Feb. 10, 2009
Recap | Box Score
PAVILION WIN STREAK
Villanova won its record 26th straight game in the Pavilion tonight, extending a school record set in a 76-57 win over St. John's on January 18. The Wildcats began the current streak with a 102-87 win over Notre Dame on January 17, 2007 and the winning streak includes 15 wins over non-conference opponents and 11 over BIG EAST foes. Villanova has not lost in The Pavilion since a 73-65 setback to DePaul on January 6, 2007.
VILLANOVA AND 20 WIN SEASONS
For the first time in its history, Villanova has now won at least 20 games in five consecutive seasons. This is the 34th time that the Wildcats have won 20 games in a season. Of those 34 seasons, this is the 12th time that Villanova has reached win No. 20 no later than its 24th game of the year.
100 POINT GAMES FOR VILLANOVA
Villanova reached the 100-point plateau in back-to-back games for only the third time in its history. The most recent string of consecutive 100-point games came last season when the Wildcats defeated Temple (101-93) and Hartford (103-75). Villanova has had one three-game streak of 100-point games in its history, which came during the 1969-70 season. This is also the first time ever that the Wildcats have scored 90 or more points in three consecutive BIG EAST games.
BEATING RANKED TEAMS
With tonight's victory, Villanova matched its total from last season with its third win over a ranked team. The Wildcats have won their past three games (non-consecutive) against a ranked opponent for the first time since winning four in a row (non-consecutive) during the 2005-06 season. Tonight's win also marked the second win of the season for the Wildcats over a top-10 opponent.
BACK AND FORTH IN FIRST HALF
There were eight ties and seven lead changes in tonight's game but all of them came in the first 18 minutes. Villanova trailed by as many as nine points (37-28) with 7:08 to play in the first half but a three-pointer by sophomore guard Corey Fisher with 1:20 to play in the period gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 48-45. Sophomore guard Corey Stokes hit a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the half to put Villanova up 50-45 going into the break, and Marquette never got closer than that in the second half.
MARQUETTE COOLS OFF AFTER FAST START
The Golden Eagles started 13-of-19 from the floor in the first 12:52 of the contest and led 37-28 with 7:08 to play in the first half. During that stretch, Marquette was also 8-of-11 from three-point range. For the remainder of the half however, the Golden Eagles went 3-of-10 from the floor and 0-of-4 from three-point range as Villanova marked a 14-point turnaround in the last seven minutes of the period and went into halftime with a 50-45 advantage.
VILLANOVA SHOOTS 72 PERCENT IN SECOND HALF
The Wildcats made three of their last four shots from the field in the first half and then kept up the momentum in the second half, making 18-of-25 shots and shooting a torrid 72 percent from the field. The marksmanship included 6-of-8 (75.0%) three-point shooting as well. Villanova shot 58.7 percent (37-63) for the game, which actually was not a season high. The team shot 58.8 percent (30-51) in a 76-57 win over St. John's on January 18.
CLARK HAS BEEN DOMINANT
In his last two games, senior forward Shane Clark has turned in his best play of the season, totaling 30 points and 17 rebounds in wins over Syracuse and Marquette. In the two games combined, Clark has gone 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from the field and 3-of-5 (60.0 percent) from three-point range. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range tonight and scored a season-high 16 points.
A 20-POINT FIRST
Tonight's game marked the first time in their respective careers that both Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher scored over 20 points in the same game.
VILLANOVA SPLITS SEASON SERIES AGAINST MARQUETTE
With tonight's win, the Wildcats avenged a loss to Marquette earlier this season, 79-72 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on New Year's Day. Villanova has not been swept in a two-game regular season BIG EAST series since losing twice to Providence during the 2003-04 season. Over the past five years, the Wildcats have either split with or swept any fellow BIG EAST teams they have faced twice in the regular season.
SEVEN STRAIGHT HALVES OVER 40 POINTS
Through the end of tonight's game, Villanova has scored at least 41 points in seven consecutive halves of play, including both halves of the three most recent wins against Providence, Syracuse and Marquette. The seven straight halves over 40 points is the longest streak in the last two seasons. Villanova had six straight halves over 40 points early last season.
JEREL MCNEAL SETS MARQUETTE CAREER SCORING RECORD
Marquette senior guard Jerel McNeal scored 23 points in tonight's game and broke the program's career scoring record. He has now scored 1,776 points in his career and surpassed George Thompson's mark of 1,773 points set between 1966-69. McNeal has also scored at least 20 points in eight straight games and 10 of his past 11 contests.
