URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No. 4 Marquette men’s basketball handled its first road test of the season against No. 23 Illinois with a familiar ingredient: a strong offensive performance from senior guard Tyler Kolek.
Behind the Cumberland, Rhode Island native’s game-high 24 points, the Golden Eagles (3-0) took down the Fighting Illini (2-1) 71-64 Tuesday night at the State Farm Center.
“That was a heck of game for November 14th,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “It’s about as physical of a basketball game (in the) second week of the season that I’ve been apart of… Our guys did a good job of standing up to Illinois the best we could… To hold them to 35% from the field is quite a feat.