Marquette basketball holds off Colorado in March Madness, advances to Sweet 16 behind Tyler Kolek's big day
INDIANAPOLIS - The Marquette men's basketball team is feeling sweet again.
The second-seeded Golden Eagles got back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 thanks to a tension-filled 81-77 victory over 10th-seeded Colorado on Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
MU (27-9) will play North Carolina State on Friday in Dallas.
BOX SCORE: Marquette 81, Colorado 77
Tyler Kolek had his second straight double-double in the NCAA Tournament with 21 points and 11 assists. MU only played seven players and got strong performances from Kam Jones (18 points) and Chase Ross (12).
MU couldn't have gotten off to a much better start.
Marquette starts hot to build an 11-point halftime lead vs. Colorado
The Golden Eagles took a 22-11 lead on 10-for-14 shooting, with most of those looks coming from around the rim.
Jones scored 16 points in the first half, making 4 of 7 shots from long range. He missed a look in the waning seconds of the first half and the Golden Eagles went into the locker room with a 45-34 advantage.
MU's biggest lead in the first 20 minutes came at 32-20. Colorado got to within 40-34 at the 2:55 mark. But Chase Ross, who provided solid minutes off the bench, responded with a dunk and Jones nailed a three-pointer.
Jones picked up two fouls in the first half, then was whistled for his third in the first minute of the second half.
The Buffaloes made their first four shots of the second half, and MU head coach Shaka Smart called a timeout after his team's lead was cut to 47-44.
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Ross answered with a three-pointer.
Colorado battled back to tie the game at 52-52 on a triple by Tristan da Silva, and then took its first lead at 55-54 on a three from K.J. Simpson.
Marquette's Tyler Kolek would not be denied, leads Marquette to Sweet 16
Kolek gave MU back the advantage with back-to-back buckets.
After the Buffaloes leveled the score at 64-64, Kolek found Ben Gold for a three-pointer and then Ighodaro dropped in a hook shot.
Colorado tied it again at 74-74.
WATCH: Shaka Smart gets emotional after Marquette basketball advances to Sweet 16 in March Madness
Chase Ross comes up clutch off the bench for Marquette
Ross hit a three-pointer after a timeout by MU.
Simpson answered with a driving layup. After the Golden Eagles' David Joplin missed a short jumper, he tied up the ball on the defensive end to get possession back.
Kolek hit a floater with just under a minute remaining for a 79-76 advantage.
The Golden Eagles held on the rest of the way.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyler Kolek leads Marquette basketball past Colorado, into Sweet 16
