Kolek leads Marquette to Sweet 16

Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 11 assists, and David Joplin made two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to help Marquette finally put away Colorado 8177 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In their third season under coach Shaka Smart, the second-seeded Golden Eagles (27- 9) reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013 by outlasting the 10th- seeded Buffaloes (26-11) and their dynamic offense.

Kam Jones scored 18 points and Joplin finished with 14 for Marquette, which shot 61.8% from the field but still couldn’t shake Colorado until the closing seconds. Chase Ross made a tiebreaking 3-pointer off a pass from Kolek with 2:53 left and finished with 12 points on 5- of- 6 shooting. PURDUE 106, UTAH STATE 67 >> Zach Edey had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Purdue cruised into the Sweet 16 by pounding eighth- seeded Utah State 106- 67 with an impressive offensive performance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Trey Kaufman- Renn added 18 points and eight boards for Purdue (31-7), which broke the school’s single-season record for victories. Fletcher Loyer had 15 points, and Braden Smith had all six of his assists in the second half when the Boilermakers shot 65.2% from the field before pulling the starters.

Purdue also set a school record for most points in a March Madness game. Next up is fifth-seeded Gonzaga in the Midwest Region semifinals in Detroit.

DUKE 93, JAMES MADISON 55 >> Jared Mccain scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half and set a Duke record for an NCAA Tournament game with eight 3-pointers as the Blue Devils ended 12th- seeded James Madison’s dream season with a 93-55 second-round victory

Sunday.

The fourth- seeded Blue Devils (26- 8) are headed to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of Houston-texas A& M in the South Region semifinals Friday in Dallas.

Mccain and Duke emphatically ended the nation’s longest active winning streak at 14 games, taking a 22-point lead into halftime and never letting the advantage slip below 20 in the second half. The rugged defense JMU used to beat Wisconsin in the first round didn’t seem to bother the Blue Devils at all.

The Dukes (32-4) finished with a program record for victories. Terrence Edwards Jr. led JMU with 13 points. Attention for the Sun Belt champions now turns to fourth-year coach Mark Byington, who has been speculated to be a candidate to fill the vacancy at West Virginia.

Mccain made his eighth 3 with 11:59 left in the sec

ond half, holding the follow-through and making the score 66-39.

The charismatic freshman from California broke a school record set by

Quinn Cook in a stunning first-round loss to Mercer in 2014.

MICHAEL CONROY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Marquette’s Tyler Kolek (11) tries to pass over Colorado’s KJ Simpson (2) as Colorado’s Eddie Lampkin Jr. (44) watches during the first half of a second-round college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Indianapolis.

MARY ALTAFFER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, right, gives guard Tyrese Proctor and guard Jared Mccain direction during the second half of a second-round college basketball game against James Madison in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 24, 2024, in New York. Duke won 93-55.