Marquette’s star guard Tyler Kolek will remain sidelined for the remainder of the regular season as he works back from an oblique injury, the team announced on Monday. The Golden Eagles will host UConn and visit Xavier before Kolek is reevaluated ahead of the Big East Tournament on March 14.
Tyler Kolek to Miss Final Two Regular Season Games With Injury
Kolek, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, missed his first game of the season on Saturday. Marquette was also without forward Oso Ighodaro in their 89-75 loss at Creighton. In the loss, Marquette’s assists numbers were down significantly without Kolek. The point guard is regarded as one of the best passers in the country and leads the nation with 7.6 assists per game. On Saturday, however, the Bluejays dominated the assist category 19-7. Seven assists is less than half of Marquette’s average of 16.4 per game.
Marquette’s Remaining Schedule
Wednesday’s game is one the Golden Eagles likely have had circled for weeks. They’ll welcome the UConn Huskies into Milwaukee seeking redemption from the beating they took in Hartford last month. Without Kolek, however, that could get dicey. The Huskies locked up the Big East regular season title on Sunday but Dan Hurley’s group doesn’t seem like one to take their foot off the gas. Wednesday could spell trouble for Marquette.
Saturday will conclude Marquette’s regular season with a trip to Xavier. The Musketeers are floating in the bottom half of the conference without much postseason aspirations. The Eagles handled Xavier with ease three games ago in a 24-point win.
Big East Tournament Seeding
The UConn Huskies have comfortably secured the top seed in the Big East Tournament with their win over Seton Hall on Sunday. The next three spots, however, are not as solidified. Marquette currently falls right behind Connecticut with a 13-5 conference record. The Golden Eagles are then followed by Creighton (13-6 Big East) and Seton Hall (11-7 Big East). The Bluejays are the only team that could leap over Marquette without any tiebreakers coming into play. If Creighton wins its finale and Marquette is swept in their final two, Creighton would take the No. 2 seed. If Hall wins out and Marquette loses out, they would be tied with a 13-7 conference record. Creighton could also fall into this scenario as a three-way tie if they lose to Villanova.
Kolek’s Big East Player of the Year Defense
Kolek seemed close to overtaking the Big East Player of the Year race before going down with this oblique injury. Kolek, Baylor Scheierman, Tristen Newton, Trey Alexander, and Cam Spencer have been among the players headlining the Player of the Year conversation. Missing the final three games of the regular season, however, won’t do the Marquette guard any favors. He had been averaging 15.0 points, 7.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 40% from 3-point range.
Scheierman also seems to be picking up steam as the season winds down. The Creighton guard was named Big East Player of the Week after downing Marquette. Scheierman ranks third in the Big East in scoring at 18.5 per game and second in rebounding with 8.9 per game.
