By Connor Wilson
On October 18, 2022, the 2023 Big East Preseason Poll was released on Big East Media Day with the Marquette Golden Eagles, losing three starters from an NCAA tournament team, picked to finish ninth in the league.
On March 11, 2023, that same Marquette team led by as many as 27 points and never trailed as the Number 1 seed in the Big East Tournament Championship Game in a win over Number 2 seed Xavier 65-51.
“Marquette's a special place. It cares about basketball very, very deeply, and we're happy to share this championship with everybody back home in Milwaukee because this is a prideful, passionate program,” head coach Shaka Smart said.
Marquette coach Shaka Smart celebrates the win over Xavier
It’s no secret that the Golden Eagles have one of the best offenses in the country, but when the lights shined brightest at Madison Square Garden this weekend, the defense is what stood out the most.
“I mean, it's just a lot of hard work, belief in each other that we can guard everybody. You know, we just fought around for each other. We make a lot of mistakes, but we make up for it with our effort and how we play together. I feel that goes a long way with how we guard and play defense,” guard Kam Jones said.
Marquette allowed Xavier to score just 51 points on Saturday in a 65-51 victory, by far a season low for the Musketeers. Guard Souley Boum was named to the All Big East First Team last weekend and was fresh off of a 23 point outing in the semifinals against Creighton. The Golden Eagles held him to one singular point and 0-for-9 shooting.
Smart has one word to describe how his team’s defense has been as of late:
“Violent.”
“You know, we try to play with great violence, energy. We don't have the biggest, strongest guys. Depending on the team we're playing, sometimes we're over-matched in terms of size at almost every position,” Smart elaborated.
It wasn’t just the defense on Boum, as the night before against UConn it was forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper in the spotlight as he allowed UConn guard Jordan Hawkins to just five points.
As mentioned, the Marquette offense is always going to show up and there were no exceptions throughout the tournament. Also no surprises with who anchored it all: Tyler Kolek.
Marquette guard Tyler Kolek cutting down the nets
Kolek scored a game high 20 points in the title game to go along with eight rebounds and three assists, the latter being quite low compared to both his season average and playmaking ability. But for the Big East Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player, I’m sure that was the last thing on his mind as he was celebrating with his family.
“All the moments they've been through with me have led up to this moment right here. To share that with my high school coach, my brother, my dad, my two best friends, it's special. There is no better feeling,” Kolek said.
Kolek transferred over from George Mason in April 2021, shortly after Smart was hired as head coach. The two have since built a bond that is matched by few player/coach duos in the country.
“I think that most important part of us playing our best basketball is our connectivity, communication, the way the guys are playing for one another. And we really have that going for us right now,” Smart said.
Marquette guard Tyler Kolek celebrates against Xavier
Something that has been stressed all season for Marquette is getting out to big leads early. The Golden Eagles did that, and then some, against the Musketeers, as at one point they held a 21-4 lead a few minutes into the game.
“Just as simple as it takes what it takes. We wanted to win a championship,” Jones said. “So we just come out, have an aggressive mindset. And we live with the results.”
Looking at the Musketeers, they actually held Marquette to one of its lowest scoring outputs of the season. But to head coach Sean Miller and guard Colby Jones, it sure didn’t feel like that was the case.
“Man, I certainly didn't feel like we were good on defense,” Miller said as he gestured to Jones.
“No, I agree with you, Coach. I definitely don't,” C. Jones added.
Every time it seemed like Xavier was about to make a run, Marquette responded with a big shot. Whether it was a triple from the Big East Sixth Man of the Year in forward David Joplin or a contested finish from Kolek, the Golden Eagles always responded.
The Musketeer stars struggled in what was the third game in three days for an injury-depleted group. As mentioned, Boum scored just one point. Forward Jack Nunge had just six points down low and C. Jones had seven points.
With this “Big 3” each “choosing” to have their worst games of the season in the same game, let alone the Big East Championship, there were still some positives for Miller and his staff as freshman guard Desmond Claude scored 11 points off the bench in 32 minutes. Guard Adam Kunkel also hit four threes, including back-to-back triple to make the game interesting in the second half.
Xavier guard Desmond Claude attempts a shot against Marquette
“Desmond has continued to develop. He's a big story line on our team as he's improved both on offense and defense. He gives us some much-needed depth,” Miller said. “Who Dez would have been in early December and who he is today, he's no longer a freshman. He's a very good player.”
At the end of the day, the loss isn’t the end of the world for Xavier as it allows the Musketeers to see some issues and flaws and build on them.
AWARD SEASON
As mentioned, Kolek was given the Dave Gavitt Trophy for winning Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Kam Jones and David Joplin of Marquette were named to the 2023 Big East All-Tournament Team.
Marquette guard Kam Jones celebrates against Xavier
Colby Jones of Xavier, Adama Sanogo of UConn, and Ryan Kalkbrenner of Creighton round out the All-Tournament Team.
FUN FACTS
This 1-seed against 2-seed title game matchup hasn’t been seen in the Big East Tournament since the 2004 championship game between Pittsburgh and Connecticut.
It’s the first Big East Tournament championship for Marquette in program history and also the first time a Midwest team has won the event.
The Golden Eagles are the first “first time” champions of the Big East Tournament since West Virginia in 2010.
LAST THOUGHTS
If there’s one thing that Marquette can take into the NCAA Tournament next week after the season they’ve had, it has to be their underdog mentality.
“They're seeing it now. We're living it. But we still want to play every day, play every game like we got that chip on our shoulder, like we were picked ninth. We want to go in the NCAA tournament like we're the underdogs every game. That's been our mindset all year, and that's what it needs to be moving forward,” Kolek said.
I don’t think they’ll be underdogs much longer.