Marquette basketball will be without their best player for the final two games of their regular-season schedule, with Jeff Goodman reporting that Tyler Kolek will sit out the games versus the UConn Huskies and the Xavier Musketeers due to an upper-body injury.
“Marquette’s Tyler Kolek (oblique) will miss the final two games (vs. UConn, at Xavier) of the regular season & be re-evaluated prior to the team’s BIG EAST tournament opener on March 14, school announces.”
Kolek’s absence is a painful gut punch to Marquette basketball. Kolek is second on the team in points with 15.0 per game and leads the Golden Eagles in assists with 7.6 dimes per outing. He is also one of the team’s most efficient shooters, as he’s making 48.6 percent of his attempts from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc.
If anything, Marquette basketball is virtually assured of a spot in the upcoming 2024 March Madness, regardless of the results of their upcoming games versus the Huskies and the Musketeers and also in the 2024 Big East tournament. The Golden Eagles seem to have a resume strong enough to warrant an auto-bid.
Kolek, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, also missed the Golden Eagles’ most recent game, which was an 89-75 loss to the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha last Saturday.
The hope for Kolek and Marquette is that he will be ready in time for the team’s first game in the conference tourney. The Golden Eagles have a first-round bye and will see action in the tournament on March 14 against an opponent that is yet to be determined.
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