Villanova Preview: Battle of Youth Against Marquette

Villanova Men’s Basketball will attempt to win their fourth game in a row when they host the Marquette Golden Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10. 

The Wildcats (18-5, 9-3 Big East) survived a late push from Marquette when these teams clashed in Milwaukee, true freshmen Acaden Lewis (20 points) and Nigel James Jr. (31 points) leading their respective teams in scoring, but it was junior guard Tyler Perkins who sealed the 76-73 win with a clutch layup.

Marquette (9-15, 4-9 Big East) entered the season with NCAA Tournament aspirations and a star-studded recruiting class. That talent hasn’t turned into wins but the Golden Eagles remain dangerous, as their near-upset of Villanova shows.

The Wildcats check in at No. 32 in the NET rankings and No. 28 in the KenPom ratings as of the evening of Feb. 9; Marquette occupies the No. 114 and No. 106 spots, respectively, making this a Quadrant 3 opportunity. Villanova enters as a 9.5 point favorite (DraftKings Sportsbook) with the over/under set at 145.5. 86.6 percent of ESPN Analytics simulations end in a Wildcats’ win and, with signature win opportunities dwindling, they’ll need to take care of business.

TNT and truTV hold the broadcasting rights to this matchup.

Scouting the Golden Eagles

Nigel James Jr. serves as Marquette’s lead guard, averaging a team-high 15.5 points and 4.6 assists per game. He made 11 of 14 shots (7-of-9 from three) in his first game against Villanova, while the rest of the team combined to go 14-for-43 (4-of-22 from beyond the arc). 

6-foot-8 sophomore forward Royce Parham (17 points) handled most of the rest of the scoring, the only other Golden Eagle to finish in double digits. Parham (11.3 PPG) also leads Marquette with 0.8 blocks per game, while 6-foot-5 senior guard Chase Ross (15.3 PPG, 2.4 steals per game) makes strong contributions on both ends of the court. 

6-foot-11 senior forward Ben Gold leads the team in rebounds with 5.6 per game, but the Golden Eagles are losing on the glass 38.3-34.7 on the season; they edged the Wildcats 27-26 in their first matchup. Freshman guard Adrien Stevens (7.0 PPG) rounds out the starting lineup that head coach Shaka Smart has deployed over the past five games.

Marquette holds opposing teams to a 33.6 shooting percentage from three point range but allow  52.1 percent of two-point shots to sink. The Wildcats made seven of 25 triples in Milwaukee, redshirt freshman wing Matt Hodge (4-of-6) leading the charge.

Scouting Villanova

The Wildcats opt for a starting lineup of Lewis (12.4 PPG), Perkins and fellow guard Bryce Lindsay, Hodge (9.3 PPG), a 6-foot-8 wing, and big man Duke Brennan (12.1 PPG). Hodge (14 points) and Brennan (12 points) finished in double figures in the first Marquette game, as did sixth man Devin Askew (13 points).

Perkins (13.1 PPG) is the team’s leading scorer after a protracted slump from Lindsay (13.0 PPG). Brennan averages a double-double with 10.7 rebounds per game, but the Golden Eagles held him to a season-low four boards in their first matchup. Hodge takes nearly two-thirds of his shots from three but can also switch down to play the five, helping him lead Villanova with 0.6 blocks per game.

Lewis runs the offense and leads in assists (5.3 per game) and steals (2.0 per game), posting a career-high 26 points his last time out against Georgetown. Other contributors to watch include young guards Malachi Palmer and Chris Jeffrey, who have helped the Wildcats’ bench gel into a legitimate second unit in recent games.

Villanova likes to pour it on from beyond the arc but did so to limited returns against the Golden Eagles’ stout three-point defense: watch how they adjust their second time around.