Villanova basketball plays its final game in the Wells Fargo Center this season against No. 16 Marquette. Keep reading for a full Villanova vs Marquette prediction and preview.
Earlier this season, the Wildcats lost to the then-ranked No. 10 Golden Eagles, 87-74, on the road in Milwaukee, WI. Despite their up-and-down season, the Wildcats are 3-0 against ranked opponents at home. With this being the last home game before spring break, the place could be “bananas.”
Villanova Athletics is giving out free banana t-shirts to the first 2,000 students at tonight’s game.
It spreads. pic.twitter.com/dny5l0ybLG
— Dylan Johnson (@bydylanjohnson) February 21, 2025
General Information:
Teams: Villanova (15-12, 8-8 Big East) and No. 16 Marquette (20-6, 11-4 Big East)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: FS1
Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Latest on Marquette basketball:
The Golden Eagles are elite when it comes to forcing turnovers. They currently average 9.8 steals per game, which ranks first in the Big East and eighth in the nation. Those steals have led Marquette’s opponents to turn the ball over an average of 15.7 times per game.
Villanova had just six turnovers, however, against Marquette in the previous meeting this season. It was the third least turnovers the Wildcats have had this season.
As for Marquette’s offense, it would not be the same without senior guard Kam Jones. He is one of the most well-rounded players in the Big East. Jones averages 19 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
He is a threat to any team that faces Marquette. Even in losses to UConn and Creighton, Jones scored 22 and 27 points, respectively.
Senior forward David Joplin is a perfect pairing with Jones. With a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game, Joplin owns the paint at 6-7. However, he has no issues playing the perimeter, either. It gives the Golden Eagles a lot of room to do different things on the court while still being efficient at scoring.
Villanova will have to find a way to limit Jones or Joplin to keep this game competitive.
Latest on Villanova basketball:
Villanova has not been able to close out games. In its recent 66-59 loss against UConn on Feb. 18, Villanova scored only six points in the game’s final 12 minutes to allow UConn to go on a 27-6 run to come back and win.
Late-game collapses have become a common occurrence for the Wildcats. Villanova has lost five games after leading the game at the half.
It has been all senior Wooga Poplar over the recent stretch of games. He is possibly the most complete basketball player the Wildcats have.
After only starting his basketball career at 16 years of age, Poplar plays the game with natural talent and severe hard work. Over his last six games, he has scored 18 or more points in five of them while averaging 19.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
Villanova’s defense has improved slightly as of late, with its opponents averaging 65.8 points over the last five games. That is about five points fewer than the previous five games. Head coach Kyle Neptune builds his team on the identity of being able to defend and rebound efficiently. However, the defense fizzles out within the last five minutes of games.
If Villanova were to only play 35-minute games, its defense would have been enough to turn a lot of losses into wins. KenPom currently ranks Villanova 134th in defensive efficiency, which is the second-worst in the Big East.
The Wildcats remain one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, averaging 39.6% from beyond the arc. Only four teams have a better three-point percentage than Villanova.
[…] good basketball against good teams. The Wildcats only turned the ball over seven times against a Golden Eagle (20-7, 11-5 Big East) team who forced turnovers an average of 15.7 times per game. It looked like […]