The Marquette basketball team hit the road for a tough Big East matchup against Villanova basketball on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles came into the game ranked #9 in the country and the Wildcats came in unranked, but it was expected to be a close game. It didn’t end up disappointing, and Marquette came out with a close victory over Villanova in a tough road environment.
Marquette basketball vs. Villanova ended up being a thriller. The Golden Eagles absolutely dominated the first half of the game as they led by as many as 20 points, but the Wildcats stormed back and actually ended up taking a four point lead in the second half. Marquette had their backs against the wall at this point, and they had to face a stiff road crowd that apparently talked a lot of trash. Tyler Kolek, the Golden Eagles’ star guard, discussed the crowd after the game.
“We come on the road and they’re yelling I can’t read,” Tyler Kolek said after the game, according to a tweet from Ben Steele. “They’re yelling ‘Where were you January 6.’ All this s**t. I love that stuff.”
When some teams blow a 20-point lead and go down on the road in the second half, they cave under the pressure and they let the game slip away. That’s not the case for Kolek and Marquette. As a top-10 team, they are getting a rowdy crowd whenever they go on the road, and they let it fuel them. The Golden Eagles went on a 25-9 run after they went down by four, and they ended up icing the game away with free throws at the end.
Marquette has a lot of championship traits this season, and their poise is one of them. Staying composed after that initial meltdown in a difficult environment like that is very hard in any sport, but especially in college basketball. Great win for the Golden Eagles.
With the win, Marquette improved to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in Big East play. They are in second place behind only UConn. Villanova is struggling as they are now 11-10 and 4-6, sitting near the bottom of the standings.
Marquette will return to action on Saturday as they will hit the road to take on Georgetown.
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