Villanova @ Marquette Game Overview

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