By Reggie Gatlin-Holt
3 24 2024
GAME NOTES
https://gomarquette.com/documents/2024/3/23/Game_36_-_Marquette_vs._Colorado_Game_Notes.pdf
The No. 8/8 Marquette University men’s basketball team (26-9) continues play at the 2024 NCAA Championship when the squad takes on 10th-seeded Colorado (26-10) in the Round of 32 at 11:10 a.m. CT on Sunday, March 24 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. CBS features the national television broadcast, with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Stan Van Gundy (analyst), Dan Bonner (analyst) and Andy Katz (reporter) calling the action.
MU Meeting Colorado For First Time Since 1987
Marquette and Colorado have met on just four occasions all-time, with MU holding a 3-1 advantage in the series.
The two teams competed in four-straight campaigns, most recently on Jan, 3, 1987 in Boulder, which resulted in an 83-68 victory by the Golden Eagles. The Buffaloes claimed the first meeting, but MU has earned victories in each of the last three contests.
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart is 1-1 all-time against Colorado, with both matchups coming when he was at Texas.
Marquette Pulls Away For Opening Win
Trailing by seven points (43-36) at the intermission, Marquette opened the second half with a 17-3 run and led by as many as 20 points in the 87-69 win.
The Golden Eagles are just the second team in the last 20 years to trail by seven-or-more points at the intermission and outscore its opponent by at least 25 points in the second half. MU finished with a 51-26 scoring advantage in the second half, thanks to 55.6 percent shooting (20-of-36) from the floor overall, including an 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) effort from behind the 3-point line.
Houston trailed Auburn by 10 points last season before an 81-64 victory include a 27-point margin in the final 20 minutes.
Kolek Picks Up Where He Left Off
Senior guard Tyler Kolek, who missed each of the last six games with an oblique injury, returned to action in the NCAA opener against Western Kentucky and picked up right where he left off in late February (injured vs. Providence Feb. 28).
The consensus Second Team All-America honoree knocked down his first two 3-point attempts en route to his seventh double-double of the season. The Cumberland, Rhode Island, native finished with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 38 minutes of action and also chipped in a pair of steals.
Kolek’s 11 assists allowed him to re-claim the national lead in assists per game (7.8 apg.), just ahead of Minnesota’s Elijah Hawkins (7.6 apg.).
Joplin Doubles Up For First Time
At halftime of Marquette’s matchup with Western Kentucky, forward David Joplin was 1-of-6 from the floor and had contributed just three points and two rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Fortunately for MU, the Milwaukee native found his stride in the second half and he finished with his first-career double-double. Joplin knocked down four of his final six shots and scored 13 points, while grabbing a personal-best 11 rebounds in 28 minutes on the court.
Mitchell Stuffs Box Score In WKU Win
Marquette Stevie Mitchell’s impact on the game usually goes beyond the box score, but in Friday’s win over Western Kentucky the final stats accurately reflected what he meant to the team’s victory.
The junior guard finished with 16 points (6-of-9 shooting), four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a personal-best three blocked shots in 32 minutes of action. He scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and also keyed the team’s rally at the defensive end of the court.
After scoring double figures in just one of the team’s first 11 games, Mitchell has now netted 10-or-more points in 13-of-20 outings.
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COLORADO GAME NOTES
https://cubuffs.com/documents/2024/3/23/CU_Game_Notes_Marquette_NCAA.pdf
*The 10th-seeded Buffs (26-10) went back to work Saturday morning, preparing for Sunday’s 10:10 a.m. (MT) second round matchup (CBS) with No. 2 seed Marquette (26-9) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
*The game will be CU’s third in five days and sixth in the last 11. Colorado opened the NCAA Tournament with a 60-53 win over Boise State on Wednesday, then followed with Friday’s victory, a game that wasn’t decided until KJ Simpson hit the game-winning basket with barely a second on the clock.
*Marquette opened the tournament with an 87-69 win over Western Kentucky and will present as tough of a challenge as the Buffs have faced all season. The Golden Eagles recorded non-conference wins over Illinois, UCLA, Kansas and Texas, then finished as Big East runners-up to UConn in both the regular season and conference tournament. They spent most of the season ranked in the nation’s top 10 and entered the tournament ranked No. 8 in both national polls.
*Golden Eagles boast a balanced attack — four players average at least 12.0 points per game — but there’s no doubt the offense revolves around guards Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek.
Jones averages 17.3 points per game while shooting at a 52 percent clip from the floor. Kolek, who returned to action against Western Kentucky after missing six games with an injury, averages 14.9 points and a nation-leading 7.8 assists.
*Marquette also boasts a quality big man inside in 6-foot-11 Oso Ighodaro, who averages 14.7 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds.
*Defensively, the Golden Eagles apply pressure from every angle. Marquette forced nearly 15 turnovers per game this season — 22nd in the nation — and they excel at converting those turnovers into fast break baskets.
*The Buffs, winners of 10 of their last 11 games
*With 26 victories, Colorado has already set a program record for wins in a single season. A win would send CU to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 55 years.
BROADCAST: The game will be carried by the KOA Radio network with Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke. CBS will televise the game with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy and Andy Katz.
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