Villanova basketball dominated No. 16 Marquette on Friday night. The Wildcats led for the entire duration of the game and defeated the Golden Eagles, 81-66.
Villanova basketball (16-12, 9-8 Big East) is now 4-1 against ranked opponents this season despite being 16-12. Villanova plays 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 Villanova was playing tournament-level basketball, but it just has not been consistently like that all season.
Takeaway #1: Villanova basketball’s three-point shooting
Entering the game Villanova was one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, shooting 39% from beyond the arc. It was no different against Marquette.
The first half was all Villanova from three especially senior guard Jhamir Brickus.
Brickus dropped in a three-pointer early in the half and never missed after that. He went a perfect 5-5 from three in the first half. It did not matter if he was wide open or someone was in his face, it was going in.
“I would say when I score the ball, I feel like it opens it up more from my teammates,” Brickus said. “Because I’m naturally a pass first [player], so when I get scoring, [opponents] have to worry about me so much. I feel like it opens the floor for me when I get scoring earlier [in games].”
Brickus ended the game with 21 points which was just short of a season-high.
Brickus was not the only one, however, to get in a rhythm in the first half.
Redshirt freshman forward Jordann Dumont made an appearance in his eighth consecutive game for the Wildcats. He dropped in back-to-back threes in part of a 3-3 three-point performance in the first half.
Jordann Dumont has a career-high 15 points in counting after going a perfect 4-4 from three.
Dumont has made an appearance in Villanova’s last eight games. Really taking a step in the right direction after double hip surgery.
— Dylan Johnson (@bydylanjohnson) February 22, 2025
Villanova ended the first half knocking down 13 three-pointers which was one shy of its 14 threes in the first half of the 2018 Final Four game against Kansas.
In the end, graduate forward Eric Dixon went 3-5 from three and had a team-high 23 points. The Wildcats shot 57.7% on three-pointers.
Takeaway #2: Villanova basketball’s Jordann Dumont warming up
Dumont entered the season coming off double hip surgery in March 2024. After sitting out his entire freshman year as a redshirt, he finally got his chance to get minutes this season.
In the first half, Dumont knocked down back-to-back threes to extend Villanova’s lead over Marquette to 34-15.
“He’s been working all year, all summer,” Villanova basketball coach Kyle Neptune said. ”I mean, this kid had double hip surgery just like a couple of months ago. He just worked and worked and worked and [he] was ready.”
He has slowly been finding his groove and role for Villanova. Dumont scored a career-high 15 points which made up almost all of Villanova’s 17 bench points.
“Honestly, guys did a good job just finding me,” Dumont said. “I stay ready for when my number is called and my number was called.”
Takeaway #3: Marquette’s Zaide Lowery
Marquette’s starting was not impressive for being ranked No. 16 in the country. Senior guard Kam Jones was limited to 10 points and senior forward David Joplin had four points.
Sophomore forward Zaide Lowery stepped in their places. He scored a career-high 25 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
“He’s playing aggressively,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “Zade’s doing a good job attacking. I don’t think he’s worried about what might go wrong. He’s obviously shooting the ball well, but I think his aggressiveness, he got his hands on a lot of balls. It was good to see him play well.”
Lowery shot 9-10 on field goals and 5-5 on three-pointers. He entered the game averaging just 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Up next for Villanova Basketball (16-12, 9-8): at Seton Hall (7-19, 2-3 Big East) – Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m.
Up next for Marquette (20-7, 11-5): at Providence (12-15 6-10 Big East) – Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
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