No. 16/15 #MUBB Falls 81-66 at Villanova Friday Night

Box Score (PDF)

The No. 16/15 Marquette University men's basketball team (20-7, 11-5 BIG EAST) continued BIG EAST play Friday night with an 81-66 loss at Villanova (16-12, 9-8 BIG EAST) at the Wells Fargo Center.

Sophomore guard Zaide Lowery scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds and senior guard Kam Jones chipped in 10 points and eight assists

Marquette closed the gap to 10 points and had a pair of chances the deficit to single digits early in the second half, but the Wildcats responded with a 13-2 run to pull away by as many as 23 midway through the second stanza. The Golden Eagles weren't done, however, using a 10-0 to force a Nova timeout at the 8:07 mark. Unfortunately, the Wildcats again had an answer and held off MU down the stretch.

Villanova finished 15-of-26 from behind the 3-point line, which proved to be too much for the MU offense to overcome.

The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half and 46-33 at the intermission, largely because the Wildcats shot 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from behind the 3-point line. Seven different Marquette players scored for the Golden Eagles, led by Lowery's nine points.

Notables:

Kam Jones and Villanova's Eric Dixon both reached double figure for the 43^rd-straight game, the longest current active streak in the nation
Villanova's 15 made 3-pointers were the most by a MU opponent this season
Lowery had a total of 24 points combined in the previous five games
Marquette made its first appearance in the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since the 2017-18 season
Pennsylvania native Stevie Mitchell had over 100 friends and family in attendance for his final game in his home state
Marquette remains one of just three teams (Manhattan, St. Mary's) to feature the same starting lineup in every game this season

UP NEXT:
Marquette returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. CT when the team hosts Providence at Fiserv Forum.

Keep up with the Marquette men's basketball program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMBB) and Instagram (@marquette.basketball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMensBB). Fans interested in tickets can contact the Marquette Ticket Office online or at 414-288-GOMU (4668).