Villanova at Marquette: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
A matchup between a pair of top five teams in the Big East in Milwaukee as Marquette hosts Villanova. The Golden Eagles won the first matchup in Philadelphia. Will the Wildcats even up the season series? Here’s a preview of the matchup.
TV schedule: Wednesday, February 2, 2022, on FS1 at 10 p.m. EST
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee WI
Coming off of one of their most heartbreaking losses of the season over the weekend in Providence, the No. 24 Marquette Golden Eagles (15-7, 7-4) have another huge opportunity in front of them as they host the No. 12 Villanova Wildcats (16-5, 9-2) looking to complete the season sweep.
In their previous matchup, Marquette pulled off a shocking upset at Finneran Pavilion, winning 57-54 thanks to a late three-pointer by Justin Lewis with 11.9 seconds left. The loss snapped Villanova’s 29-game winning streak at The Finn and it was the first time in program history that Marquette won there.
The Golden Eagles have been red hot over the past month or so, winners of seven of their last eight Big East conference games since their double-overtime loss against Creighton. They are led by the freshman forward Lewis, who leads the team in points per game (16.5) and rebounds per game (7.9).
Head coach Shaka Smart also hit the jackpot in the transfer portal, netting four quality starters and contributors to their success: senior forward Kur Kuath (Oklahoma), freshman guard Tyler Kolek (George Mason), freshman forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Clemson), and most notably senior guard Darryl Morsell (Maryland). Morsell is enjoying a career year, as the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year is averaging over 13 PPG after never averaging double-digit PPG at Maryland.
On the other side, head coach Jay Wright once again has the Wildcats in position to make a deep run in March. The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10 games (with the one loss against Marquette) and are coming off of a 73-62 win over St. John’s. They are led by graduate student guard Collin Gillespie, who is exercising his extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic and is putting up a career-best 17.1 points per game.
The Wildcats rely heavily on their starters, with all five averaging over 26 minutes per game. Junior guard Justin Moore is enjoying a breakout season, averaging a career-high 15.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG. The frontcourt play has also been solid for Villanova, with senior forward Brandon Slater and sophomore forward Eric Dixon playing a majority of the minutes.
In their previous matchup, Marquette tied a season-high knocking down 13 triples, led by Lewis who had 21 points and hit five of eight from distance. While the Golden Eagles had one of their better games from three, the Wildcats had one of their worst shooting 25% on 24 attempts. Gillespie also struggled for Villanova, scoring just 10 points, and shooting just 31% from the field, far lower than his usual 46%.
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Overall, this should be a very intriguing matchup between two of the best teams in the conference and a typical Big East dog fight. With Marquette playing with a sense of urgency after last game’s close loss, I think they sneak out with a close win.
Prediction: Villanova 65, Marquette 69