INDIANAPOLIS – Despite being the No. 2 seed, the Marquette Golden Eagles (27-9, 14-6 Big East) needed to shoot the cover off the ball to beat the taller, heavier, more athletic 10th-seeded Colorado Buffaloes (26-11, 13-7 Pac-12) in the round of 32.
On Sunday morning, that’s exactly what the Golden Eagles did.
With a great performance from their talented point guard Tyler Kolek, Marquette shot a scorching 34-of-55 (61.8%) from the field en route to their 81-77 win over the Buffs. Kolek went for a game-high 21 points (10-of-14 FG, 0-of-1 3PT, 1-of-2 FT) and 11 assists, controlling the Golden Eagles’ offense and making just enough plays, including a dagger floater with under a minute to go to will his team to the Sweet 16.
“He's a terrific player,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “You appreciate him on film, then you appreciate him with his numbers, but then you play against him, and you're like, holy cow, that kid is special. He's a good player."
The Buffs never lost their fight, coming back from 12 points down in the first half to take the lead briefly in the second half. But their inability to hit open shots was the deciding factor in one of the most heartbreaking losses in recent CU sports history.
“For this team, what that means to me is they've been competing their tails off the whole year,” Boyle said, “because you don't give up 61 percent and stay in a game. But we rebounded the ball well, we fought, we battled, we just came up a little bit short.”
While many will remember Cody Williams’ wide-open 3-point miss with just over a minute left to play in regulation that would have put his team up two, leading to Kolek’s floater that gave Marquette a 79-76 lead in the final minute, the amount of missed opportunities were there from the beginning of the game.
“I told our team in the locker room after the game, we had chances to win that game,” Boyle said. “Had good looks, good wide-open looks, just didn't make them. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes basketball becomes a make-miss game.”
The Buffs’ offense lacked movement and spacing, leading to early turnovers and a lack of inside production while the Golden Eagles built their first half advantage. With many of their clean looks coming from the perimeter, CU shot just 3-of-13 from deep in the opening 20 minutes while Marquette shot 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. Kolek dished six assists before the break, but it was Kam Jones who hit four 3s and poured in 16 points to help Marquette to a 45-34 lead heading into the intermission.
Not ready to falter, though, the Buffs outscored Marquette 21-9 in the opening five minutes of the second half. They finally saw their outside shots fall, hitting five 3-pointers amid the stretch as KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva got going.
Once Colorado gained their 55-54 lead, the usual Marquette suspect was there to make some plays. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-2 run, courtesy of four points and two assists from Kolek.
From then on, the Buffs were able to tie the game twice more. The first with just under 10 minutes to play and the second with four minutes to play. Each time Colorado found itself tied with Marquette, it was a da Silva bucket that evened out the game. In his last collegiate contest, the senior forward scored 17 points (7-of-14 FG, 3-of-7 3PT), 15 of which came in the second half.
Whenever da Silva knotted the game up, an open opportunity from deep seemed to present itself for the Buffs. Whether it was Simpson, da Silva, or Williams taking the shot, the attempts to take the lead just didn’t go down.
Seemingly, Marquette was the more sound team down the stretch as the score would present. But it was ultimately the difference of the Golden Eagles making shots that the Buffs missed.
The Buffs dished out three more assists, shot better from the free throw line in limited attempts, won the rebound battle by five, and saw an even turnover count. But Marquette’s 61.8% field goal percentage outweighed Colorado’s 47% and the statistical battles in favor of the black and gold.
While second-seeded Marquette heads to Dallas to play 11th-seeded North Carolina State next weekend, the Buffs head back to Boulder with the 55-year hiatus from the Sweet 16 becoming even longer.
The Buffs say goodbye to da Silva and Luke O’Brien (8 points, 2-of-8 FG, 1-of-6 3PT, 3-of-4 FT, three rebounds, four assists, one block), who both spent four years with Boyle. While seniors J’Vonne Hadley and Eddie Lampkin Jr. are expected to return as they weren’t honored on senior night, Simpson (20 points, 8-of-19 FG, 4-of-12 3PT, five rebounds, seven assists, one steal) and Williams (12 points, 5-of-10 FG, 1-of-2 3PT, 1-of-2 FT) are most likely going to enter this year’s NBA draft along with da Silva.
The season could be labeled disappointing, the theme being the nature of coming up just short. Whether it was injuries, Pac-12 Player of the Year and All-American snubs, a lost Pac-12 Championship, or the many games decided in the final minute or last possession, it always felt like the Buffs could have done more.
“I love these guys, but it's a no-excuse mentality,” Boyle said, “and the leadership from guys like Luke O'Brien and KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva that kept this team afloat when things got tough.”
However, the unlikely revival of a March Madness berth that resulted in the most wins in a season in program history as well as the greatest shot by a Buff in the month of March will live on in the minds of Colorado fans for years to come.
Cover photo by @CUBuffsMBB/X
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