Shaka Smart stalls the Hilltoppers, Marquette takes down Western Kentucky in Round 1

After trailing 36-43 at halftime, the Golden Eagles and Shaka Smart had to change their game plan. Marquette and Western Kentucky were battling for a spot in the Round of 32 and the Eagles’ future was on the rocks after the first 20 minutes.

Smart must have given one hell of a halftime speech because Marquette came storming into the second half.

Through the first eight minutes of the second half, Western Kentucky had scored an abysmal 9 points. Meanwhile, Marquette had scored 19 and taken a 3-point lead.

While the single-digit scoring didn’t stretch over the entire second half, Marquette looked like a No. 2 seed, especially in comparison to its embarrassing first-half performance.

With just 10 minutes remaining, the Golden Eagles were outsourcing the Hilltoppers by 12 points in the second half.

Marquette was led by Kam Jones who had 28 points in the game. Jones was joined by fellow starters Tyler Kolek with 18 points and Stevie Mitchell who had 16 points. Four Marquette players scored in the double digits.

The Hilltoppers were held to just 26 points in the second half, a shock after their 43-point first half. The Eagles outscored Western Kentucky by 25 points after halftime.

At the end of 40 minutes, Marquette was moving on to the next round. The Golden Eagles defeated the Hilltoppers in an 87-69 comeback victory, one of the greatest coaching jobs in Smart’s career.

Marquette is currently No. 6 on the AP Poll Top 25 and entered the tournament with a 25-9 overall record.

Smart took over the Golden Eagles’ program in 2021 after a six-season stint with the Texas Longhorns – this was just his ninth NCAA Tournament win.

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