Marquette's historic win over Villanova gets it off NCAA Tournament bubble

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MILWAUKEE — Just what the Big East needed: another potent threat.
 
Marquette’s 74-72 win over No. 1-ranked Villanova on Tuesday qualifies as the best win in the tenure of third-year coach Steve Wojciechowski, but it was only the second major win in a four-day period. On Jan. 21, Marquette went to Omaha and knocked off No. 7 Creighton, 102-94.
 
The Creighton win required a qualifier: The Bluejays were reeling in the aftermath of losing guard Marcus Watson for the year and playing their first full game without him. Marquette shot a sizzling 60 percent, including 12 of 24 from three-point range.
 
The follow-up made it much harder to view as a fluke.
 
“The thing I was most proud of in the game was our toughness,” Wojciechowski said. “There were a number of breaking points throughout the games, where teams I’ve had here — maybe even this one — would not have kept fighting. Our guys kept fighting and at the end, they found a way to win.”
 
It’s been an impressive response after a brutal near-miss. The Golden Eagles held a 41-25 lead on Butler in the first half at Hinkle Fieldhouse, only to fall apart after halftime in an 88-80 loss. There are signs that this Golden Eagles team may be putting it together, integrating the services of transfers Katin Reinhardt and Andrew Rowsey and persevering through the ups and downs of freshman Markus Howard, who was ironically the team’s best weapon in a 93-81 loss to Villanova on Jan. 7 (21 points on 7 of 11 shooting) but nowhere to be found in the rematch won by Marquette (0 points, 7 minutes, 5 fouls).
 
“Coach always preached to us at the beginning that we’re a great team,” said Duane Wilson, who scored 11 points off the bench in the win over Villanova. “We have a lot of offensive weapons; we’re one of the best offensive teams. We just have to play defense. ... We’re starting to grow up.”
 
Marquette battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit against 'Nova, one still in place with less than 12 minutes to go.
 
“Marquette just played a better total 40 minutes,” said 'Nova guard Jalen Brunson. “We’ve just got to give them credit. They just played tougher. We tried to just keep moving forward, and they just kept making shot after shot.”
 
Marquette made 7 of 11 from three in the second half in the win, with Reinhardt drilling 4 of 7 and finishing with 19 points. The Golden Eagles were struggling in the rebound game most of the night and still finished ahead of the Wildcats in that department, 35-34.
 
“They got a lot of extra possessions down the floor (because of rebounds), and we played good defense,” Reinhardt said. “We kind of gave them those possessions. We knew the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game, we were going to get those done. We were going to grab everything we could like our life depended on it, and we did.”
 
Reinhardt, who appeared in 34 games last year at USC and joined the program as a graduate transfer this season, has found his footing in recent play.
 
“Katin’s a really good player,” Wojciechowski said. “He always has been, even though he hasn’t always played well this season. He had to find his role, and we were learning him, too. Even when he was struggling, I knew the kid could really play. I think you’re seeing that. It’s not just the last two games in Big East play. The kid’s been a big-time player. We’ve been able to use him in a lot of different scenarios. In this game, he played anywhere from the point guard to the power forward. When you have someone who can do that, it gives you an advantage.”
 
Said Reinhardt, “It’s a testament to my teammates and coaches me who just trusted me from Day 1 when I got here. Just knowing I had to stay in the gym and the breakthrough was going to happen for myself. I’m so blessed that I had the coaching staff and players behind me every single day. Keep shooting, keep playing basketball ...
 
“You dream of playing against the No. 1 team and beating them on your home floor and have these fans rush the floor. Being part of that is amazing. I can’t even put words to it.”
 
Marquette entered the week as a fringe NCAA Tournament team, even with the win over Creighton in its pocket. For now, the Golden Eagles are off the bubble, looking for their first tourney berth under Wojciechowski.
 
“He coached at Duke, played at Duke, and played against the No. 1 teams in the country,” Wilson said of his coach. “He always told us he wanted us to get that feeling, to beat that No. 1 team in the country.”

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