Marquette's Kolek hurt but leaves with insurmountable lead over Providence basketball
MILWAUKEE — No. 5 Marquette trounced Providence, 91-69, Wednesday night despite playing most of the second half without standout guard Tyler Kolek, who left the game with an oblique injury.
Kolek, the reigning Big East player of the year and a Cumberland native, headed into the tunnel with just over 15 minutes left in the game as Marquette led, 60-37. He then returned to the bench and checked into the game before exiting again about 12 seconds later.
The Golden Eagles, up 20 at that point, were fine without him.
Kam Jones had 17 points, Kolek finished with 12 points and six assists in his 18 minutes and David Joplin scored 13. Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell added 12 points each as Marquette (22-6, 13-4 Big East) never trailed and won for the 11th time in 12 games.
Marquette coach Shaka Smart said after the game he didn't know the extent of the injury.
“He said that he made a pass and kind of twisted his body, and he just felt it,” Smart said. “I didn't see it when it happened, but he's with the training staff now.”
For Providence (18-10, 9-8), Devin Carter had 18 points, Ticket Gaines 15, Corey Floyd Jr. 13 and Josh Oduro 12.
"I thought that our focus bothered us most. That’s both sides of the ball. Offense, defense – everything," said Providence coach Kim English. "We weren’t locked in from a spacing standpoint, from a defensive gameplan standpoint."
Marquette avenged a 72-57 loss at Providence on Dec. 19, a game that marked the Big East opener for both teams. Mitchell didn’t play in that first matchup because of a hamstring injury but made an immediate impact Wednesday and had 10 points just six minutes into the game.
"They were playing with revenge in their hearts. Disappointing that we didn’t put up a better effort. We did in the second half – 43-41 – but too little, too late," English said.
Mitchell also helped lead a tenacious defense that enabled Marquette to grab a 27-4 lead in the first 9½ minutes. Providence missed seven of its first eight shots, and the game was nearly 12½ minutes in by the time the Friars made their first two-point basket.
The most memorable image of that opening flurry from Marquette was displayed when Kolek sank a 3-pointer while bleeding on the right side of his face from a cut near his eye. The shot put Marquette ahead, 25-4, and Jones converted a layup 34 seconds later to cap a 15-0 run.
Marquette led, 50-26, at the half and stayed ahead by at least 19 the rest of the way.
While the score was never close in the second half, the game did get chippy.
Oduro was called for an offensive foul with about 16½ minutes left after he delivered a hard screen that sent Mitchell to the floor. Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro shoved Oduro in response. After a review, Ighodaro was charged with a technical foul.
The big picture
Providence: The Friars wasted an opportunity to give their postsesaon resumé a significant boost, though that early-season victory over Marquette still carries plenty of weight. The Friars entered Wednesday as a No. 10 or No. 11 seed in most bracket projections.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles closed a three-game homestand in which they outscored opponents by an average of 26.7 points. This victory followed a 105-71 blowout of DePaul and an 88-64 triumph over Xavier. Marquette has won 26 of its last 27 Big East home games.
Up next
Providence: Hosts Villanova on Saturday.
Marquette: At No. 12 Creighton on Saturday.
PROVIDENCE (69): Oduro 6-14 0-2 12, Barron 1-2 0-0 3, Carter 5-13 4-5 18, Gaines 5-8 2-3 15, Pierre 2-7 2-2 8, Floyd 4-8 3-4 13, Dual 0-2 0-0 0, Castro 0-1 0-0 0, Santoro 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-56 11-16 69.
MARQUETTE (91): Ighodaro 4-8 0-0 8, Joplin 4-9 3-4 13, K.Jones 7-13 2-2 17, Kolek 3-4 5-5 12, Mitchell 5-6 0-0 12, Gold 2-5 0-0 6, Ross 4-7 1-2 12, Norman 3-4 0-0 8, Lowery 0-0 0-0 0, Amadou 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas 1-1 0-0 3, O'Malley 0-1 0-0 0, Riley 0-0 0-2 0. Totals: 33-58 11-15 91.
Halftime — Marquette 50-26. 3-point goals — Providence 12-26 (Carter 4-9, Gaines 3-5, Floyd 2-2, Pierre 2-4, Barron 1-2, Oduro 0-1, Santoro 0-1, Dual 0-2), Marquette 14-26 (Ross 3-4, Mitchell 2-3, Norman 2-3, Gold 2-4, Joplin 2-5, Lucas 1-1, Kolek 1-2, K.Jones 1-4). Rebounds — Providence 23 (Oduro 6), Marquette 29 (Ighodaro 7). Assists — Providence 15 (Carter 5), Marquette 19 (Kolek 6). Total fouls — Providence 15, Marquette 17.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Kolek leaves game with injury but Marquette trounces Providence, 91-69
