Villanova @ Marquette preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 27, 2019 ) Marquette 61, Villanova 67

In its Big East opener, Villanova looked like a contender for the league crown, while the same can't be said of Marquette. The ninth-ranked Wildcats visit the Golden Eagles on Saturday seeking their seventh straight win and hoping to build off a solid home victory against Xavier.

The Wildcats rode Collin Gillespie's 24 points - 16 in the second half - to the win over Xavier as they began their march to what they hope will be their sixth regular-season title in seven years of the new-look Big East, not to mention four conference tournament titles (and two national championships) during that stretch. "That's what the Big East is going to be like every night, home or away," coach Jay Wright said. "It's going to be a grinder. There are just so many good teams in this league. This is going to be incredible this season. It's a great learning experience for us." Marquette, meanwhile, had a five-game winning streak halted in a disappointing 92-75 setback at Creighton in its league opener. "Obviously, I have to do a better job. Because if the students don't learn, then you got to teach better," said coach Steve Wojciechowski.
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TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: FOX

ABOUT VILLANOVA (10-2): Gillespie (15.0) has overtaken Saddiq Bey (14.7) as the leading scorer on the team, while Justin Moore (12.3), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (11.3) and Jermaine Samuels (10.3) join them in double figures on the season. The team could use more offense out of Bey, who scored 17, 16, 19, 27, 22 and 13 points during a recent six-game stretch but in the last two games has totaled only 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting with just two free-throw attempts. Robinson-Earl has scored in double figures in just two of the last six games and is 2-of-11 from behind the arc over the last four contests.

ABOUT MARQUETTE (10-3): Markus Howard is Marquette's dynamic senior scorer with an average of 25.6 points and terrific shooting percentages from the foul line (83.8) and the 3-point arc (47.1). Howard had scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games and had made at least five 3-pointers in five of his last seven contests before getting held to 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting (2-of-7 from the arc) versus Creighton. Brendan Bailey notched 18 points and 11 rebounds in that one - more than double his season averages of 8.0 points and 5.0 boards.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Howard became Marquette's all-time leader in made 3-pointers in late December.

2. The Wildcats have not yielded more than 72 points during any contest in their six-game winning streak.

3. The teams played two competitive games last season with Villanova losing at Marquette by a point before earning a six-point home triumph in the rematch.

PREDICTION: Villanova 82, Marquette 72