A scorching hot start in the first half was all the Villanova Wildcats needed to get an upset victory on Friday night over No. 16 Marquette.
The Wildcats came out of the gates firing, as they knocked down 12 threes in the first half. Jhamir Brickus, Eric Dixon and Jordann Dumont combined for 10 of the 12 threes.
Villanova finished 15-of-26 (57.7%) from three, its best performance of the season. For comparison, Marquette went just 10-of-30 (33.3%) from three-point range.
Dixon scored a team-high 23 points for Villanova, and Brickus added 21. Dumont was also in double figures with 15 points off the bench.
Marquette sophomore guard Zaide Lowery scored a game-high 25 points off the bench on 9-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-of-5 from three-point range. He also had a team-high eight rebounds.
Junior guard Chase Ross (11 points) and senior guard Kam Jones (10 points) were in double figures as well for the Golden Eagles.
With the loss, Marquette fell to third place in the Big East. The Golden Eagles play Providence on Tuesday, but they will be looking ahead to a showdown against No. 10 St. John’s on March 8.
Villanova kept its hopes alive for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats don’t play any ranked teams to end the regular season, with games against Seton Hall, Butler and Georgetown. Despite being 16-12, Villanova owns impressive wins over Cincinnati, UConn and St. John’s. Now with the Marquette upset, that’s four wins over ranked teams, making Villanova one of the more mysterious and mercurial teams as the regular season winds down.
