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Marquette facing first NCAA Tournament test

Posted at 1:28 PM, Mar 22, 2024
and last updated 2024-03-22 14:28:24-04

Friday marks day two of the NCAA Tournament and the Marquette men's basketball team is in their first tourney test.

The Golden Eagles are facing Western Kentucky in Indianapolis at the newly added Bicentennial Union Plaza.

Brad Brown at our sister station in Indianapolis got a chance to watch Marquette's Thursday practice — he says the team looked loose and ready to get into game action.

Marquette is still feeling the sting from their recent loss to UConn, but they've also learned a lot from last year's early NCAA exit.

There's an Indiana connection on the Marquette roster — sophomore Jonah Lucas is from West Lafayette, where Purdue University is located. Lucas says he's excited to be back a little closer to home, but that the team is focused.

"I think we're kind of more equipped this year," he said. "We kind of know what to expect more. So, we' just kind of based a lot of what we do from last year to this year. Like, this kind of shirt that we have represents newfound goals and championship habits as much as anyone else throughout the country, throughout the season, and largely we want to be the best us. Now, we're here, we're really aiming to be our best us with Kolek back. We're excited about that and for that opportunity to be able to showcase who we are."

Of course, Tyler Kolek rejoining Marquette's line up is big news. He missed the last couple of weeks, but looked fresh at Thursday's practice.