It's a play that has worked many times for the Marquette men's basketball team over the last three seasons.

With the score tied at 20-20 in the first half against Texas on Wednesday night, Golden Eagles point guard Tyler Kolek was the inbounding passer on a baseline out-of-bounds set and shooting guard Kam Jones was stationed in the opposite corner.

Jones' defender was focused entirely on the action of the other three MU players around the basket, so Kolek whipped a perfect crosscourt pass to Jones. The Golden Eagles have caught many opponents napping on that play, so Jones was ready to shoot. His corner three-pointer nestled into the net and eighth-ranked MU never relinquished the lead in an 86-65 evisceration of No. 12 Texas.

Kolek and Jones combined for 45 points and 9-for-17 shooting on three-pointers in the victory. They had several plays that were more highlight reel-worthy, but the simple connection on that sequence speaks to the guards' chemistry, skills and abilities to read defenses.

Heading into Saturday night's matchup against Notre Dame (4-4) at Fiserv Forum, Kolek and Jones are combining to average 31.5 points per game with 70 assists and 29 turnovers for MU (7-2).

"The backcourt is one of the best in the country when they’re playing that way," Texas head coach Rodney Terry said.

Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones have expanded their games

It's easy to think of Kolek as just a passer and Jones as the flame-throwing scorer.

But in their third season together, they have developed into all-around offensive players.

In his first season at MU, Kolek shot just 28.1% on his 128 three-point attempts. With some tweaks to his mechanics, his long-range marksmanship jumped up to 39.8% last season.

This season, Kolek has knocked down 16 of his 35 three-pointers (45.7%). Texas chose to send Kolek's defender underneath all ball-screens, and the MU guard punished the Longhorns by nailing 4 threes.

"Just my mindset, my mentality," Kolek said. "I feel like when I'm open, I shoot it.

"And that's the most important thing. Maybe my first year, even last year a little bit, if I was open maybe I wouldn't shoot it. Just having the confidence in myself through the work I put in, and it's definitely working."

Jones has never lacked the confidence to let shots fly. He's become a much more efficient player, with his team-high 16.4 points this season coming in just 26 minutes per game on 45.3% shooting on threes and 49.5% overall.

The area in which Jones has really improved is his ball-handling, and his play-making has been Kolek-like this season.

“I love when he’s playing with the ball," Kolek said. "Teams are locked in on trying to stop him from scoring. For him, being able to add that extra layer and dimension to his game has been something special to watch.

"I’ve known he’s been able to do that because we see it every day in practice. If I’m on one team and it’s me and Sean (Jones) and Kam on the other team having to run the show, you see his growth and development in that area. I’m only excited to continue to see it grow.”

Kam Jones has 22 assists this season while coughing the ball up just five times.

“My dad told me at a very young age that unforced turnovers is the worst thing in basketball," Jones said.

Who is the best backcourt in college basketball?

Terry's claim that the Jones-Kolek duo is one of the top backcourt pairings in the nation isn't really a hot take.

MU's dynamic duo can easily be seen as the best, but there are a few challengers.

Duke's Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach and Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker got a lot of preseason hype, but their teams have struggled early.

Top-ranked Arizona has an outstanding backcourt with Kylan Boswell and Caleb Love, but their combined numbers (26 points per game, 31 for 77 on three-pointers, 60 assists, 26 turnovers) fall short of Kolek-Jones.

A good argument can also be made for Houston's L.J. Cryer and Jamal Shead, who put up 26.1 points per game with 74 assists and 25 turnovers while spearheading one of the country's best defenses.

The biggest challenger to Kolek-Jones probably comes from a Big East foe. Connecticut's Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer combine for 33 points per game while shooting 42 for 106 on three-pointers with 89 assists and 34 turnovers.

Regardless of any subjective rankings, Kolek knows he has something special in his partnership with Jones.

“They like to say best backcourt in the country and I tend to agree with them," Kolek said. "It’s a different dynamic, me and him.

"He’s more of that score first, really crafty, shoot it from deep. Me, I’m a little more downhill, shoot the three some, I’m looking to find guys and get guys involved.

"It’s the perfect yin-yang. If I want to get off the ball, let Kam play with it a little bit. So I love playing with him.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette Golden Eagles have top guards in Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones