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Marquette Basketball: Golden Eagles and their at-large hopes fall to Villanova

By Brian Foley

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Phil Booth #5 of the Villanova Wildcats drives past Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles in the second half during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Phil Booth #5 of the Villanova Wildcats drives past Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles in the second half during quarterfinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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After a promising first half, Marquette Basketball was blitzed by Villanova in the second. Now, all the Golden Eagles can do is wait.

Marquette’s NCAA tournament hopes now officially rest in the hands of the selection committee. The Golden Eagles fell 94-70 to two-seeded Villanova in the Big East quarterfinals on Thursday night, ending a three-game winning streak. Marquette (19-13, 9-9) is firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble.

Here are three reactions to Marquette’s loss.

Villanova explodes in the second half

The Wildcats struggled shooting ball for the early part of the first half but started to warm up heading into the break. Villanova knocked down seven of their last eight shots to take a seven-point lead into the locker room and came out firing after intermission.

Up 46-43 early in the second, Villanova proceeded to knock down 10 three-pointers in the second half, including three deep balls from big man Omari Spellman. For the game, Villanova finished 15-29 from beyond the arc. Spellman, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, and Mikal Bridges all knocked down at least three treys apiece and combined for 70 of VU’s 94 points.

For Marquette, part of the issue was their typical porous defense. Of course, Villanova and their top-ranked KenPom offense can score on anyone, and on Thursday they were hotter than usual. The Golden Eagles simply could not keep up.

A third scorer fails to emerge for Marquette

Last week against Creighton, Marquette got massive production from Markus Howard, Andrew Rowsey, and Sam Hauser. Throughout the year, MU has been at its best when it spreads out the offense, but on Thursday, MU could only get Howard and Rowsey going (23 and 22 points, respectively).

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The two guards kept Marquette in the game early with electric long-range shooting and combined for 30 of the Golden Eagles’ 34 first-half points. But when Villanova got going, and Rowsey and Howard slumped, no one else stepped up.

After putting his body on the line Wednesday against DePaul, Hauser finished with just four points on 1-6 shooting on Thursday. Anim provided nine points, but no one else added more than six. A wing scorer is paramount for MU’s success, and they could not find it against Villanova

Just hanging on for dear life

As disheartening as this Big East tournament was for Marquette, its NCAA tournament hopes are still alive. According to Barttorvik.com, the Golden Eagles are the last team in the tournament with a 60 percent chance of earning an at-large bid (at the time of this article).

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Obviously, the last team in the tournament is not an ideal spot to be with games to be played and bid thieves still alive, but it gives MU hope. Marquette has a shot on Selection Sunday. As the quintessential bubble team, a 50-50 chance at a bid sounds about right for this heart attack squad.

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