Marquette guard Tyler Kolek will miss the Big East tournament quarterfinals Thursday while he continues to work his way back from an oblique injury, the school announced in a release Wednesday. Kolek is questionable for the remainder of the Big East tournament, but “will be ready for the team’s NCAA Tournament opener,” coach Shaka Smart said.
Coach Shaka Smart provides an update on guard Tyler Kolek’s status (oblique injury).#MUBB | #WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/xNkqjBDKYV
— Marquette Basketball (@MarquetteMBB) March 13, 2024
“He’s still day to day and not planning on playing tomorrow, but he’s close,” Smart said. “He practiced for part of our session today and he’s been working out and continues to get treatment. The plan is absolutely for him to play next week and he’s really made good progress.”
Kolek was shut down on March 4 for the remainder of the regular season due to the oblique injury, which he sustained against Providence on Feb. 28. He missed the team’s final three regular-season games against No. 12 Creighton, No. 2 UConn and Xavier.
Losing Kolek will make the Golden Eagles’ quest to win a Big East Tournament title a lot harder — they’re 1-2 since he got injured — but there’s a bigger prize at stake with the NCAA Tournament. Marquette needs a healthy and capable Kolek to make the kind of push this team has been aiming for all year, and if the guard needs rest, he needs rest.
Kolek’s absence in the Big East shouldn’t affect the Golden Eagles’ seed, either. They are looking at a possible No. 2 seed and even a quarterfinal loss in New York shouldn’t change that. The losses all come with an asterisk, that Kolek wasn’t available, and if the committee can rightly presume that Kolek will be back for the NCAA Tournament, it can seed accordingly.
Kolek is the reigning Big East Player of the Year and has averaged 15.0 points, 7.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game this season for No. 5 Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 23-8 on the season.
Marquette plays the winner of Villanova-DePaul in the Big East quarterfinals Thursday.
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