Kam Jones is sacrificing personal hygiene to help Marquette make a deep March Madness run

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Tournament selection show is usually a joyful prelude to the chaos and pressure of March Madness.

Like every other Marquette men's basketball player, Kam Jones cheered and held his phone aloft to snap photos on Sunday as the second-seeded Golden Eagles' first-round matchup with 15th-seeded Western Kentucky was announced on the big screen at the Mecca Sports Bar & Grill in Milwaukee.

Then Jones' mien turned stoic.

The junior guard has experienced his fair share of March heartbreak. His freshman season, the Golden Eagles were routed by North Carolina in the first round. Last season, MU was widely seen as a favorite for the Final Four, but the Golden Eagles were bounced in the second round by Michigan State.

MU hasn't played in a Sweet 16 game since 2013. This season's team has been ranked in the top 10 for most of the season and hopes to earn two victories at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this week, starting with Western Kentucky at 1 p.m. Central on Friday.

Jones, usually a jovial presence, had a harder look when he answered questions from the media after the selections were announced.

“A lot of boiled blood," Jones said. "I’m just motivated, man. It’s a blessing to be here, a great opportunity.

“But it’s the third time. The past two years didn’t go nowhere near how we wanted it to go.”

Chase Ross sees a 'more connected' team

Before the Golden Eagles left for Indiana, the team watched video clips from last season's loss to Michigan State.

“We talk a lot about all the lessons we learned from the NCAA Tournament," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "We actually watched some stuff from the Vermont game first. Because everybody tends to dwell on the game that we lost. But we won our first-round game last year, and it wasn’t easy.

“I think sometimes when you play a game and you’re the higher seed, that maybe there’s some expectation on the part of others or social media, the internet, that the game should be easy. But as we know, every team in March Madness is good. And you have to earn any win that you get.

"So we first watched that. I think this time of year, pretty much every lesson needs to be told through stories. And so stories about us last year. We also watched a little old-school Marquette NCAA Tournament film as well."

There was something that jumped off the screen to sophomore guard Chase Ross while watching that Michigan State loss.

"You could see, we all look defeated, down, anxious," Ross said.

MU point guard Tyler Kolek was playing through a right thumb injury suffered against Vermont. But the Golden Eagles were also frustrated by Michigan State's defense, orchestrated by Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, that wouldn't allow any good looks at the basket.

"This year, we’re just more connected." Ross said. "We’ll stay positive. And EGBs (Smart's philosophy of energy-generating behaviors). High EGBs."

Shaka Smart's lessons from the NCAA Tournament

After the loss to Michigan State, MU's locker room at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, was disconsolate. There were lots of tears and blank looks.

“It motivates me, it motivates our team," Ross said. "Coaches, everyone around. We just know we don’t want that feeling again, so we’re going to do all we have to do to win.”

Smart had his own process after last season came to an abrupt end.

"I have a folder in my hotel room with a file in it called 'Lessons from the NCAA Tournament,' and it has answers from our team, coaches, staff, support staff," Smart said. "Some good stuff in there. But the key is applying it."

What did Smart use for himself?

"I actually learned this from Coach Izzo after the game," Smart said. "I always like to learn from the coaches that we lose to.

"One of the things that he does a phenomenal job of is spending time with individual players, in that case, the moments in between the first game and the second game. Just made a commitment this year, I'm going to try to spend more time coaching our players individually as people than I've ever done in the past."

Kam Jones enters 'grimy' season

It's not just Jones' demeanor that's different for the NCAA Tournament. He's also not shaving, not getting his hair cut and doing his best to stay off social media during MU's postseason.

"I'm going to be grimy as long as we here," Jones said. "I plan on being grimy for a minute.

"I don't like looking in the mirror at the moment. But we're not here to look pretty. We're here trying to chase something."

Jones' beard is already growing in a bit patchy. MU wants to make the Final Four, so he hopes it becomes more unruly.

"I just really want to give my time, energy and effort into going after what we want to do," Jones said. "Coach said we really need to be ruthless. Ruthless with the things we can control.

"And this is the biggest time. Before the season starts, you talk about March Madness and what you want to do in it. It just wouldn't make sense to not get your mind in the right spot. Or put your focus on the right things. I've just really been trying to take big advantage of that."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kam Jones, Shaka Smart learned from Marquette's loss to Michigan State