Tyler Kolek showed just how valuable he is for No. 2 Marquette on Sunday.
Kolek scored 19 points and hit a floater in the lane to give the Eagles a three-point lead over No. 7 Colorado with 54 seconds to go in their 81-77 win over the Buffaloes.
Colorado’s Cody Williams went to the free-throw line with 21.2 seconds to go but made just one of his two shots. As the Buffaloes trailed by two following Williams’ make, they were in a bind because they had committed just three fouls and needed to commit four more to get Marquette to the line in the final seconds.
As Colorado frantically applied pressure to Marquette in the backcourt, the Eagles’ ball movement helped drain time from the clock. By the time Colorado had committed a seventh foul, just 7.4 seconds remained.
That seventh foul sent David Joplin to the line, and he calmly drained both his shots to give Marquette a two-possession lead.
