MILWAUKEE — Marquette star Tyler Kolek will be ready and available to play in the team's first NCAA tournament game, head coach Shaka Smart announced Wednesday.
The All-America guard suffered an oblique injury during a February 28 game vs. Providence. Smart said he will miss the BIG EAST tournament opener on Thursday, and is questionable for the rest of the tournament after that.
But the news that Kolek will be ready for March Madness will be sure to lift the spirit of Golden Eagles fans.
“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 missed Marquette's final three regular-season games against No. 12 Creighton, No. 2 UConn, and Xavier. The Golden Eagles went 1-2 over that stretch.
Kolek, an All-America candidate and unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, leads the nation in assists (7.6 apg.) and is contributing 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor in an average of 32.4 minutes per night, Marquette says.
