INDIANAPOLIS - About two minutes into the Marquette men's basketball team's 87-69 victory over Western Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament first round on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Oso Ighodaro pulled down an offensive rebound and then looked to make a kick-out pass.

He found a familiar - and much welcomed - face.

Tyler Kolek caught Ighodaro's pass in rhythm and fired his first shot in a game since Feb. 28, when Kolek suffered an oblique injury.

Kolek knocked down the triple. He hit another three a minute later. The consensus All-American left no doubt that he was back at full strength, finishing with 18 points and 11 assists.

"I really haven't felt out of the groove at all, even in practice," Kolek said. "The two days that I did go full go - it's been basketball. I've been playing this game a long time.

BOX SCORE: Marquette 87, Western Kentucky 69

"Once I hit the floor, some obvious jitters because I haven't played since three weeks now. But I think 37 minutes, most minutes in a game, so I thought I did all right with the wind."

Replay: Marquette basketball tops Western Kentucky in March Madness first round

Kolek's return brought MU back to its natural order, with all the other players getting back to their usual roles, plus some added confidence from how well they played in the six games that Kolek missed.

That must be a scary sight for the rest of the South Region. The Golden Eagles play 10th-seeded Colorado at 11:10 a.m. Sunday.

Kam Jones and Stevie Mitchell flip the switch

The game wasn't all smooth for the Golden Eagles.

Western Kentucky peeled off an 18-2 run in the first half and took a 43-36 advantage at the break.

But Stevie Mitchell was able to get MU back on track early in the second half. His activity on defense helped MU storm back and take the lead. He finished with three steals, and also scored 16 points.

"I tell him every time we come out it starts with him," Kolek said. "He starts off with a deflection or a steal. His energy on the defensive end leads us to everything we want to do on the offensive end, so he's a major domino for us."

Mitchell suffered a left-shoulder sprain in the Big East tournament, and has been wearing a harness. While he took on some play-making duties when Kolek was out, Mitchell was back to being an essential glue guy.

"TK tells me pretty much every time when we're struggling to make a play defensively," Mitchell said. "It doesn't have to be a super play, just an energy play to get us going.

"When you get challenged by one of the best players in the nation like that, it makes you (say), OK, I'm going to go out there. I'm going to bring energy. I don't know if I'm going to score. I don't know if I'm going to get a steal. But I'm going to have energy and whatever that leads to, it leads to."

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Kam Jones' first shot hit off the side of the backboard. He missed his next two attempts as well. The junior guard bounced back by making 10 of his last 13 shots and scoring a game-high 28 points.

"I feel like the first half, me personally, I was a little tight," Jones said. "I just really, really, really wanted to win. I think that's good, but you've got to find a way to channel it and have a clear mind."

Jones has shown that he isn't afraid of the big stage. He scored 18 straight points against Vermont in last season's first round. And while he showed some chops as a facilitator the last three weeks, Jones' natural role is as a microwave scorer.

"When Kam has his mind right, and he's in that mode, even if he's not hitting shots he's impacting winning," Ighodaro said. "He's been in that mindset for the last month or so, and we're going to need that."

Ben Gold is contributor off bench

MU relied heavily on its starters during the second-half comeback.

Ben Gold was the only bench player to score off the bench, with eight points. He hit a big three-pointer after the Hilltoppers tied the game at 55-55. The Golden Eagles never looked back.

Gold came into the game 9 for 11 on three-pointers over the last five games. He was just 2 for 7 from deep against Western Kentucky, but he had the confidence to fire that shot up.

"I feel like I'm just taking my time more," Gold said. "And getting my legs under me. I feel like there were a couple shots today, the ones that I missed, that I feel like I rushed.

"It's just the fact of catching it, being ready when I catch it, being low, getting my feet under me and shooting with confidence."

All the other pieces fell into place. Ighodaro shot 2 for 7, but added eight rebounds and five blocks. David Joplin chipped in 13 points and 11 boards.

"Just grateful for the response," Smart said. "We talk about building championship habits.

"One of the most important of those is the way we respond to adversity, and the guys did a great job of that today."

Now with Kolek back in the fold, the Golden Eagles' lofty goal of reaching the Final Four feels within reach.

"I think this year, we're just hungry," Ighodaro said. "We got big goals. And that starts with our next game on Sunday. We're locked in."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyler Kolek helps Marquette find groove against Western Kentucky