Marquette is not at all new to the Big Dance. They have legends in Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, Doc Rivers, Jae Crowder, and Wesley Matthews among others who carried the banner of the Golden Eagles in March Madness. This makes the history behind the success of Coach Shaka Smart's squad all the more satisfying. The program is rapidly cementing itself as a title contender with Tyler Kolek taking center stage. Their win over 10th-seeded Colorado also made the greatest player to come out of their basketball program take notice.
“We love it!!” and “Let’sssssssss Goooooo‼️ Another one! Sweet Sixteen here comes the 🦅 🦅” were how Dwyane Wade showed his excitement on X.
He sure must not have been disappointed in this matchup. Marquette was able to start this second round of March Madness strong. They rallied behind Tyler Kolek in the first half to bury Colorado with an 11-point deficit. The second-ranked squad from the Big East encountered some problems in the late stages of the game. This prompted the Buffaloes to mount what looked like a comeback but Coach Shaka Smart was able to out-scheme this late-game surge. In the end, Marquette came out with a win on an 81 to 77 scoreline.
Marquette molly whops Colorado
Tyler Kolek led the Golden Eagles in scoring by knocking down 10 out of his 14 field goal shots for 21 points. He struggled to find passing lanes which resulted in six turnovers. But, a lot of dimes still got delivered to the rest of the Marquette basketball squad which netted him 11 assists.
It was not just Tyler Kolek who was shining for Shaka Smart's squad. Everyone was able to blaze up for Marquette. They were able to knock down 61.8% of their shots from the field while also sinking 42.9% of their three-pointers. The switches from man-to-man and zone schemes were also highly effective on defense. This allowed Marquette to steal the ball 10 times from Colorado.
A big point of improvement that the Golden Eagles have to work on is their positioning under the glass. Colorado was able to get 15 offensive rebounds over them. They also outclassed them on total rebounds with Marquette only grabbing 29 of them as the Buffaloes managed to get 33 boards. Aside from that, their brand of basketball seems to be very efficient in March Madness.
The Golden Eagles' baggage and a new foe
Coach Smart knows the road gets tougher from here on. After all, this squad is trying to get a Final Four berth, the same feat Dwyane Wade notched back in 2003. Upon this win, the Marquette head honcho reflected on their problem-riddled journey heading to March Madness, via ESPN.
“We've had some adversity but the guys have never wavered in terms of their belief in our playing and our way and they stayed connected with one another. … And I think that won us the game today,” he said.
This team has come a long way from being dismantled by Coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State in last year's Round of 32. Now, they need to beat out some Cinderellas in NC State as DJ Horne and DJ Burns have proved to be tough opponents.
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