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BIG EAST news you can use for January 25th, 2017

Marquette beat #1 Villanova last night! From Anonymous Eagle:

Hell, Josh Hart, who was sidelined with two fouls for all but four minutes of the first half, hit a three pointer to make it 66-52 in Villanova’s favor with 7:08 to play. Marquette had put up an admirable fight to that point, but hey, they’re the three time Big East regular season champs. They know how to put this away, right?

NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND!

Katin Reinhardt answered back with a triple, and here come the Golden Eagles. A three from Duane Wilson made it a 10 point game with 5:14 to play, and the redshirt junior had a SIIIIIICK hesitation drive and layup to cut the lead to just six with 3:49 left. All of a sudden, this was a very real thing that was happening. Donte DiVincenzo missed a three, and Sam Hauser answered with his only #SammySplash of the game to cut the margin to a scant three points.

#1 Villanova lost to Marquette last night. From VU Hoops:

In the first half, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 8-0 lead off three Marquette turnovers. Josh Hart committed two early fouls and was forced to the bench for the final 15 minutes of the first half. But even with their star player on the bench, Villanova used their defensive pressure to create offense. The Cats forced 8 first half turnovers, including 6 steals, and won the rebounding battle 19-15. On offense, Jalen Brunson had 15 points, including 5-6 from the floor and 5-5 from the line, and Mikal Bridges added 10 points. Even with Hart and Jenkins only scoring 2 points each in the first half, Villanova went into the half leading 39-24.

Nova maintained their lead in the second half, and were still leading by 13 with 6:40 remaining in the game. From there Marquette was able to slowly cut into the Wildcat lead, and finally took their first lead of the game with 46 seconds remaining in the game. A tip in by Hart was able to tie the game, but Marquette was able to hit their free throws in the final minutes to ice the victory.

Butler has been playing with fire lately, but can still end up on top, from the IndyStar:

“We knew we would struggle at times on the road. Indiana State is a good example of that,” Holtmann said, referring to a 72-71 loss to the 7-13 Sycamores. “DePaul is not going to be the last time we struggle on the road. We hope we can figure it out in the midst of the game.

“It’s our job to play hungrier than what we’ve maybe played on the road. Having said that, it’s not like we’ve lost every game on the road. I’m proud of our guys for finding a way to win some of those that have been really close.”

NCAA records show there have been 31 occasions in which a team overcome a deficit of 22 or more points. This season, Navy came from 25 down to beat Bryant 76-74 and Stony Brook from 21 down to beat Albany 72-70.

An update on Georgetown’s players in the professional ranks. From Casual Hoya:

Not all great college basketball players land a job in the world's top professional basketball league. Arizona's Miles Simon was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1997 Final Four and played only five games in the NBA. Luke Hancock took MOP honors in 2013 after Louisville cut down the nets, but never played a second in the NBA. Same so far for D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and Freeman, both players in the JT3 era and two of the top 10 all-scorers in program history.

Furthermore, not all the future NBAers were studs from the start with the Hoyas. Hibbert, inherited by JT3 along with Green, famously entered Georgetown a truly raw prospect. Sims didn't truly make a consistent impact for the Hoyas until his senior season.

Davion Mintz has been Mo Watson’s student and is starting to realize his knowledge. From the Omaha World Herald:

Mintz, like any rookie point guard, has been adjusting to the responsibilities associated with the position. He’s not needed to be a ball-dominant scorer who puts up 20 a night, like he did as a high school senior. Instead, he’s being asked to call plays, to make sure guys get to the right spots and to put the ball where it needs to go.

He’s met a ton with Murphy, who starred in Rhode Island’s backcourt during the late ’90s. They studied Watson’s movements, and then Mintz tried to emulate the veteran on the court. Looking back on it, coach Greg McDermott admitted that he would have liked to get Mintz more playing time during the nonconference season to work through the inevitable growing pains.

All the delicious bits from Marquette’s win last night.

Justin Patton went from an uncoordinated lanky kid to a lottery pick pretty quick.

Josh Hart may as well start his POtY campaign.

Cincinnati and Xavier met for some, uh, food?

Speaking of the Crosstown Shootout, did you know that if you’re younger than 43 you’ve seen more Xavier wins against the Bearcats than the other way around?

The Top 100 Games of the CFB season.

A Tennessee player split his pants celebrating a dunk.

Nightmarish voices are controlling your smartphone. Time get off the grid and get that farm in Montana.

Looks like La La Land is going to win all of the awards.

The new episode of Pretty Good by SBNation’s Jon Bois comes out at some point today. Here’s a link to his youtube page.

Song of the Morning - ‘Give it Away’ - Andrew Bird