The Marquette Golden Eagles were given a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. Marquette hopes to make a deeper run this time around. The Golden Eagles’ first matchup will be against the 15th-seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday.
Head coach Shaka Smart is hoping to have point guard Tyler Kolek available for the NCAA Tournament. He has missed the last six games because of an oblique injury. Kolek averaged 15.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 7.6 APG for the Golden Eagles.
Three other players on Marquette averaged double digits per game during the season up to this point. Kam Jones leads the Golden Eagles in averaging 16.8 PPG. Oso Ighodaro averaged 14.0 PPG and David Joplin also averaged 10.9 PPG.
This goes to show how deep they were during the season. The Golden Eagles finished with a 25-9 record before the big dance began.
CBS Sports Matt Norlander’s Ranking For the Marquette Golden Eagles Before the NCAA Tournament Begins
The Golden Eagles were near the top 10 in the AP Poll all college basketball season. According to CBS Sports‘ Matt Norlander, he has them ranked as the seventh-best team in college basketball entering the NCAA Tournament. The reasoning Norlander gave was:
“The Golden Eagles clear as a top-eight team so long as Tyler Kolek is healthy and playing at full strength. After suffering an oblique injury a few weeks ago, Kolek has sat out the past six games, but the plan is for him to be a go for MU’s first NCAA Tournament matchup. Kolek is a stellar floor general: 15.0 points, 7.6 assists. Kam Jones doesn’t lack for confidence, either. Marquette’s leading scorer (16.8 ppg) will absolutely be heard from in this tournament. This is a big chance for Marquette, which is a No. 2 seed for the second straight year. Last time, it failed to make the Sweet 16. This time, it should be different.”
Should they win on Thursday, they would face the 7 Florida Gators or the 10 Boise State Broncos/Colorado Buffaloes. Marquette will be favored in that matchup as well. The Marquette Golden Eagles need to get to the second weekend and possibly the Final Four to make this a successful season for them. Marquette has not been to the Final Four in over 20 years.
