Villanova suffers stunning loss to Marquette

Don’t look now, but the NCAA Men’s Basketball season just got a spike of volatility as top teams suffered shocking upsets. The first Titan to fall, was number ranked Villanova, which blew a 13-point lead to a defiant Marquette squad. The amazing comeback resulted in a 72-74 win for the unranked Marquette to topple the rankings leaders. Just when you think you can feel the reverberations of a shake-up in the ranking polls, No. 2 Kansas was blown away by 18th-ranked West Virginia, 69-85. These are just stern reminders that when it comes to the NCAA, anything can happen. We’re just closing out January and March is still a ways away, and yet the “Madness” has already found a way to seep into some seemingly innpcous games.

Villanova used a tight rotation and was actually getting the job done in the early goings, mounting a comfortable 15-point advantage at the end of the first half (39-24). Katin Reinhardt would blow up from downtown, nailing 4-of-7 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. His team-high was a legitimate boost for the team, but it was his nerves of steel that allowed him to sink two crucial free throws in crunch time that lifted Marquette 72-74. From there, they mustered some tough defense which forced a missed layup from Nova’s Jalen Brunson.