Marquette vs Villanova: Halftime Notes

The Villanova Wildcats lead the Marquette Golden Eagles by a score 36-19 at the half. This half has been frustrating to watch at times, but there is some beauty in this typically ugly, hard fought Big East Conference matchup.

Marquette stepped up defensively out of the gate, forcing three turnovers in three Wildcat possessions to start the game and six in the first 5 1/2 minutes. Villanova compounded the problem by going one for their first 6 from the field. Somehow, despite the foregoing, Villanova managed to to take a one point, 7-6 lead on a layup by Josh Hart, with a look for another on the back end of a 3 point play, at the second TV timeout.

Villanova found their pace after the eight minute mark and jumped out to a 24-12 lead with 6:00 to play. Darrun Hilliard led the 'Cats with nine points followed by Ryan Arcdiacono with eight. Matt Carlino finished the half with nine points five rebounds and two assists.

The second half starts soon on Fox Sports 1 and FoxSportsGo. Can't watch? Look for our 3 Three Things We Learned article after the game.