Marquette's Tyler Kolek tries to get past Providence's Garwey Dual during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Morry Gash
MILWAUKEE, WI (WSAU) – The Marquette Golden Eagles are expected to get their star point guard back on Friday against Western Kentucky.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kolek was moving well in practice on Thursday, making his signature passes across the court and hitting three-pointers consistently, and when asked how he was feeling, Kolek said, “I’ve been practicing this whole week. I feel good. I feel confident.”
Kolek, who averaged 15 points per game and 7.6 assists this season, injured his oblique during a win over Providence back on February 28, and Marquette went 3-3 in the games Kolek missed, losing twice to March Madness tournament No. 1 seed UConn.
Head coach Shaka Smart was asked on Thursday if he felt Kolek could’ve played during the Big East tournament, saying, “Having been through this week and the progression that we’ve gone through to get him ready for Friday, he needed to practice. He needed some repetitions, five-on-five, up and down. I don’t know if it would have been fair to him to put him out there in that situation, as much as we wanted him. We were literally playing who, in my opinion to this point, has been the best team in the country in the championship game.”
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Marquette Golden Eagles a 94.4 percent chance of defeating the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, and tip-off is currently scheduled for 1 PM CST on TBS.
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