Marquette 70 (12) Villanova 75

Normally the Marquette Golden Eagles' friend, the free-throw line led to their undoing on Wednesday night.

Entering Marquette's game with No. 12 Villanova, the Golden Eagles had outscored their opponents by an average of more than seven points per game at the line. The Wildcats turned the tables on one of their most familiar Big East foes, though, more than doubling that total while scratching out a 75-70 win in front of a crowd of 6,500 at The Pavilion.

Villanova, which snapped its modest two-game losing streak, knocked down 29 of 33 free throws (92.9%), with four players getting to the line at least six times apiece. MU, meanwhile, went 13 for 14 (87.9%) in losing for the fifth time in six games to the Wildcats on coach Buzz Williams' watch.

The Golden Eagles (14-9, 5-5) had been out-shot at the line just three other times previously - all losses - with a minus-13 night being the previous worst in an 80-75 loss at Notre Dame on Jan. 22.

“We just weren't guarding the ball like we do every day in practice,” said Jimmy Butler, who along with Darius Johnson-Odom led MU with 15 points.

“We weren't in the gaps, we weren't helping each other on defense. They got real deep in the paint, and when you don't guard the ball, I guess the only way out is to foul them. They got us into foul trouble early and they just kept attacking.”

Sophomore post man Mouphtaou Yarou tied a season high with 18 points, knocking down 8 of 10 free throws in the process, to lead five players in double figures for Villanova (18-4, 6-3).

Corey Fisher added 17 points, Corey Stokes and Antonio Peña 14 and Maalik Wayns 10 for the Wildcats, who won for the 46th consecutive time in their on-campus arena.

An ugly first half saw the teams combine for 59 points - the lowest halftime total in an MU game this season - with Villanova taking a 34-25 lead. The Wildcats stretched their advantage to as many as 14 points midway through the second half and threatened to run away with the game before Williams began employing a full-court press.

The switch in tactics worked, as MU quickly carved Villanova's lead to single digits and then used a 12-4 run capped by a Chris Otule tap-in to get to within 64-61 with 3 minutes 56 seconds remaining.

“We had to somehow change the tempo, change the pace, activate something other than just trading baskets,” Williams said. “The first 10 minutes of the second half we're down nine, 11, 13. Had to do something to change the ambience.”

Offensively, the Golden Eagles' focus was on getting high-percentage looks at the basket, and all but one of their baskets in that run came within about 5 feet of the basket.

Just prior to that Otule basket, though, junior forward Jae Crowder picked up his fourth foul when he and Villanova's Isaiah Armwood were each hit with technicals for jawing in the lane in between Fisher free throws.

He then fouled out the next time down the floor after allowing Yarou to score on a layup, leaving the Golden Eagles without their leading rebounder and third-leading scorer for the final 2:28.

Yarou's free throw made it 69-63.

“I didn't know what happened,” Williams said. “I don't even know who the other technical was on. We need him to play. We need all our guys to be available to play whatever minutes it is they're going to play.”

That sequence seemed to suck some of the life out of the Golden Eagles, who then were forced to foul to stop the clock down the stretch. Villanova hit 7 of 9, with two by Pena with 8.6 seconds left sealing the deal after MU had pulled to within 75-70.

Of MU's nine losses, the biggest deficit has been eight points, a source of major frustration as time begins to run short on building an NCAA Tournament-worthy résumé.

“It takes a big toll, more so mentally than physically,” Butler said. “I'm tired of saying, 'We could of won this game, we should have won this game.' Until we come out and actually win, it's not going to change.”