Marquette hires Duke’s Wojciechowski

Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski was hired as head coach at Marquette on Tuesday.

Wojciechowski becomes the 13th Mike Krzyzewski assistant to be named a head coach.

Cuonzo Martin emerged as a front-runner Saturday but withdrew from consideration on Monday. Martin led Tennessee to 24 wins and the Sweet 16 following a fourth-place finish in the Southeastern Conference. The Volunteers, who entered the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed in the First Four in Dayton, were one of the top defensive teams in the nation.

Wojciechowski interviewed with Marquette on Monday. The 37-year-old joined Krzyzewski’s bench in 1999 after playing at Duke from 1994-98. A scrappy point guard for the Blue Devils, he was named national defensive player of the year as a senior. He was named associate head coach in 2008 and would follow Chris Collins from the Duke bench to the Midwest. Collins, who also played at Duke and then became an assistant coach, was hired at Northwestern in 2013.

“I come from an environment where the expectation is to win, and that is why I chose Marquette,” Wojciechowski said in a statement. “I am particularly impressed with Marquette’s investment in men’s basketball and I’m thrilled to join an institution with so much rich history in both basketball and academic excellence.

“Having been a student-athlete, I know first-hand what it takes to succeed both on and off the court, and I bring tremendous passion when it comes to shaping our players into successful athletes and men.”

Wojciechowski replaces Buzz Williams, who left the post after six seasons to take the helm at Virginia Tech.

Former UCLA coach Ben Howland was also a candidate.

According to US Department of Education data, the only school spending more money on men’s basketball than Marquette ($10.7 million) is Duke ($15.1 million).