Anderson, Redding Team Up for Winning, Rattling Layup at Buzzer, as #4 Villanova Escapes #5 Marquette, 76-75, in Big East Tournament!!! (Full Recap)

To the Wildcat faithful!!!-

Here is the extended recap of today's thrilling victory...

Dwayne Anderson made the biggest basket of his career, on the biggest assist of Reggie Redding's career, as the basketball gods permitted Anderson's layup - after a lengthy, agonizing rattle (and "rattle" is the only term that could describe it) around the rim at Madison Square Garden... and #4 Villanova advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament, stealing a 76-75 victory from #5 Marquette.

The shot will immediately be ranked as among the most exciting buzzer-beaters in Villanova's 29 Big East tournaments, and the sight of that ball finally dropping through the net just after the buzzer, will never be forgotten by anyone in attendance this afternoon, whether they were fans of Villanova or Marquette...

Within the blue-and-white Villanova partisans at the Garden, a sea of euphoria erupted... Simultaneously, while the gold-with-blue-trim-clad Marquette fans - having travelled far further, both geographically and on the scoreboard, than the Wildcat crowd - had to endure one of the cruelest heartbreaks that college basketball has to offer - a shorthanded team coming back from a large deficit, retaking the lead, and holding that lead with less than ten seconds to play... only to be vanquished. Marquette was magnificent today, under very adverse conditions, and they will be dangerous in the NCAAs after their name is - with the highest justification - called on Selection Sunday... Good luck to the Golden Eagles and their fans the rest of the way...

Thanks to the intervention of the aforementioned basketball gods, the Wildcats escaped the ignominious fate of entering the Big East record books, as permitting the greatest second-half comeback in the three decades of the conference tournament. Villanova had led 37-21 at halftime; the still-thankfully-existing record belongs to Georgetown, which had lost a 15-point halftime lead and fell to Syracuse in the 2006 tournament.

It's really something, that an entire story of today's game could focus exclusively on the final shot and still be worthwhile. While the ending was a thriller and one for the ages, the aesthetic quality of play was not. It was a throwback to the old Big East of frequent fouls and trudges to the foul line, a dreary battle of attrition to see which team could keep its key players from fouling out prior to its opponent.

But it wasn't all ugly... there was an incredible comeback by Marquette, a valiant effort that had the basketball gods not seen fit to let the ball drop in, would have been justifiably recorded in the Big East annals as the greatest second half comeback in 30 years of March tournaments. And they did it without their starting point guard, without whom they have now lost five straight games...

Looking at the game action:

Things were pretty quiet till the under-16 at 15:52 of the first half, which was triggered by Shane Clark drawing a foul from Dwight Burke…

Clark, who had a season-high 16 points against Marquette on Feb. 10, made both free throws, with Fisher subbing in for Clark after the shots gave ‘Nova a 4-3 lead…

Fisher ignited the Villanova offense, canning back-to-back triples, the second of which was the result of a great pass back out from DC underneath…

Anderson picked up his second foul at 14:12, bringing Clark back into the game…

Marquette’s Matthews was rebounding like a machine in the beginning, pulling down half a dozen rebounds just in the first eight minutes..

It was 15-9, Villanova at the 11:42 mark, for the under-12 timeout.

11:26 – after a great performance by Antonio Pena, underneath, in which he collected his own offensive rebound, and drew a foul, Marquette coach Buzz Williams was whistled for a technical foul… and Stokes made both FTs, boosting the lead to 17-10 Villanova.

10:35 – there was a traditional three-point play by McNeal, which cut the margin to 17-15 Villanova, and it was DC’s second foul… so he headed to the bench… and replaced with Clark…

10:15 – The teams had combined to shoot 21% from the floor up to this point… and both teams already had seven team fouls…. At the 9:03 mark, after Heyward had been called for a carry, Marquette had made just 2 of its first 15 shots, but trailed only 22-15… ‘Nova was 5-17 from the floor… the fact that each team had missed just 1 FT (Villanova 9-10, Marquette 10-11) accounted for much of the scoring…

Stokes made a comically long-distance three (two feet behind the NBA line, from the top of the key) – it was nothing but net. With Villanova now leading 25-15, Marquette called timeout at 8:34… Pena made a strong underneath move to lay it in 27-15 with under eight minutes to go;

The fact that backup PG Maurice Acker was saddled with foul trouble (two fouls) made it particularly difficult for Marquette, according to ESPN analyst Len Elmore…

When Reynolds was fouled with 7:21 in the half, the under-eight timeout was called with Villanova on a 10-0 run, and holding a 27-15 lead.. Marquette was 2-17 from the floor… 2-10 from McNeal…

Villanova had won at least once in its last five Big East Tournament appearances… 30-27 .526 record, 6 title game appearances, one win; vs PC and Pitt: 12-3; everyone else, 18-24…. (Thanks, ESPN graphic…)

With seven minutes left, the contrast in field goal percentage was enormous: 2-17 for Marquette, 7-20 for Villanova...

There was an hidden, de facto assist from Redding with 6:38 left, as he expertly dished it to Clark underneath, who was fouled by McNeal, his 2^nd… Clark’s 2 FTs made it 30-19…

6:14 - Clark’s 2^nd PF was team’s 10^th ….. Matthews at line made 1 of 2 FTs – 30-20 Villanova

5:54 – 11 turnovers, and nine field goals, and 19 fouls combined….

5:47 - Butler became just the second Golden Eagle to hit a field goal, 30-22 Villanova...

A foul on Matthews, the 10^th team foul for Marquette, sent Reynolds to line...

5:24 - 32-22 after 2 Fts… immediately after that, Reynolds picked off an errant pass from McNeal, and went in for about as uncontested a layup, as you’ll ever see. There were no Golden Eagles even beyond halfcourt. And none pursued him, since he was off to the races – halfway to the Brooklyn Bridge, in fact… It was now 34-22 ,Villanova, with 5:11. It was Reynolds’ 2^nd steal and he now had 11 points. Villanova now had 9 points off turnovers- Marquette, zero…

4:15 - A fantastic play, great dish to Redding, from Reynolds – 36-22 …

38-25, Villanova , at the 3:05 mark, for the under 4 timeout…– Reynolds with 13 points already, leading all scorers… Marquette 16-19 from the line…

2:34 – McNeal hit with his 3^rd PF, with it 39-25 Villanova (9 points for McNeal) He had to come out, and after Reynolds’s two FTs, it was 41-25 Villanova. McNeal had two teammates with two PFs…Although Villanova had Pena, Anderson, Clark and Cunningham also in trouble, with 2 PFs…

2:01 - Cubillan’s triple from the corner from Matthews, was Marquette’s fifth FG (21% From the floor)… 41-28 Villanova; Marquette 2-12 from three point range… Redding lay up made it 43-28 Villanova…

Williams called another timeout (not the use-it-or-lose-it one), with Marquette tied up, and down 43-28, they couldn’t afford to lose another possession… 1:26

Big East tournament - 27^th year in Madison Square Garden, 30^th tournament overall (29^th for Villanova, though, since ‘Nova didn’t join until the second year… (thanks, ESPN graphic...)

Elmore pointed out that Villanova went into a zone, which immediately forced a turnover… Stokes-Fisher-Reynolds… lay up 45-28 Villanova… DC had just two points; Pena’s third PF with 6.8 seconds to go; before Matthews 2 FTs, JW uses use-it-or-lose it timeout…

Seton Hall (1993) and Providence (1994) are the only two charter members to have gone longer than Villanova (1995), w/o winning a Big East Tournament… (thanks, ESPN graphic)

Halftime – ‘Nova led by 16, 47-31… The emblematic play of the first half was Fisher going coast-to-coast, weaving through the Marquette defense to lay it in during the waning seconds…

Leaders at halftime…

18 points - 5 rebounds for Reynolds

McNeal - 9 points - 2 rebounds

17:48 – Cunningham - sweet alley-oop set up by Reynolds backscreen, according to Elmore, pass from Fisher at the top of the key – this was now a 49-36 lead and things seemed under control... But all of a sudden, it was 49-42, after an 11-2 Marquette run, caused JW timeout; Marquette had had just two triples in the first half, and already had three at the 16:10 mark; as the first called timeout of the second half, it was a full timeout….

16:51 - Nice Redding basket underneath on a good feed…51-42 Villanova…

Fisher, Pena and Cunningham all had 3 PFs at the 14:11 mark… 51-44… Villanova

Key plays were the eight straight points from Stokes, most particularly the 4^th PF on McNeal with 12:00 to go… McNeal had to stay in with 4 PFs; Stokes hit all 3 FTs….

60-47 - Villanova at under 12 timeout… Stokes basket – 17 points, causes Marquette to take timeout... Stokes’ 20^th points appeared to keep Marquette at bay, but even Stokes couldn’t stymie Marquette, as subsequent events would demonstrate vividly… DC picks up 4^th foul...

Dwight Burke picked up two quick fouls, the first unjustified (he had dual possession of the ball – in fact, Burke had it before Reynolds, but was wrongly whistled for an over-the-back…) on the ensuing possession, he inadvertently knocked Reynolds to the hardwood in a frightening slam, but it was not intentional, although the foul was one justified in being called…

A wild sequence led to the under-4, with a PF on Reynolds after a Marquette turnover after being double-covered…. Villanova 70-67, 3:41 to play – Marquette was 6-10 from three-point range to this point in 2^nd half…

Cunningham off a lob pass, put it in to boost the lead to 72-68… Marquette pulls to 72-71, closest since 4-4 early in 1^st half..

2:13 - Butler fouled - tie game, after he makes ½ FTs.... Fisher/Redding shuttle offense/defense... Heyward 3 gives Marquette its first lead… 8-12 Marquette three-pointers, 2-7 Villanova, in second half, up to this point…

JW timeout (he had three left before he took it) at 1:40 - 75-74 Marquette... the only points after this timeout came off the winning basket at the buzzer....

Marquette missed an early, ill-advised shot, Fisher rebounded…

49.7 - Fisher drove into triple coverage, and JW called timeout since they were over the midcourt line...

40.0 seconds remaining… Stokes travels….JW calls his last timeout, a full one… trailing by one…

Marquette, as Dan Shulman pointed out during the timeout, "had two timeouts, only 7 fouls, the arrow, and a 75-74 lead, and the ball…”

Syracuse over Georgetown, 3/10/06 – 15 points halftime deficit is/was/still is the Big East Tournament record (thanks, ESPN graphic…) and then the heroics from Anderson and Redding...

I'm going to add the box score analysis now.... check back...

Box score analysis:

Heroic Wildcats:

• Reynolds - 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 10-14 FT...
• Stokes - 20 points, on 6-9 FG%, 3-6 from beyond the arc...
• Redding - 8 points on 4-7 shooting, four very big assists...
• Anderson - 4 points, 4 rebounds (he was 1-3 from the floor but the single basket made all the difference)
• Fisher - 8 points, 5 assists, 2-4 from three-point range...

Heroic Golden Eagles

• Butler - 19 points, 13-16 FTs
• Matthews - double-double, 11 points, 10 rebounds, 9-10 FTs
• Hayward - double-double, 13 points, 11 rebounds
• Acker - dozen points, 4-5 shooting...
  

Preliminary Various Viewpoints (everyone will be included as they check in...)

for other Villanova/Marquette recaps, please check out the following sites---

VUHoops.com is already up with the scoreboard headline - Marquette 75: : 76 Villanova... and write in their lead:

Oh. Wow.

Villanova outscored Marquette by 16 in the first half.

Marquette outscored Villanova by 17 in the first 19:59 of the second.

It took a dish from Reggie Redding to Dwayne Anderson who converted a layup with 1 second remaining to secure a Wildcat matchup with Louisville tomorrow.

Pete's Let's Go 'Nova site

I Bleed Blue and White site

Villanova By the Numbers (VBTN)

'Nova News

And for a valuable opponents' perspective, take a look at Cracked Sidewalks for an outstanding Marquette site...

Go Wildcats!

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