Villanova Wildcats 18-5 (9-3) vs Marquette Golden Eagles 9-15 (4-9)
Where: Finneran Pavilion (Villanova, PA)
When: Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 PM
Betting Line: TBD
How to Watch: TNT + truTV
How to Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Net Rankings: Villanova 32, Marquette 114 (Quad 3)
KenPom: Villanova 28, Marquette 106
Torvik: Villanova 32, Marquette 96
About Marquette: The Golden Eagles are 3-4 since the last meeting with Villanova, with all of the wins coming at home and all of the losses coming on the road. Marquette defeated Providence, Butler and Creighton, but lost to Butler, Seton Hall, DePaul and St. John’s. In the first matchup, Big East Freshman of the Year candidate Nigel James Jr. was huge for the Golden Eagles, scoring what was a season-high 31 points at the time. Since then, the 6’ guard has recorded a new high of 38 points against Providence. Containing James Jr. will be at the top of the scouting report for Villanova. The freshman averages 15.5 points per game, which is good for sixth in the conference, along with 4.6 assists, which is good for third in the Big East.
Notes on Nova: The Wildcats enter the night on a three-game winning streak, with the recent gritty road win over Georgetown. In the previous matchup against Marquette, Devin Askew scored all 13 of his points in the final 13 minutes of the game, helping lead Villanova to a 76-73 road victory. Matt Hodge was second on the team in scoring with 14 points in that game, so hopefully he can get back on track. The freshman has only scored 5 points total in the past two games. I will be watching how the team responds at the free-throw line, coming off of the putrid 14/28 showing against the Hoyas. Time is running out to improve upon that before March.