Shaka Smart explains emotions after punching ticket back to the Sweet 16 with Marquette

On Sunday, Marquette clinched its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2013 with an 81-77 victory over No. 10 seed Colorado. After the game, head coach Shaka Smart praised his team’s performance.

“I’m so grateful for our guys just hanging in there,” Smart said. “There was so many moments where we could have cracked. We’ve been through a lot of adversity this year. Getting [Tyler Kolek] back right on time was perfect for us. He led the way and his belief and toughness really transferred over to our other guys.”

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All-American point guard Tyler Kolek led the way for Marquette, tallying a game-high 21 points and 11 assists. Moreover, Kolek was extremely efficient, shooting 10-14 from the field. The win was a weight off Smart’s shoulders.

Smart grabbed the nation’s attention when he was the head coach at VCU from 2009-15. Specifically, Smart was a standout when he boosted the program to a Final Four in only his second season at the helm.

Texas hired Smart after his impressive six seasons at VCU, expecting him to carry the program to new heights. Instead, Smart struggled to replicate the success he found early in his career. In six seasons with the Longhorns, Smart was never able to lead his team past the the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Texas fired Shaka Smart in 2021 despite him having two more years on his contract. The young head coach landed at Marquette and hasn’t looked back since. Now, he’s thrilled to lead his veteran group into the second weekend of the Big Dance.

“It’s gratitude,” Smart said with tears in his eyes. “Gratitude for these guys, our fans, our guys hanging in there continuing to fight. And now, we get to keep playing. I love these guys. I don’t want the season and that’s the biggest thing. So now, we get several more days.”

It wasn’t always obvious Marquette was moving on. Every time the Golden Eagles built a lead, Colorado would rattle off a scoring barrage to even the score. After the game, Kolek revealed his message to the team down the stretch.

Tyler Kolek was not ready to go home

“I get the last word every time before we go back to the bench. I told them this is what’s been in our nightmares,” Kolek said. “We just got to go out there and attack it. We’re not running from our nightmares anymore.

“The whole game I was just talking what they give me, man. They were giving me assists. They were giving me buckets. It really doesn’t matter. I was just trying to take what they gave me and do what we needed to do to win.”

On March 29, Marquette will look to keep its season alive as it squares off against No. 11 seed NC State in the Sweet Sixteen.