Marquette falls to #1 Villanova

MILWAUKEE -- Kris Jenkins scored 19 points, Josh Hart had 19 on 7-of-8 shooting, and No. 1 Villanova pulled away from Marquette for an 89-79 victory on Saturday.

The Wildcats (25-4, 14-2 Big East) rebounded nicely after a midweek loss at No. 5 Xavier to stay atop the conference, one game ahead of the Musketeers.

Six-foot-11 Daniel Ochefu had 18 points and gave Villanova an inside presence to complement Jenkins' outside shooting. Jenkins was 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

Playing in front of a raucous home crowd, Marquette (18-11, 7-9) got within 42-39 with 19:46 left on two free throws by Duane Wilson.

But the young Golden Eagles wilted against the Wildcats' pressure. Villanova forced three turnovers en route to an 8-0 run to take a double-digit lead, before hitting free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Jajuan Johnson had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Marquette.