Men's College Basketball
Preview
Villanova at Marquette
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, January 24, 2025
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

After a bounce-back win on the road, 10th-ranked Marquette will be out to re-establish home court dominance in a Big East matchup against Villanova on Friday night in Milwaukee.

Marquette (16-3, 7-1 Big East) rolled to a 76-59 victory at Seton Hall on Tuesday, after suffering its first home loss against Xavier, 72-70, on Saturday.

Villanova (12-8, 5-4) let one slip away in a 64-63 home loss to Georgetown on Monday when the Hoyas scored the final nine points, including the game-winner with less than two seconds left.

"It sounds simple, we just didn't get stops when we needed to," Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said afterward. "At the end of the day, that's what it came down to."

The Golden Eagles are 10-1 at home, while Villanova is 1-4 in true road games. Marquette has won seven straight vs. the Wildcats.

Marquette led Seton Hall 33-21 at the half after trailing Xavier by 11 at the break.

"I think our guys set a really good tone defensively in the first half," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said in a postgame radio appearance after the Seton Hall game. "That was a huge emphasis for us coming out of the last game. We kind of felt like last time out, we allowed what happened on the offensive end to impact our defensive energy, and that's just not who we want to be."

Marquette entered the Seton Hall game second in the nation in turnover margin at 6.9 and fifth in steals at 10.2. The Golden Eagles forced 24 turnovers against Seton Hall, including 18 steals.

"We just have to continue to build our defensive habits," Smart said. "We're trying to balance disruptivity (sic) with playing sound basketball. And, sometimes one can get in the way of the other. But I believe we can do both and keep getting better at it."

The Golden Eagles also were effective from the perimeter, hitting 10 of 27 from 3-point range, while holding Seton Hall to 1-of-11 shooting beyond the arc.

Kam Jones leads a balanced attack with 19.1 points per game. David Joplin adds 14.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, along with a team-leading 42 3-pointers. Stevie Mitchell adds 11.2 points and Chase Ross 10.5.

Villanova turned the ball over 16 times leading to 16 points in the loss to Georgetown, including three turnovers in the final five minutes.

"They forced us into some turnovers," Neptune said. "They executed, we didn't."

The Wildcats, who have lost three of their last four, average 76.9 points, allowing 67.8. Villanova, which led the nation in free-throw percentage each of the last three seasons, is seventh this season at 79.9 percent.

Eric Dixon, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, leads the nation in scoring, averaging 24.9 points to go with 5.1 rebounds, and he also has a team-high 64 3-pointers.

Wooga Poplar adds 13.9 points and 6.5 boards. Jordan Longino contributes 11.0 points and Jhamir Brickus 10.9.

Marquette swept three from Villanova last season, including an 87-74 win in Milwaukee.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Villanova 12-8 L1 10-2 1-4 1-2 2-3 10-5 5-4
Marquette 16-3 W1 10-1 5-2 1-0 4-1 12-2 7-1
Last Meeting
Villanova Marquette
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
3/14/24 VILL 65 MARQ 71 65 41 34.5 71 31 39.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Villanova E. Dixon 19 40.0 5
Marquette K. Jones 18 46.7 2
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Villanova E. Dixon 11 3 8
Marquette D. Joplin 8 1 7
Assists Player  
Villanova J. Moore 6
Marquette O. Ighodaro 4
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Villanova E. Dixon 474 48.8 90
Marquette K. Jones 363 49.7 35
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Villanova E. Boakye 131 45 86
Marquette D. Joplin 101 24 77
Assists Player  
Villanova J. Brickus 112
Marquette K. Jones 124
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Villanova Off vs  red bar Marquette Defense
blue bar 76.9 Points For
red bar 66.5 Points Against
blue bar 47.5 FG%
red bar 43.9 FG%
blue bar 31.9 Reb
red bar 31.5 Reb
red bar Marquette Off vs  blue bar Villanova Defense
red bar 78.8 Points For
blue bar 67.8 Points Against
red bar 44.8 FG%
blue bar 42.6 FG%
red bar 30.8 Reb
blue bar 25.8 Reb