Kam Jones and David Joplin call each other their 'No. 1 hater.' Here's a glimpse at one of Marquette basketball's funniest friendships.

Just before he splashed down 6 three-pointers in the first half of Marquette's victory over DePaul on Saturday, Kam Jones heard from the guy the sophomore guard calls his "No. 1 hater."

It wasn't someone from the opposing school who infiltrated MU's student section or a fan in the front row feeling courageous after a few craft beers.

It was the guy who occupies the stall next to Jones' in the Golden Eagles' locker room and who also has been Jones' roommate for two years at MU.

“I’m such a better shooter than you,” sophomore forward David Joplin deadpanned right before the Golden Eagles went out for their final warmups.

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The relationship between Jones and Joplin includes a lot of give-and-take, but this particular interaction took Jones aback.

"I was like ‘What makes you say that?’" Jones said. "He was like ‘I was shooting (in warmups) and the ball wasn’t even touching the net.’

"It’s, like, well that doesn’t do nothing for the scoreboard. So, yeah, we’re gonna see.’"

Jones finished with 22 points, including a college-high 7 triples. But as his roommate will bring up time and again, Joplin knocked down 8 three-pointers in MU's first meeting with DePaul this season. It's all just part of how the friends push each other to excel.

It's working. Jones is averaging a team-high 15.2 points per game, and Joplin is the microwave scorer off the bench at 9.4. The sixth-ranked Golden Eagles (23-6, 15-3 Big East) can claim the outright regular-season conference title by beating Butler (14-15, 6-12) on Tuesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Shaka Smart chose outgoing players for roommates

When the two Type A personalities arrived on MU's campus, head coach Shaka Smart thought they could live under the same roof.

"How we play and our confidence levels and like our personalities, he thought fit well together so he put us as roommates," Joplin said. "We've been roommates ever since. We'll be roommates throughout college."

The back-and-forth started right away.

"Those guys are roommates and they love each other," Smart said. "And they’ve always since the summer of their freshman year when they got here, they’ve always had this competitiveness.

"They play one-on-one as much or more than anyone. And they argue about who is better."

Coaches have banned Joplin and Jones from playing one-on-one

Joplin estimates he and Jones have played one-on-one about 500 times.

"We would play all the time last year," Joplin said. "And we would play so hard that we'd get minor injuries. Just from jumping around and falling on the floor and stuff.

"So Nevada (Smith, MU's special assistant to the head coach) banned us from playing one-on-one this year. So we try to sneak it in sometimes. But whenever we're shooting around he's always watching us. But we get it in during the summer, for sure."

At 6-foot-7, Joplin has a significant size advantage on the 6-4 Jones.

"He doesn't like to play post one-on-one a lot, he likes to go out on the perimeter," Joplin said. "So that's kind of his area. When we play elbow one-on-one or block one-on-one, that's my area."

The trash talking never stops between teammates

The competition goes beyond the basketball court.

"We don’t really argue that much," Jones said. "We just have little debates. He’ll just walk in my room and be like ‘I’m better at (NBA video game) 2K than you.’

"That just starts something. It’s a pretty fun relationship I have with Jop. It’s all love.”

The trash-talking duo are MU's best three-point shooters, with Joplin knocking down 52 of 135 (38.5%) and Jones at 82 for 221 (37.1).

"He swears he’s a better shooter than me, but nah I can’t give him that edge,” Jones said.

Joplin just shakes that off.

"I know how to push his buttons, for sure," Joplin said. "For the most part he annoys me. But when I have that energy and I feel like getting to him, I know exactly what to say."

Smart wants to make sure all that competitiveness is channeled in the right direction.

"It’s one of those things where we’re still trying to help them grow and develop into grown men," Smart said. "But I love their energy. I love the bond that they have together. And I like that they rib each other. They give each other a hard time.

"The next step is having that seriousness about you. That, hey, this is my brother and with us combining together, you can’t do anything with us. Because he’s good and I’m good. I think we still have some steps to take with that with those two guys."

Despite all the banter, Jones isn't above some grudging respect for Joplin.

"Jop, obviously, he’s a great scorer," Jones said. "Good teammate. Good player. It’s just funny to have your roommate as your No. 1 hater. But you know, deep down, it’s all love.”

But later, as Joplin was detailing their relationship, Jones wandered by and Joplin spoke a little louder to make sure his roommate felt the needle.

"He's really emotional about competition," Joplin said. "Just look at him."