Villanova had to be wary of Marquette, a team that already had defeated two teams ranked in the top 10 earlier this month.
But the fifth-ranked Wildcats weren’t worried about the Golden Eagles’ past at all. After a tight first half, they came out strong in the second half with a 10-1 run and rolled to an 85-68 victory in a Big East game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee for their sixth straight win.
The Cats (8-1, 3-0 Big East) shot 51.6% from the field in the second half and knocked down six 3-pointers in 15 attempts. They also dominated in the turnover department, committing only three while scoring 18 points off of 17 Marquette miscues.
Collin Gillespie came out on fire with four 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 22 points, ending up with six 3s on 11 attempts. Justin Moore added 14 points. The Wildcats hit on 48.3% of their shots for the game with 13 threes.
Jamal Cain led the Golden Eagles (5-5, 1-3) with 15 points. Marquette had defeated Wisconsin at home and Creighton on the road earlier this month.
The Wildcats exploded in the second half after leading by 36-30 at the break. They went on a 10-1 run that included 3s by Gillespie and Cole Swider to take their largest lead at 46-34. Back-to-back 3s by Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels later upped the margin to 15.
A 7-0 run that ended with Gillespie’s short jumper in the lane made it a 20-point game at 63-43 with 10:07 to play. Their largest lead, 75-52, came on Brandon Slater’s 3-point basket with just over 4 minutes remaining.
The Wildcats held a 36-30 halftime lead, scoring 10 points off nine turnovers by the Golden Eagles. Marquette shot 52% from the field to 44.8% for Villanova, but the Golden Eagles, who entered the game shooting 74.5% from the line to lead the Big East, bricked all five of their free throws.
The Wildcats did not respond well early to the Golden Eagles’ 3-point shooters. Marquette opened up 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, two by Koby McEwen, and got off to 16-11 lead with the game a little more than five minutes old.
The visitors took their first lead when Gillespie followed with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles scored the next four before Villanova scored seven points in a row, including a driving layup and a 3-pointer by Caleb Daniels, to go up 24-20 with 9 minutes to play.
The Wildcats didn’t have a field goal after Daniels’ 3for 4:23, and Marquette tied the game up at 28 at the 3:45 mark. But Villanova scored the next eight points, five of them by Moore, and led 36-30 at the half.
