It’s been 220 days since Marquette men’s basketball last took the floor against an opponent in front of fans. Monday, that changes, as the Golden Eagles welcome Stony Brook to Fiserv Forum at 7:30 p.m. CST.

Here are four things to watch for Monday night as Marquette embarks on a new season.

1. Point-Kam Jones

Last year when All-American point guard Tyler Kolek was out of the lineup with an oblique injury for six games, we got a chance to see what Marquette’s offense was going to look like with Kam Jones running the show. In those six games, Jones averaged 20.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, including a career-high nine dimes in a win over Xavier. 

This year, the floor will be his, as Jones is expected to be the Golden Eagles’ primary ball handler. Although Jones has been thought of as more of a scorer in previous seasons, passing was one of his biggest emphases during the offseason.

This summer, Jones honed in on a drill Marquette runs called “the passes we make”. Several times a week, he worked on hook passes to the corner, kick aheads, throwback passes, drop downs to the big men, lobs and more. Head coach Shaka Smart highlighted the intentionality of which Jones is taking on his newfound role with.

“People tend to simplify,” Smart said after the Golden Eagles’ Blue and Gold scrimmage Oct. 5. “And so, Kam is thought of by a lot of people outside of our program as a scorer, or as a shooter.

“We knew this offseason there was room for growth… I think Kam did a really good job of being intentional.”

Obviously, all eyes will be on the preseason All-Big East selection early on this season, as Marquette looks to Jones to be its guy. Filling the shoes of a two-time All-American won’t be easy by any stretch of the imagination, but Jones will look to do his best this season as the Golden Eagles continue to figure out what life is like without Kolek.

2. Will Chase Ross take his offensive game to the next level?

One of the more intriguing storylines heading into the 2024-25 season is the development of Chase Ross. The junior guard appeared in 32 of Marquette’s 37 games last season — starting in 10. Ross battled injuries and sickness throughout the season, setbacks that many felt like prevented him from really being able to find his groove.

This year, Ross is fully healthy, and according to Smart, has been one of the best players on the floor this fall.

“Chase Ross has been terrific all fall,” he said. “He’s arguably been the best player on the team since practices started.

“I think Kam and Jop might argue that, those guys have scored more points than Chase, but Chase, as an all-around player— defensive end, offensive end, handling the ball, passing the ball, being a multiplier for his teammates — has been terrific.

Ross averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season. Notably, Marquette is 24-1 over the past two years when he scores eight or more points.

3. Who will establish themself as the sixth man?

Marquette’s bench is an interesting talking point heading into the season. The Golden Eagles will be without junior guard Sean Jones, who is still rehabbing from the torn ACL he suffered last January against Butler. First year forward Damarius Owens suffered a toe injury in a closed-door scrimmage against Oklahoma, and is likely to miss the season opener as well.

This leaves Tre Norman, Zaide Lowery, Al Amadou, Caedin Hamilton and Royce Parham. With Norman and Lowery being the only two who saw consistent playing time last season, it’s clear Smart is betting on his in-house development.

“The way we do things here, a guy who averaged two points a game, or five points a game or seven points a game, we’re counting on him to do this year, what maybe one of our conference contemporaries is counting on a guy who averaged 16 points a game somewhere else to do,” Smart said. “That’s just kind of two different ways to do it…

“Zaide Lowery averaged two points a game last year, and he’s going to have a critical role on our team. So what does that mean? That means we better have been working our tail off in the last several months, since March 29. to help him get better, and by the way, he plays a starring role in that growth and success.”

Lowery is the most likely candidate to be first off the bench in the early stages of the season, but the role appears as if it will be up for grabs as Marquette makes its way through the non-con.

4. Where will the rebounding come from?

Marquette has been out-rebounded by its opponents in each of its first three seasons under Smart, with the Golden Eagles grabbing an average of 33.1 rebounds a game, compared to the 36.9 that they have given up.

Clearly, this margin hasn’t come back to bite Marquette too badly, as it’s amassed a total record of 75-30 during Smart’s time at the helm. However, with the departures of Kolek and Oso Ighodaro to the NBA, Marquette lost 36 percent of its rebounding from last season.

Guard Stevie Mitchell, who was third on the team in rebounding last year while grabbing 4.1 boards per game, will need to continue to be an above-average rebounding guard.

Forward Ben Gold only grabbed three rebounds a game last season, but with the uptick in minutes he’s expected to receive, should also come an uptick in those rebounding numbers. It is unclear what we can expect out of redshirt first-year forward Caedin Hamilton, but Marquette is going to need him to be effective off the bench on the boards as well if it wants to limit second chance opportunities.