Tyler Kolek was feeling good about Marquette beating West Virginia. So he sang along to 'Take Me Home, Country Roads.'
Ben Steele
The song started up in the final minute of Marquette's 82-71 victory over West Virginia at the Charleston Classic on Friday night.
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" — an earworm made popular by John Denver — has been adopted as an anthem by Mountaineers fans.
This time, MU fans were co-opting it for themselves, feeling good after starting 5-0 in the Shaka Smart era.
More: Shaka Smart is bringing new energy to Marquette
MU guard Tyler Kolek even got into the tune while teammate Olivier-Maxence Prosper was at the free-throw line.
"They say neutral floor," Kolek said. "But it was probably 75% West Virginia fans. Once we went on that run, our fans kind of took over and their fans got quiet. I loved it when they were singing at the end. I got into it a little bit. It was fun."
Kolek had 18 points to help the Golden Eagles advance to Sunday's championship game.
The two fan bases have a rich history with the song.
The last time the teams met before Friday was Feb. 24, 2012. After MU's 61-60 victory, former head coach Buzz Williams danced a jig near the West Virginia logo.
That drew the ire of Mountaineers fans, who jeered Williams as he did an interview with the ESPN crew.
Luckily for Williams, there was a strong security crew at the arena. On the neutral floor, Kolek was safe.
Contact Ben Steele at (414) 224-2676 or bmsteele@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenSteeleMJS or Instagram at @bensteele_mjs