Eric Dixon scored 23 points, Jhamir Brickus had 15 of his 21 points in Villanova‘s dominating first half and the Wildcats beat No. 16 Marquette 81-66 on Friday night.
Jordann Dumont added 15 points to help Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) snap a two-game losing streak overall and eight-game skid against Marquette (20-7, 11-5). The Wildcats have knocked off Big East powers St. John’s, UConn and Marquette at home this season.
Zaide Lowery scored 25 points for Marquette (20-7, 11-5). The Golden Eagles have lost four of six and have dropped into third place in the Big East conference.
The Wildcats seemingly couldn’t miss in the first half when they raced to a 46-33 advantage. But Villanova looked similarly good at UConn on Tuesday night, only to surrender a 14-point advantage in the final 11:58. In that contest, UConn scored 27 of the final 33 points.
But there was no letdown for the Wildcats in the second half against Marquette, which never got within double-digits after halftime.
Takeaways
Marquette: The Golden Eagles are still in good shape for an NCAA at-large bid but have found shakier ground with their recent play. With games at UConn and at home against St. John’s remaining, Marquette needs to regain its form soon.
Villanova: The Wildcats kept within striking distance of fifth-place Xavier, which holds a half-game lead over Villanova. The top five teams in the conference gets first-round byes in the conference tournament.
Key moment
The entire first half for Villanova. Villanova led by 19, Brickus made all five of his 3-point tries and the Wildcats shot 80% from long range in the opening 20 minutes.
Jhamir Brickus drops his defender and drains a stepback 3-pointer
Key stat
Villanova made 15 of 26 3-pointers.
Up next
Marquette hosts Providence on Tuesday night. Villanova is at Seton Hall on Wednesday night.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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