On Friday, Feb. 21, Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) concluded its play at the Wells Fargo Center this season with an 81-66 win over No.16 Marquette (20-7, 11-5 Big East).
[Villanova] treated this like a game they had to have,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said. “There was not enough level of force [from us] on both ends of the floor, and ‘Nova took advantage of that. They moved the ball really well and did a good job of breaking our trap in the post.”
The Wildcats never trailed in the competition, leading for 39 minutes and 40 seconds.
Graduate forward Eric Dixon led all scorers with 23 points. Graduate guard Jhamir Brickus went 5-for-8 from three and finished with 21 points.
Redshirt freshman forward Jordann Dumont scored a career-high 15 points.
“The guys did a good job of spotting me,” Dumont said. “I stayed ready and waited for my number to be called.”
Dumont entered the game having scored just 14 points in his Villanova career.
“[Dumont] has been working all year and all summer,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “This kid had double hip surgery a couple of months ago, so he was behind to start the year. I give him a lot of credit. He worked hard, and you saw him in practice improving, and you could see he was ready to go.”
Brickus and the Wildcats got off to a hot start. The Wildcats opened the game on an 8-0 run, scoring five of six field goal attempts and leading by ten.
Following the timeout, Brickus continued perfect shooting from outside the arc. At the 10-minute mark, Brickus had 12 of Villanova’s 22 points.
“When I score, I feel like it opens it up more for my teammates,” Brickus said. “I’m gonna naturally pass first, so when I get scoring, the other team’s gotta worry about me.”
Toward the end of the first half, Marquette broke down Villanova’s defense. A three-pointer from Golden Eagle senior guard Kam Jones trimmed the deficit to eight.
But a four-point play from Dixon and a fifth three-pointer from Brickus regained the double-digit lead, sending the Wildcats into halftime up, 46-33.
Although Marquette scored four to open the second half, the Wildcats got back into the rhythm that they had at the end of the first half. At the 12:30 mark, the Wildcats were up by 18. A three-pointer from senior guard Jordan Longino grew the lead to 21.
Dumont’s fourth three-pointer of the game put the Wildcats back up by 18. Villanova maintained a steady lead, despite getting outscored, 16-13, across the final seven minutes.
The Wildcats have defeated all four of their ranked opponents on their home court.
“I know that’s a great storyline and great to talk about but whoever it was we were gonna come in a play our hardest,” Neptune said. “No matter who it was, we were gonna try to rebound and defend at the highest level.”
With a win over a top-20 team, Villanova’s focus now shifts to Wednesday night. The Wildcats will go on the road to take on Seton Hall (8:30 p.m., FS1).
