Tyler Kolek sharp in return as No. 2 Marquette beats Western Kentucky
Kolek hit two long threes on his first two shot attempts of the game and scored 10 points in the opening seven minutes of the first half, helping Marquette (26-9) build an early 26-17 lead.
“I really haven’t felt out of the groove at all, even in practice,” Kolek said. “The two days that I did go full go — it’s been basketball. I’ve been playing this game a long time. Once I hit the floor, some obvious jitters because I haven’t played since three weeks now, but I think 37 minutes, most minutes in a game, so I thought I did all right with the wind.”
Marquette advances to the second round on Sunday in Indianapolis. The Golden Eagles will face No. 10 Colorado, which beat No. 7 seed Florida 102-100.
Kam Jones made five 3-pointers and poured in 28 points for Marquette. Stevie Mitchell added 16 points and David Joplin added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
“In the second half, I think really to a man, our whole team ramped up our aggressiveness on the defensive end; much, much more Marquette basketball, flying around, getting our hands on the basketball,” Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart said.
There were a combined 14 turnovers in the opening 11 minutes, with Western Kentucky (22-12) committing nine. The Hilltoppers had 18 for the game.
Tyrone Marshall Jr. scored 17 of his team-leading 21 in the first half while Don McHenry was the only other Hilltopper in double figures with 11 points.
“The first half I guess they were sagging off a little bit, so I had to show them that I could shoot the ball and I can drive, so I can make passes or I can get my teammates going,” Marshall said. “The second half I guess they just denied me. But it really didn’t slow me down. I was still trying to get my teammates going with shots, like Don, just trying to get him back in the game with me and stuff.”
