The Wildcats pushed a Tyler Kolek-less third-seeded Marquette into overtime, but fell short. It is Marquette’s first time advancing to the Big East Tournament semis in back-to-back years.
Nothing is guaranteed or as important as the next 40 minutes, a message that had echoed throughout the season from various Villanova players and coaches in one shape or another.
On Thursday night, Villanova had 45 minutes, and the Big East Tournament quarterfinal overtime thriller with Marquette perfectly encapsulated the Wildcats’ season over the last few months — there were highs and big plays, some lows, moments where they were in front, times where they faced adversity, but ultimately — they lost another heartbreaker. There was no discounting their effort, though, in the overtime battle, but the Golden Eagles had the key baskets and avoided the upset for a 71-65 win.
“Give Marquette a lot of credit — they played extremely hard, had a great gameplan, made some tough shots, got some tough stops when they had to, attacked the offensive glass and made it hard for us defensively,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “On our side, I’m really proud of the way our guys kept fighting to get to overtime, and in overtime, they kept fighting until the very end.
“I loved the way we came out. I thought they came out with a lot of energy, and we came out great defensively. We just grinded until the very end. Overtime game at the Big East Tournament, going against a really good opponent, the margin is very small. Give them a lot of credit.”
Villanova drops to 18-15 overall. As a NCAA Tournament bubble team, the widespread speculation suggested that Villanova needed to reach at least the semifinals and get a marquee win over Marquette to potentially get a shot at an at-large bid.
Neptune deferred on speculating what Thursday’s loss potentially means for the rest of the Wildcats’ postseason.
“We’re just digesting this right now,” Neptune said. “Obviously, a tough loss for us. Guys in this locker room, we fully expected to play through, get through. We wanted to win this thing. That’s what we’re doing right now — just digesting this.”
Neither team led by double figures in the closely-contested nightcap.
Marquette’s Kam Jones hit a three-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 45-36 lead with 12:33 remaining, the largest lead by either team.
A 12-3 run helped Villanova claw back into the game, a scoring stretch topped off by a steal by T.J. Bamba that led to a jumper by Justin Moore to give the Wildcats a temporary 51-50 lead.
Marquette regained the lead, until Bamba went 3-for-3 after getting fouled to tie it up at 58 apiece, with 1:50 remaining.
Neither team would score for the remainder of regulation. Mark Armstrong got another big last-minute block to keep ‘Nova in it, but the Wildcats had a couple of empty-handed possessions to close regulation.
Marquette had a suspenseful end to regulation, as Jones seemingly hit the game-winning buzzer-beater, but it was overturned after extensive review.
“Initially, we thought the basket was good and the game was over,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “When they took more time to review it, you’re preparing for the possibility of five more minutes to play. … The guys had good eye contact with one another, and we talked about what we needed to do next.”
In overtime, the Wildcats struggled to keep up with Marquette once the Golden Eagles snatched the lead. Villanova only made one shot throughout the five-minute overtime period and finished 1-of-5 as a team, but it did get a few more points from the free-throw line, going 5-of-7 in overtime.
Despite that, the game remained close. Villanova never led in overtime, but it was still within reach in the final minute. Armstrong made the Wildcats’ lone shot in overtime, a spinning, tough finish at the basket with 47 seconds left to make it 67-65.
Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, Oso Ighodaro followed up with the dagger. As the shot clock wound down, he hit a turnaround hook shot to give Marquette a four-point lead with 18 seconds. Villanova tried to answer back, but had an empty-handed possession, and the Golden Eagles followed up with the necessary free throws to ice the game.
Villanova failed to advanced past the Big East Tournament quarterfinals for the second straight year, while Marquette is moving onto the semifinals for the first time in back-to-back years.
Marquette standout Tyler Kolek remained out with an oblique injury. According to Smart, Kolek is practicing and working out, but the team doctor and trainer has not cleared him for game action yet. Smart stated that he will definitely play in the NCAA Tournament opening round next week, but his status for the remainder of the Big East Tournament stays day-to-day.
Eric Dixon led the ‘Cats with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. Armstrong had 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half or overtime. Armstrong hit some big mid-range jumpers off the dribble and he shot 5-of-7 after halftime. T.J. Bamba added 12 points and five rebounds.
For Marquette, Jones led the way with 18 points, with 13 of those coming after halftime. He also had six boards and four assists. Stevie Mitchell chipped in 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with five rebounds and three steals. David Joplin chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds, while Chase Ross had 11 points.
“Everybody has stepped up in what they do,” said Jones, about the team continuing to win during Kolek’s absence. “When you lose a guy like that, you don’t have to step up and take his spot, you just have to do what you do that much better.”