Villanova vs. Marquette: College basketball game preview, TV schedule
Markus Howard had 52 points on Wednesday to tie a Big East record. What will he do as an encore performance against the top team in the league?
TV schedule: Saturday, Jan. 6, 8:00 p.m. ET. FS1
Arena: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, it’s unlikely that any individual performance will surpass what Markus Howard of Marquette 11-4 (2-1) did on Wednesday night against Providence.
The sophomore dropped 52 points in the 95-90 overtime win, tying a Big East single-game record set by Marshon Brooks in 2011 and shattering the school record of 44 points. He had 11 of the team’s 13 three-pointers and helped make up for Andrew Rowsey’s off performance by his lofty standards of 16 points on 4/12 shooting.
The Golden Eagles are similar to last season in that while they’re explosive offensively. Unfortunately, the defense is below average, ranked in the mid-200s. Howard’s game actually helped him surpass Rowsey as the team’s leading scorer, with both averaging over 22 ppg and combined are responsible for half the team’s total points. The issue for Marquette will always be A) can the team survive an off game by either guard and B) can they stop the opposing team from scoring.
We’ll find out when the Eagles take on Villanova 13-1 (1-1) who is coming off the team’s first loss of the season to Butler 101-93 on the road. The Wildcats essentially played six guys, with four being primary scorers. Jalen Brunson lead all scorers with 31 points, tying his season high. Mikal Bridges had 21, Eric Paschall had 15 points, and Donte DiVincenzo chipped in with 16 off the bench.
While Villanova’s defense is better than Marquette’s, theirs is by no means elite. The Wildcats have been giving up some points in their own right, and Butler reaching the century mark has shined a bright light on those issues. The Golden Eagles could make it an even bigger problem for coach Jay Wright depending on what happens.
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Marquette’s win at Providence moves the team in a positive direction in terms of the NCAA tournament, but a win at a top-five team could be their ace in the hole come March. Villanova is going to want to take care of business at home, and prevent a losing streak to open league play. Coach Wright and the Wildcats had a week to game plan for basically two people, and I like for this veteran team to execute that strategy.
Prediction: Villanova 89 – Marquette 79