LEXINGTON, Ky. -- To Marquette coach Buzz Williams, the hardest thing to achieve in college basketball is momentum.

And the most difficult thing to sustain?

"Momentum," Williams said.

The validity of his belief is on display here in Bluegrass Country, where one of the bluebloods of the sport is sitting this tournament out.

Marquette's portion of the East Regional - beginning Thursday against Davidson College - is being played at 24,000-seat Rupp Arena, home to the eight-time national champion Kentucky Wildcats.

Kentucky won it all last year, and this season the Wildcats aren't even in the NCAA Tournament. That is what one significant injury - in Kentucky's case, to Nerlens Noel - can do to a team.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles were remarkably fortunate this season in that they suffered no injuries. Vander Blue was withheld from one game in non-conference play because of something minor. Other than that, Marquette remained so injury-free that one of the continuing storylines was the sustained health of oft-injured center Chris Otule.

Marquette was able to play its uncommonly deep 10-man rotation all season. It was able to have rare continuity with its starting five of Blue, Otule, Junior Cadougan Trent Lockett and Juan Anderson. And it was able to consistently bring two of its better players off the bench in Jamil Wilson and Davante Gardner, the Big East's sixth man of the year.

But it also goes to Williams' point about creating and then sustaining momentum.

Marquette is in the tournament for the eighth consecutive year, including all five of Williams' seasons with the Golden Eagles. That is a run not to be taken for granted, especially against the reality of a titan like Kentucky missing out.

"People lose touch how hard it is to get to the NCAA Tournament," Williams said Tuesday. "(Assistant coach) Jerry Wainwright is 66 years old and he's been three times. (Director of basketball operations) Jeff Reynolds, 56 years old and it's his third time. I'm thankful because it's my 10th game as head coach.

"We just won the Big East. That's never happened here. We're a three seed. Ithink sometimes you lose touch and take for granted how hard this really is and how that must be to synchronize all this. There are only six teams that have done it each of the last eight years."

Also, no team from the state of Texas - and there is a whole lot of college basketball in Texas - made the tournament this season. Not Texas or Texas Tech or Houston or any of the hyphenated schools that typically scare the higher-seeded giants.

Against that backdrop, what the state of Wisconsin continues to produce in college basketball should never be taken for granted.

The Golden Eagles' current run, as well as their Final Four appearance 10 years ago, is part of a legacy that includes 31 NCAA bids and a national championship.

The Wisconsin Badgers are on a remarkable run of 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. They have made the field 19 times, were part of the 2000 Final Four and have one national championship.

Wisconsin's 15-year streak is tied for seventh-longest in the country with UCLA (1967-'81) and Gonzaga (1999-present).

North Carolina's streak of 27 consecutive tournaments (1975-2001) is the longest ever. Next are Kansas (24), Duke (18), Indiana (18), Kentucky (17) and Michigan State (16).

The Badgers are in elite company. And Marquette has managed to sustain momentum, one of the hardest things to achieve in the first place in college basketball.