In his first season at Villanova, head coach Kevin Willard has been lucky to have another Wildcats newcomer running his offense.

Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis aims to lead Villanova to its fourth straight win Tuesday when the Wildcats host Marquette in Big East action.

While playing all 23 games for the Wildcats (18-5, 9-3 Big East), Lewis leads them in assists (5.3) and steals (2.0) while contributing 12.4 points per game. He made two clutch 3-pointers and finished with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Saturday’s 80-73 road victory over Georgetown.

“I have the utmost confidence in him,” said Willard. “He is progressing just the way you want a freshman to progress. He’s been great at getting everyone involved. Tonight, we needed him to score and he did that.”

Tyler Perkins chipped in with 15 points while Duke Brennan added 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats, who remain on track to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022.

Meanwhile, Marquette (9-15, 4-9) is looking for its fourth win in six games following a stretch in which the team lost nine of its previous 10 contests.

The Golden Eagles topped Butler on Saturday, posting a 70-55 home victory as Chase Ross scored 19 points and Adrien Stevens pitched in with 18. Stevens and Ross combined to make 10 3-pointers for Marquette, which shot an impressive 45.2% from beyond the arc (14 of 31).

“It’s a testament to all of our guys, particularly our guards,” Golden Eagles coach Shaka Smart said. “Creating pretty high-quality outside shots.”

Villanova has won two straight meetings with Marquette after losing the previous eight matchups.

In the first encounter this season, the Wildcats posted a 76-73 victory in Milwaukee on Jan. 10. Lewis led the way with 20 points and eight assists, helping to overcome Nigel James Jr.’s 31 points for the Golden Eagles.

–Field Level Media

David Coit scored seven of his 29 points in the final 26 seconds as Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak, outlasting Minnesota 67-62 Sunday in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.

Andre Mills added 12 points and Darius Adams contributed 11 points as Maryland improved to 18-3 all-time against Minnesota.

Solomon Washington put up nine points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten), who had lost their previous four games by an average margin of 28 points.

After Cade Tyson hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to put Minnesota up 62-60, Coit scored the game’s final seven points.

The key play came with 26 seconds left when Coit drained a side-step 3-pointer to put the Terrapins up 63-62. Coit then added four free throws in the final 11 seconds.

“Coach got on me after the last game. He called me out. I was being selfish with my body language,” Coit said. “I had to respond.”

Coit made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, 4 of 7 from distance and hit all seven of his free throw attempts.

Isaac Asuma scored all 18 of his points from behind the arc to lead Minnesota (11-13, 4-9), which was coming off an upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Wednesday. The loss was the Golden Gophers’ eighth in their last nine games.

Tyson finished with 12 points and Langston Reynolds contributed 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Golden Gophers.

Midway through the first half, Mills made a 3-pointer which gave Maryland a 17-14 lead, before Asuma responded with consecutive triples to give Minnesota a lead that it held the rest of the period.

Two 3-pointers by Bobby Durkin pushed the Golden Gophers’ edge to 33-26. Coit answered with a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play to cut the deficit to 33-32 at the break.

Midway through the second half, two driving layups by Reynolds gave Minnesota the biggest lead of the second half, 53-47.

But Coit put the Terrapins on his back scoring 15 of his points in the final 8:41.

–Field Level Media