning streak — the fourth-longest in NCAA history.A rarity in this era of college sports, Jones and Mitchell are two seniors who have stuck with the program for four years. The duo will look to help Marquette to its first 6-0 start since 2011-12, when it began the year 10-0.”(Jones) has worked his tail off,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “He’s always had better ability as a playmaker than some might think, but his role was a little different when we had Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, because those guys were such good passers. We still need him to score, but he also has the ball in his hands more, and we need him to create opportunities for other guys.”As for Mitchell, Smart said he helps to make the team run.”I don’t think until Stevie graduates and moves on will we fully feel what we have in him,” the coach said. “I just encourage everyone to enjoy this year while we have him here. He’s a combination of will, toughness, heart, and he’s extremely smart.”Jones leads the team with averages 22.6 points and 6 assists per game, while Mitchell chips in 13.6 points per contest.

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