Shaka Smart Marquette Win Kansas Blunt Challenge

Marquette's Shaka Smart defends his team after defeating No. 1 Kansas, saying "We are Marquette, and we don't take a backseat to anyone."

Marquette's recent victory over No. 1 Kansas in the Maui Invitational semifinals was a major win for the college basketball season. The game took a testy turn when Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart appeared to confront Jayhawks coach Bill Self after Kansas forward Kevin McCullar Jr. taunted Smart following a basket. Smart initially needed to be restrained, but he eventually calmed down after a conversation with the referees and Self. After the game, Smart made it clear that he is not afraid to defend his players and team, stating, "We're Marquette. We are Marquette, and we don't take a backseat to anyone. If someone wants to step up and challenge us, O.K., we're going to challenge them right back."

During his postgame press conference, Smart elaborated on what sparked the chaos, revealing that he and McCullar have a history dating back to when Smart coached at Texas and McCullar played for Texas Tech. Smart explained, "He's always kind of enjoyed having dialogue with me -- he probably does that with all coaches -- but that probably started the dustup, and then their bench got involved and our bench got involved."

Smart, who is in his third year with the Golden Eagles, has already built one of the best teams in the country. After securing a No. 9 seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament, Marquette won 29 games last year and the Big East tournament, ultimately earning a No. 2 seed in last year's tournament. This recent victory over Kansas further solidifies Marquette's status as a force to be reckoned with in college basketball.