Defense fails Villanova as the Wildcats begin a tough stretch with a loss at Marquette
“They scored at the rim at an alarming rate,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said.
MILWAUKEE — There were a few things stacked against Villanova before the Wildcats flew to the frigid Midwest, where No. 17 Marquette had been since last Saturday.
The Golden Eagles last played on Wednesday, dropping their second straight game. A well-rested team was playing on its home court, looking to avenge two defeats, welcoming students back to the city on a day the school announced an investment from alumnus Dwyane Wade, whose name will eventually appear on a new practice court.
Villanova, meanwhile, played late Friday night. The term schedule loss exists for games like this.
“It’s a season,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “I’m sure there will be one time where they do the same thing. They can’t say, ‘Oh we had two days rest so we’re going to lose.’ No one is going to do that. We can’t use anything as an excuse. Once you get on the floor with another team … you got to get it done. Period. There’s no excuses.”
No, there were none on this day. A Villanova team that wins with its defense was far from good enough to compete defensively. Marquette scored at will at the rim and never stopped. The Golden Eagles exploited Villanova’s defense and got into mismatches.
Point guard Tyler Kolek, reigning conference player of the year, used screens and found open teammates. Big man Oso Ighodaro couldn’t be contained. Kam Jones, a talented wing, scored at every level. The trio combined for 61 of Marquette’s points in an 87-74 win.
Time and time again, and in nearly every key situation, the Golden Eagles’ points came in a high-percentage area. Against visiting St. John’s last weekend, Villanova allowed 42 points in the paint in a loss. Marquette topped that by 18. (The 60 points there are the most any Neptune-coached team has surrendered, and the most since Villanova allowed 50 in a February 2022 win over Providence.)
“They scored at the rim at an alarming rate,” Neptune said.
The Wildcats (11-6, 4-2 Big East) were playing without their best wing defender, Jordan Longino, who is dealing with a sprained ankle. And reserve big man Nnanna Njoku missed the game with knee soreness. The two would have been useful in this game, especially when backup center Lance Ware continues to struggle.
“Everyone has people out at this point,” Neptune said. “We got enough out there as a program to get it done. We just did not get it done.”
It was really as simple as that. The Wildcats had one of their better offensive performances overall. Mark Armstrong tallied a career-high 24 points on a career-high five makes from three-point range. Brendan Hausen continued his hot shooting with a 3-for-5 day from beyond the arc. Villanova shot a season-best 42.4% from deep.
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“It’s almost a waste,” Neptune said. “It doesn’t really do anything for us if we can’t get any stops. If you can’t get stops in this league, especially at the rim, it’ll go forgotten because it doesn’t really matter.”
To be clear, schedule reality aside, it was a winnable game. The Wildcats withstood an early second-half run from Marquette, erasing a 10-point deficit and tying the score at 57 midway through the half when Eric Dixon hit a three-pointer.
Marquette, however, scored the next 12 points, its second 12-0 run of the game. Kolek sank three layups and two free throws in that stretch. There were still five-plus minutes to go, but the game was over.
“This team is a good team,” Dixon said. “They’ve been through a lot of battles. It’s not their first time having a lead cut. It’s not our first time cutting a lead. At the end of the day it’s just a part of the game. What are you leaning on when it comes down to it?”
Marquette (12-5, 3-3) leaned on its ability, on this day, to score wherever it wanted. Villanova, meanwhile, went cold offensively. The ball stopped moving and the shots stopped falling. Villanova had just four turnovers at halftime and finished with 12. Marquette scored 15 points off those turnovers but gave the ball up only three times itself.
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Back to the schedule. Monday marked the first of five consecutive Quadrant 1 games for Villanova. Up next is No. 1 UConn at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday (8 p.m., Fox). The Wildcats then travel to Madison Square Garden to take on a St. John’s team that just beat them by 10.
After that it’s Butler on the road, and the Bulldogs just beat this same Marquette team in Milwaukee. The month closes out with Marquette visiting Finneran Pavilion.
Villanova entered Monday with the highest net rating in the Big East during conference play. It had benefited greatly by having DePaul as an opponent in two of its first five Big East games. The coming stretch likely won’t make or break whether Villanova, a KenPom top-30 team and No. 31 in the NCAA’s NET ranking, is in the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. But a 1-4 record in those five games will make the path more difficult.
“It doesn’t do us any good to study the records,” Neptune said. “We look at it like it legitimately doesn’t matter. Every team in this league is a high-level team. If you don’t come to play, if they play harder than you, it’s going to be tough.”
Monday was Exhibit A in that being the truth.