MILWAUKEE _ Marquette has played men's basketball for more than 100 years. There's been plenty of memorable games and historic moments in that time, but never before had Marquette knocked off the top-ranked team in the Associated Press top 25 during a regular-season game.
That changed Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
After trailing by as many as 17 points and staying behind by double digits for most of the second half, the Golden Eagles finished with a 19-4 run to claim a 74-72 victory over No. 1 Villanova.
Graduate transfer Katin Reinhardt led the way, scoring 18 of his 19 points in the second half. With 11.2 seconds left in a tie game he drove to the hoop and drew a foul on Wildcats senior Kris Jenkins. He calmly went to the line and made both free throws to put Marquette up, 74-72.
After a clock error gave Villanova (19-2, 7-2 Big East) a free timeout and a chance to draw up a play, sophomore guard Jalen Brunson attacked the rim and put up a layup that missed the mark. Marquette freshman Sam Hauser secured the defensive rebound _ something that the Golden Eagles (14-6, 5-3) had struggled to do throughout the night _ and held on as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
After that, it was pandemonium. The student section streamed onto the court, covering it in a matter of seconds. The act was a violation of Big East Conference rules, but with the precedent being a $5,000 fine assessed to Butler when it beat Villanova earlier this season, officials in the athletic department likely won't take issue.
Meanwhile, fans danced and hugged in the aisles and multiple Marquette players jumped up on the scorer's table, led by sophomore Haanif Cheatham, who pounded his chest before being joined by multiple other teammates.
Marquette, which watched second-half leads evaporate in several games this season, turned the tables on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles shot a blistering 69.6 percent from the field after trailing by 15 at halftime.
Villanova, meanwhile, settled for 3-pointers against Marquette's 1-3-1 zone, going 6-of-34 (17.6 percent) from long range. Jenkins, the hero of the national championship game in April, went 0-of-7 from the field, including 0-of-6 from three-point range.
