Days after falling out of the AP Top 25 following a loss at Xavier, Villanova was able to engineer its own 67-61 upset win at home against No. 10 Marquette on Wednesday night.
Villanova's Jermaine Samuels (29 points, 9 rebounds) outdueled Marquette's Markus Howard (25 points), and the Wildcats were able to get back on track after suffering three straight losses. Villanova was able to overcome a poor shooting night thanks to its ability to get to the free-throw line, where Jay Wright's team hit 18 of 26 shots.
KATZ'S BRACKET: Projecting the March Madness field
Villanova's win brings the Wildcats (12-4 in conference play) a half-game behind Marquette (12-3) in the Big East standings. Nova was a No. 7 seed in Andy Katz's latest bracketology, while Marquette was on the 3-seed line. Where will they go from here?
A few others top-15 teams almost suffered the same fate.
No. 7 Tennessee was in trouble against Ole Miss, but its stars came up big on both ends
Grant Williams converted a huge layup with five seconds left in the game, and Admiral Schofield drew a charge to end Ole Miss' hopes of taking down the No. 7 team in the country on their home court.
PB+J CALLED GAME 🥜🍇 pic.twitter.com/Ykt2nl284H
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 28, 2019
Tennessee was in danger of losing three out of four games before Williams' heroics, but the Vols' star junior was far from the only player who got them to that point. Lamonte Turner stepped up with 17 points to help his team get to the point where Williams could deliver the knockout blow.
Ole Miss will always have this dunk though:
TERENCE DAVIS PUT HIM ON A POSTER 😱#SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/XXHx70CAlM
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 28, 2019
Oklahoma State threatened, but No. 11 Texas Tech didn't budge
Lindy Waters singlehandedly forced overtime with a bonkers final minute of regulation. The Oklahoma State junior hit four 3-pointers in 53 seconds, the last of which tied the game at the buzzer.
LINDY WATERS DOES IT AGAIN!!!
— Basketball Society (@BBallSociety_) February 28, 2019
THE KID IS FOREVER CLUTCH!! pic.twitter.com/AzuGWXbFdU
But No. 11 Texas Tech emerged with the 84-80 victory in overtime thanks to, among other things, knockdown free-throw shooting from Davide Moretti. The Red Raiders are still tied for the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 heading into the final two weeks of the season. Buckle up.
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