March Madness Round of 32 analysis: Kolek leads Marquette to first Sweet 16 since 2013

Day 4 of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is officially underway. Tyler Kolek and the Marquette Golden Eagles kicked off the action with a hard-fought win over No. 10-seeded Colorado and will advance to the Sweet 16.

College hoops fans will be treated to eight games on Sunday, highlighted by a trio of No. 1 seeds – Purdue, UConn and Houston – all in action.

FOX Sports’ college basketball experts, John Fanta and Michael Cohen, are here to provide instant analysis of Sunday’s games.

Catch up on all the action from Day 4 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament here:

(2) Marquette 81, (10) Colorado 77

When the first-half buzzer sounded, the statistics suggested that No. 2 Marquette should have been winning this game by 15 or 20, if not more. The Golden Eagles had shot a sizzling 19-for-28 from the floor (68%) and 6-for-13 from 3-point range. Star point guard Tyler Kolek went into the locker room with eight points and six assists. Star shooting guard Kam Jones nearly matched his season average of 17.1 points per game by scoring 16 points in 14 minutes of playing time.

Yet the Golden Eagles only led 10th-seeded Colorado by 11, their seven turnovers having allowed the Buffaloes to hang around. To the chagrin of head coach Shaka Smart, his team had surrendered 20 points in the paint and allowed Colorado to shoot 47% from the field — a number that, on a day when Marquette wasn’t quite so hot, could have easily saddled the Golden Eagles with a deficit. But their subpar defense gave the Buffaloes a chance, and from there, the game squeezed tighter.

Colorado opened the second half with a 10-2 spurt that forced Smart to call timeout. Then the Buffaloes nudged in front by a point. Back and forth they went in a beautiful offensive display, with Kolek (21 points, 11 assists) pacing the Golden Eagles and Tristan da Silva (17 points, 15 in the second half) repeatedly sparking the underdogs. Every time Marquette pulled ahead by four or five, back Colorado came. The score was tied with 2:59 remaining.

The game finally hinged on a swirling, looping drive from Kolek, who circled beneath the basket and pirouetted in the lane for a trademark left-handed floater. Kolek’s basket gave Marquette a three-point lead with 54 seconds remaining in an eventual 81-77 win. Forward David Joplin made two free throws in the final minute to help the Golden Eagles clinch their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2013.

Marquette will face 11th-seeded N.C. State next weekend.

– Michael Cohen

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John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

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