Marquette @ Villanova preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 24, 2017 ) Villanova 72, Marquette 74

Villanova has not lost back-to-back games since March 2013, but that streak will be on the line Saturday. The third-ranked Wildcats host Marquette seeking to bounce back from a Big East defeat at Butler one week earlier.

Villanova gave up 101 points at Butler - the highest point total allowed by the team since Feb. 2014 - as coach Jay Wright noted that the Wildcats finally met an opponent that could match them bucket for bucket. "We've got a lot of room to improve," guard Mikal Bridges said. "We're definitely going to get better." Jalen Brunson, a candidate for Big East Player of the Year, had another strong game with 31 points and five assists and will certainly be the focus of Marquette, which has won six of its last seven games. The Golden Eagles tied their season high with 95 points in Wednesday's overtime win against Providence with sophomore guard Markus Howard setting a school record with 52 points, including 11 3-pointers.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT MARQUETTE (11-4, 2-1 Big East): The Golden Eagles were in awe after the latest and greatest effort by Howard, who actually had struggled (10-of-33 combined shooting) in the previous two games and hadn't shot above 40 percent in any of his previous four contests. "Obviously, Markus had an incredible performance where he put our team, on the offensive end, on his back for long stretches," Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Just really proud of our team to walk away here with a win and be a part of special performance like Markus had tonight." Howard (22.6 points) is neck-and-neck with Andrew Rowsey (22.0), who had notched back-to-back 30-point outings before taking a back seat to Howard's dynamic effort on Wednesday.

ABOUT VILLANOVA (13-1, 1-1): The Wildcats have allowed increasingly more points over their last four games, from 67 against Temple to 71 in an easy win against Hofstra to 85 against a mediocre to DePaul team and finally the disappointing 101 points allowed against Butler. Brunson (18.9 points) paces five players in double figures on the season and has an assist-to-turnover ratio approaching 4-to-1 while shooting 59.5 percent from the field and 49.2 percent from the arc. Bridges chipped in 21 against Butler, although freshman Omari Spellman - coming off back-to-back double-doubles - was limited to six points on 2-of-7 shooting.

TIP-INS

1. The teams split last season's two matchups with each winning on its own homecourt.

2. Marquette's top three scorers - Howard, Rowsey and Sam Houser - have combined for 158 3-pointers, and all three are shooting at least 40 percent from the arc.

3. Rowsey is an 89.9 percent foul shooter and is 26-of-26 over the last four games.

PREDICTION: Villanova 87, Marquette 86