Marquette climbing back toward top 5 in Associated Press college basketball rankings
Ben SteeleThe Marquette men's basketball team is getting closer to being back in the top five of the polls.
The Golden Eagles have won six straight games and checked in at No. 7 in the Associated Press rankings released Monday. MU was ninth last week.
(Editor's note: Journal Sentinel beat writer Ben Steele had the Golden Eagles sixth in his weekly ballot).
MU is also seventh in the USA TODAY coaches poll.
The Golden Eagles (17-5, 8-3 Big East) were ranked in the top five of the first four AP polls of the season, reaching as high as No. 3. But MU fell out of the top five after a loss to Wisconsin early in December, then tumbled as low as No. 17 after a two-game skid in mid-January.
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Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones helped Marquette get two wins last week
MU guard Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones, who form one of the best backcourt tandems in the nation, each had career nights last week on the road.
On Tuesday, Kolek poured in 32 points to silence a feisty crowd at Villanova in a 85-80 victory at Finneran Pavilion outside of Philadelphia.
Jones sat out that game with an ankle injury. But he returned against Georgetown on Saturday in Washington and dropped 31 points in just 21 minutes as MU rolled to a 91-57 victory.
Who does Marquette play this week?
MU has a week between games and will face St. John's on Saturday at Fiserv Forum.
The game is sold out as part of the school's annual National Marquette Day celebration.
The Golden Eagles beat the Red Storm, 73-72, on Jan. 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
