Villanova bows out of Big East Tournament in overtime loss to Marquette, likely ending NCAA hopes

NEW YORK — Villanova used to own this day, arguably the best on the Big East calendar, when eight teams dwindle to four, the cream of the conference always rising with the roars inside Madison Square Garden.

Villanova won this event five times from 2015 to 2022, the Wildcats lording over one of college basketball’s marquee conferences.

But for the second consecutive year under coach Kyle Neptune, Villanova, 10-10 in conference play once again, went home before Friday’s semifinal games tipped off. The roars came late Thursday night into early Friday morning for one of the conference’s new faces in the Midwest.

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Villanova entered Thursday’s game vs. No. 10 Marquette fighting for its NCAA Tournament life, and the Wildcats walked off the court they had made their second home destined for another NIT appearance after falling to the Golden Eagles in heartbreaking fashion, 71-65, in overtime.

Villanova (18-15) lost three of its final four games to fall out of tournament contention.

“We fully expected to play through,” Neptune said. “We wanted to win this thing.”

Nine minutes into the second half Thursday, Villanova trailed by eight, looked tired, slowed, banged up. Eric Dixon looked like the only player capable of making a shot. Villanova was in foul trouble and on its last legs.

But a 12-3 run jump-started a late surge. It came mostly from players not named Dixon.

TJ Bamba hadn’t hit a shot since the Big East Tournament began Wednesday. But the Bronx native hit consecutive three-pointers during a stretch that saw Villanova take a 51-50 lead on Justin Moore’s first made field goal with 7 minutes, 7 seconds to go.

Marquette responded with the next six points before Mark Armstrong sprung to life. Later, three Bamba free throws tied the score at 58 with 1:48 remaining. Those were the last points of regulation.

Marquette nearly won at the horn. The Golden Eagles had the ball out of a timeout with 2.3 seconds left and found Kam Jones in traffic. His bank shot was ruled good at the buzzer, but was deemed no good after a review, setting up the overtime session.

Villanova worked hard to get the game to an extra session, but the Wildcats were finding offense only at the free-throw line. They missed their final four shots of regulation and made only one field goal in overtime.

Marquette (24-8) got six overtime points from David Joplin, a clutch straightway three-pointer from Chase Ross, and a turnaround shot from Oso Ighodaro that sealed its win.

Villanova, meanwhile, scored just two points in the final 2 minutes, 6 seconds of overtime.

“I thought we just grinded until the very end of the game,” Neptune said. “It’s an overtime game in the Big East Tournament. The margins are very small.”

Even smaller for this team.

Villanova was without junior wing Jordan Longino, who sprained his left knee Wednesday night in the win over DePaul.

The Wildcats’ depth, or lack thereof, was tested. They were in foul trouble and needed to play nine players. Even with Longino, one of the team’s best defenders, the bench is usually shorter.

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Still, Villanova led at halftime, 29-28, after Dixon made a tough hook shot in the post then swatted a shot attempt from Ighodaro at the other end.

Dixon finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Armstrong joined him in double figures with 15 points, 13 coming after halftime. Bamba added a dozen, all after the opening 20 minutes.

The Wildcats shot 9-for-35 from three-point range on the night. Brendan Hausen, the team’s best shooter, made one of his eight attempts.

It’s unclear if or when Villanova will play in the postseason, and if Moore will play at all. The fifth-year Wildcats guard may have played in his final college game Thursday night. Villanova was in the quarterfinal only because Moore’s magic lifted the Wildcats over lowly DePaul in the waning moments Wednesday.

But Moore looked gassed at times Thursday night. Several of his nine missed field goals on 10 attempts fell short. While the shots weren’t falling, Moore contributed 11 rebounds and six assists in 44 minutes.

“It’s just disappointing we didn’t come out with the win,” Moore said in the locker room. “A lot of emotions going around right now. I’m very proud of how we fought, but, yeah, just disappointed.”

Asked about what his time at Villanova meant to him, especially after battling through a torn Achilles and a sprained knee over the last two seasons, Moore said “everything.”

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“I learned so much playing here,” he said. “I met some brothers that I’ll have for life. It’s just a lot of emotions that I haven’t been able to take in. I’m just proud of myself for fighting through everything I’ve been through in my career.”

Marquette was missing its best player, first-team point guard Tyler Kolek, who won the league’s player of the year award last season but hasn’t played since Feb. 28 with an oblique injury.

Kolek helped power a Marquette offense that carved Villanova up for at least 85 points in two regular season matchups — both, obviously, Marquette wins.

Without Kolek, Villanova’s defense was able to stack stops. The Wildcats forced Marquette to run its offense through Kam Jones and Stevie Mitchell and they shut down the rest of the Golden Eagles.

For much of Thursday night, it worked.

In the end, the better team found a way. “We are Marquette” chants sent another satisfied Madison Square Garden crowd into the Manhattan night.