On Friday, Jan. 24, Villanova basketball (12-9, 5-5 Big East) fell to No. 10 Marquette (17-3, 8-1 Big East), 87-74, at the Fiserv Forum.
After suffering a brutal 64-63 loss to Georgetown on Jan. 20, the Wildcats needed a win to have a decent shot at the NCAA tournament. Marquette has now beaten Villanova in eight consecutive contests.
Villanova was unable to keep the ball in its possession and score. Many main scorers were limited to single-digit scoring.
Takeaway #1: Marquette Turnovers and Defense
Villanova is not a team that turns the ball over frequently. Over the last five games, the Wildcats have averaged just 9.6 turnovers per game. When the Wildcats turn the ball over, however, they lose games.
Marquette leads the Big East in steals with 10.6 per game. Forcing turnovers is the key to the Golden Eagles’ successful defense.
Marquette won the turnover battle, 13-6, against Villanova. The Golden Eagles were able to score 16 points off of those turnovers.
This season, Marquette has only lost the turnover battle twice and lost both of those contests.
At the half, the Golden Eagles forced eight Villanova turnovers, scoring 10 points off those turnovers.
The Golden Eagles average the most steals in the Big East with 10.6 per game. Marquette finished with six steals against Villanova.
The pressure that Marquette is hard to get around. Only a select number of teams have escaped it and come out with a win.
Takeaway #2: The Scoring Has Disappeared
Villanova hangs in games because it has one of the top 15 offenses in the country.
That offense has disappeared as of late. Villanova tied a season-low in first half scoring with 26 points (UVA – 26 points). The Wildcats were unable to score besides senior guard Jordan Longino.
Longino finished the first half with 13 points on 55% from the field. He had half of Villanova’s first-half points.
Longino went on to finish the game with a career-high 27 points, shooting 8-19 from the field. He has had a great stretch of performances through Big East play, averaging 16.4 points through his last five games.
Without Longino, Marquette could have blown out Villanova by 15 or more points.
Graduate forward Eric Dixon had a quiet 18 points but was kept to 10 points for almost three-quarters of the game. With an offense that relies on his average of 24.9 points per game, Villanova cannot afford to have a quiet night from Dixon.
Sophomore guard Tyler Perkins put together his best game since his 17-point performance against Seton Hall on Dec. 17. Perkins scored his first three-pointer since that Seton Hall game. He went on a 0-28 run from three over Big East play.
The scoring just is not consistent enough to contend with the best teams in the country on any given day. Villanova has shown flashes of dominance, beating ranked Cincinnati and UConn.
Takeaway #3: Villanova’s Depth
If Villanova had to play 35 minutes of basketball, a decent number of games would end in wins.
The Wildcats just do not have the depth to go late into games. Many starters like Dixon are forced to play 37+ minutes of games just to escape with a one or two-point win.
Before tonight, the longest time Dixon spent on the bench in the last five games was three minutes. Due to foul trouble in the first half, Dixon went to the bench early. He ended the game by playing 33 minutes and collecting 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Wildcat bench had just 10 points. Most of those points came late in the game when Villanova was playing from behind.
When starters are forced to play the entire game, it leaves them fatigued in late-game stretches. Marquette has one of the deepest teams in the Big East, if not the deepest team. They have bench players who can score when called upon. One of the Golden Eagles’ leading scores was Royce Parham.
Parham came off the bench, playing 11 minutes and scoring 10 points.
Villanova’s NCAA Tournament hopes are now thin. According to TeamRankings, Villanova has a 4% chance of making March Madness with the loss to Marquette.
Up next for Villanova (12-9 overall, 5-5): vs. Creighton (13-6, 6-2) – Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. EST
Up next for Marquette (17-3 overall, 8-1): at Butler (8-11, 1-7) – Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. EST