Marquette turns to its ‘villain’ for a career night in wild victory over Villanova

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Some words of warning to any fan base feeling an urge to hurl invective at Tyler Kolek.

Don't poke the bear.

Villanova supporters learned the hard way Tuesday night at Finneran Pavilion.

In a game that featured wild swings of momentum, the difference was that the ninth-ranked Marquette men's basketball team had Kolek in an 85-80 victory over a reeling Villanova.

BOX SCORE: Marquette 85, Villanova 80

Kolek was a preseason first-team All-American pick. He has been playing at that level for most of the season, save for a two-game losing skid for the Golden Eagles (16-5, 7-3 Big East). After that stretch, in expletive-laden remarks to the Journal Sentinel, Kolek said he needed to get back to being a villain.

He relished that role against the Wildcats (11-10, 4-6), scoring a college-high 32 points while also handing out nine assists and pulling down six rebounds. All the while, he chirped at the crowd and shushed them after hitting big shots.

"We come on the road and they're yelling I can't read," Kolek said outside of MU's locker room while sipping on one of MU's signature victory milkshakes. "They're yelling, 'Where were you on January 6?'

"All this (expletive). I love that stuff. I walk out, they're booing me. It's fun. It's fun for me."

MU head coach Shaka Smart is thankful for his headstrong point guard, who has helped lead the Golden Eagles to five straight victories.

"He was the best player on the court tonight," Smart said. "And I don't know what the percentage is, but when you have the best player on the court, you typically win.

"He showed guts. He showed character. He showed toughness. He wanted to take the big shot. He was resilient where there were some plays that didn't go his way because of physicality or good plays by Villanova. It shows a lot about what he's got inside."

Basketball is a game of runs

The Golden Eagles needed everything from Kolek.

He started out red-hot, making his first five shots and scoring 13 points as MU steamrolled to a 30-11 advantage over the Wildcats, who have lost five straight games.

But then the shots dried up for MU, and Villanova found life.

Mark Armstrong nailed a three at the end of the first half to bring the Wildcats within 39-31. He added another to start the second half, and MU looked shell-shocked.

Justin Moore and Eric Dixon then hit back-to-back shots to give Villanova the lead at 48-47.

"Villanova had something to do with the swings," Smart said. "The thing about being up 20 points 5 minutes into the game is that there's still 35 minutes left to play.

"It's a psychological battle to believe you can stay at that level and stay as aggressive as you can be. Because the other team is going to ramp up what they do. Those guys have pride, those guys are older. Those guys are tough."

Then Kolek again came through with consecutive threes to give MU a 56-51 lead with just over 11 minutes left. With the home crowd at full throat in Villanova's campus arena, Kolek silenced them and then put his finger to his mouth.

"Man, Tyler's tough," said MU big man Oso Ighodaro, who chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. "He made so many winning plays tonight. So many plays that don't show up in the stat sheet.

"He helped me before the game, just talking to me. So many things, I'm so grateful for him."

Kam Jones sits out, but Chase Ross returns for Golden Eagles

The Golden Eagles never trailed again after Kolek's big threes, though Villanova kept trying to punch back and got within three points in the final minute.

It was an impressive victory for MU considering its injury circumstances. Starting guard Kam Jones, who played just 5 minutes against Seton Hall on Saturday after spraining his right ankle in practice, was scratched from the game.

MU freshman guard Tre Norman played only a minute after getting kicked in the head. The Golden Eagles already have lost backup guard Sean Jones for the season with a knee injury.

But Chase Ross returned after missing five games with a separated shoulder. He was wearing a bulky harness on his left shoulder, and he played 31 minutes. He hit his first three shots, including two three-pointers.

"Man, the guy's an absolute warrior," Smart said. "He's one of my favorite guys I've coached.

"He's no maintenance. He's got a maturity beyond his years. Last year, he came in and he was this phenomenal blend guy. Now he's a guy that can really assert himself even more than he did. And you saw that today.

"He's only practiced one day. When you have that injury, there's a confidence you have to gain back in your body and in that particular area of your body. I'm proud of him because the last several days, it's not been as simple as, yeah, you're going to play against Villanova. It's been back and forth, him doing individual workouts, coming into practice yesterday."

Stevie Mitchell also made clutch plays

Other MU players made big plays, none bigger than Stevie Mitchell pulling down an offensive rebound and putting in an acrobatic layup for a 77-71 lead with 1:37 remaining. Mitchell had 12 points and nine rebounds.

But Kolek was the story of the game. He was the hero ... and villain.

"He has real basketball character," Smart said. "And what I mean by that is mental toughness and the ability to lock in and focus.

"And this ability to take negativity from whether it's fans or opponents or whatever it is, and turn that into fuel. He did that tonight. I've seen him do that many, many times. He likes to be the villain."

It's a role he embraces.

"The last couple games, after since I had that little two-game skid, I didn't have that edge to me, that fire that I normally play with," Kolek said. "But ever since then, every layup line, you see me coming out with 7, 8 minutes left, you see me talking to myself.

"Like, 'They don't think I'm good enough.' 'They think I suck.' I'm just talking to myself, revving myself up, getting myself up to then start the game the way I really want to start and then bring my edge to the rest of the guys."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyler Kolek’s career night helps Marquette survive against Villanova