Marquette Golden Eagles (9-15, 4-9 Big East) at RV Villanova Wildcats (18-5, 9-3 Big East)<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nDate: <\/strong>Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Time: <\/strong>6:30pm Central
Location: <\/strong>Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nPoints: <\/strong>Nigel James, 15.5 ppg
Rebounds:<\/strong> Ben Gold, 5.6 rpg
Assists:<\/strong> Nigel James, 4.6 apg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nMarquette Injury Note:<\/strong> Sean Jones has missed the last ten games with a foot issue<\/a> and has not yet returned to practice. After Saturday\u2019s game against Butler, Shaka Smart said he is not sure if Jones will be able to get back on the court before the end of the regular season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nPoints:<\/strong> Tyler Perkins, 13.1 ppg
Rebounds: <\/strong>Duke Brennan, 10.7 rpg
Assists:<\/strong> Acaden Lewis, 5.3 apg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nVillanova Stats Note: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s only fair to note that Bryce Lindsay is averaging 13.0 points per game and Perkins is only out in front for the team lead right now because he had 15 points on Saturday against Georgetown and Lindsay was held scoreless while shooting 0-for-8 in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nMarquette: <\/strong>#106
Villanova:<\/strong> #28
Game Projection: <\/strong>Villanova has a 90% chance of victory, with a predicted score of 78-65.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe Stakes: <\/strong>Marquette has nine Big East losses. A 10th loss in a 20 game conference schedule guarantees that MU will not have a winning record in conference play for the first time under the direction of Shaka Smart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe Stakes, Part 2: <\/strong>Marquette has nine wins and 15 losses with seven regular season games left to go. The next loss by Marquette will mean that they will finish the regular season with a losing record for the first time since 2014-15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nLast Time Out: <\/strong>Villanova won, 76-73 at Fiserv Forum back on Saturday, January 10th. You might remember that as the \u201cWHY ON EARTH IS CHASE ROSS SHOOTING FROM THERE TO TIE THIS?\u201d<\/a> game. While that might be the reason that Marquette did not get to overtime with the Wildcats, it\u2019s not the reason why they lost. I\u2019m not going to cut and past my entire rundown from the recap, but you can go read the eight reasons why Marquette lost the game that weren\u2019t the awful final possession<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSince Last We Met: <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t sound particularly great that Villanova has gone 5-2 since leaving Milwaukee, but they lost by seven at home to St. John\u2019s and in overtime at UConn, so y\u2019know, not really bad news there. Things got a little white-knuckle-y in an 88-82 win at the AMP over Providence, which was their very next game. They battled back from giving up a 16-2 run to St. John\u2019s to only lose by seven, and the UConn loss actually went to overtime after the Huskies were the ones that forced it there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nOther than that, Villanova was handling their business pretty well up until Saturday\u2019s visit to Capital One Arena. That one didn\u2019t quite go as well as you\u2019d think a game against Georgetown should go for them, including the Hoyas pulling even at 66 with under six minutes to go. They scored seven straight late to give themselves elbow room before ending up with an 80-73 victory to move to 9-3 in the Big East and create separation between the Wildcats and everyone else trying to challenge for a top five spot in the conference. Right now, VU has a three game lead in the loss column over 7-6 Creighton with eight games to play, including a game in Omaha coming up this weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nTempo Free Fun: <\/strong>It\u2019s not crazy to say that the Marquette team that lost to Villanova a month ago is not the Marquette team that will show up at The Finn on Tuesday night. The Marquette squad that we\u2019ve seen in the last five games is much feistier than the one that went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats for 40 minutes and nearly pulled of what would have been a second straight win at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nWe can math it out, if you want. Using BartTorvik.com\u2019s filtering:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nUp through the Villanova loss<\/a>, Marquette was playing like the #127 team in the country, sporting the #188 offense in the land and the #82 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nFrom the end of that Villanova game in Milwaukee through the end of action on Sunday night<\/a>, Marquette has been playing like the #57 team in the country in the last seven games. MU has had the #60 offense in the country in that time and the #85 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nAcross the last five games alone<\/a>, as the Golden Eagles have alternated wins and losses to a record of 3-2, Marquette has been the #39 team in the country. They have had the #52 offense and the #47 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThis doesn\u2019t mean you should think that Marquette is suddenly favored to win in The Finn for the fourth time in four chances under the direction of head coach Shaka Smart. No, all it means is that Villanova\u2019s edge in the game is a little bit smaller than the 13 point gap that both KenPom.com and BartTorvik.com give using the full season\u2019s worth of stats. Can I interest you in Villanova by 7, 74-67, as a projection instead<\/a>? That\u2019s what both Marquette and Villanova\u2019s trends as of late tell us according to the Torvik computers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Date: <\/strong>Tuesday, February 10, 2026 Points: <\/strong>Nigel James, 15.5 ppg Marquette Injury Note:<\/strong> Sean Jones has missed the last ten games with a foot issue<\/a> and has not yet returned to practice. After Saturday\u2019s game against Butler, Shaka Smart said he is not sure if Jones will be able to get back on the court before the end of the regular season<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Points:<\/strong> Tyler Perkins, 13.1 ppg Villanova Stats Note: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s only fair to note that Bryce Lindsay is averaging 13.0 points per game and Perkins is only out in front for the team lead right now because he had 15 points on Saturday against Georgetown and Lindsay was held scoreless while shooting 0-for-8 in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Marquette: <\/strong>#106 The Stakes: <\/strong>Marquette has nine Big East losses. A 10th loss in a 20 game conference schedule guarantees that MU will not have a winning record in conference play for the first time under the direction of Shaka Smart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Stakes, Part 2: <\/strong>Marquette has nine wins and 15 losses with seven regular season games left to go. The next loss by Marquette will mean that they will finish the regular season with a losing record for the first time since 2014-15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last Time Out: <\/strong>Villanova won, 76-73 at Fiserv Forum back on Saturday, January 10th. You might remember that as the \u201cWHY ON EARTH IS CHASE ROSS SHOOTING FROM THERE TO TIE THIS?\u201d<\/a> game. While that might be the reason that Marquette did not get to overtime with the Wildcats, it\u2019s not the reason why they lost. I\u2019m not going to cut and past my entire rundown from the recap, but you can go read the eight reasons why Marquette lost the game that weren\u2019t the awful final possession<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since Last We Met: <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t sound particularly great that Villanova has gone 5-2 since leaving Milwaukee, but they lost by seven at home to St. John\u2019s and in overtime at UConn, so y\u2019know, not really bad news there. Things got a little white-knuckle-y in an 88-82 win at the AMP over Providence, which was their very next game. They battled back from giving up a 16-2 run to St. John\u2019s to only lose by seven, and the UConn loss actually went to overtime after the Huskies were the ones that forced it there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other than that, Villanova was handling their business pretty well up until Saturday\u2019s visit to Capital One Arena. That one didn\u2019t quite go as well as you\u2019d think a game against Georgetown should go for them, including the Hoyas pulling even at 66 with under six minutes to go. They scored seven straight late to give themselves elbow room before ending up with an 80-73 victory to move to 9-3 in the Big East and create separation between the Wildcats and everyone else trying to challenge for a top five spot in the conference. Right now, VU has a three game lead in the loss column over 7-6 Creighton with eight games to play, including a game in Omaha coming up this weekend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tempo Free Fun: <\/strong>It\u2019s not crazy to say that the Marquette team that lost to Villanova a month ago is not the Marquette team that will show up at The Finn on Tuesday night. The Marquette squad that we\u2019ve seen in the last five games is much feistier than the one that went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats for 40 minutes and nearly pulled of what would have been a second straight win at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We can math it out, if you want. Using BartTorvik.com\u2019s filtering:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Up through the Villanova loss<\/a>, Marquette was playing like the #127 team in the country, sporting the #188 offense in the land and the #82 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From the end of that Villanova game in Milwaukee through the end of action on Sunday night<\/a>, Marquette has been playing like the #57 team in the country in the last seven games. MU has had the #60 offense in the country in that time and the #85 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Across the last five games alone<\/a>, as the Golden Eagles have alternated wins and losses to a record of 3-2, Marquette has been the #39 team in the country. They have had the #52 offense and the #47 defense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This doesn\u2019t mean you should think that Marquette is suddenly favored to win in The Finn for the fourth time in four chances under the direction of head coach Shaka Smart. No, all it means is that Villanova\u2019s edge in the game is a little bit smaller than the 13 point gap that both KenPom.com and BartTorvik.com give using the full season\u2019s worth of stats. Can I interest you in Villanova by 7, 74-67, as a projection instead<\/a>? That\u2019s what both Marquette and Villanova\u2019s trends as of late tell us according to the Torvik computers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Time: <\/strong>6:30pm Central
Location: <\/strong>Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Rebounds:<\/strong> Ben Gold, 5.6 rpg
Assists:<\/strong> Nigel James, 4.6 apg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Rebounds: <\/strong>Duke Brennan, 10.7 rpg
Assists:<\/strong> Acaden Lewis, 5.3 apg<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Villanova:<\/strong> #28
Game Projection: <\/strong>Villanova has a 90% chance of victory, with a predicted score of 78-65.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n