Villanova kicked off the Big East tournament with a bang, running away from Marquette for a 94-70 victory to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals.

It was a night and day start for the Wildcats, who spent the early part of the game looking like they were shooting in the dark. The ‘Cats hit just 3 of their first 16 shots and had just 14 points halfway through the first.

But from there the sun came up and the shots started going down. ‘Nova went on to score 27 points over the final ten minutes of the half, opening up a seven-point lead in the process. The ‘Cats made a conscious effort to attack the basket to get the offense going, and it worked wonders.

A couple of early pushes from Marquette to start the second half cut the lead to three a pair of times, but a 12-0 ‘Nova spurt ran the lead to back to 15. Marquette tried to hang around, but the floodgates had been opened and they were swept away by the ‘Nova tide. Fatigue may have played a role for the Golden Eagles, but Villanova was clicking and there was little Marquette could do, tired or not.

Mikal Bridges was sensational, dropping 25 points on 7-12 shooting including 4-7 from three. He did a great job attacking the basket and helping the ‘Nova offense get on track. He added eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.

Jalen Brunson was right behind Bridges, chipping in 21 points of his own. He shot 8-13 from the field and 3-6 from three. He also had three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Brunson and Bridges carried the offense early, and it was their play that eventually opened things up for their teammates.

Phil Booth got back in form, shooting 6-10 from the floor and 3-4 from three for 15 points. He added two rebounds and two assists.

Eric Paschall had an efficient 13 points on 5-7 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two assists.

Omari Spellman chipped in nine points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Donte DiVincenzo had eight points off the bench to go with five rebounds and two assists.

Collin Gillespie had three points, a rebound and a steal.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had three rebounds, while Jermaine Samuels grabbed one rebound.

Villanova was remarkable on the offensive end, especially considering the 3-16 start. The ‘Cats finished the game shooting 57% from the floor and 52% from three. They had just nine turnovers. It was great to see them make the adjustment to start attacking the basket during the early struggles, and it paid dividends not only in buckets but also in opening things up from the outside as the game went on.

‘Nova was also solid on the defensive end. Marquette is a dangerous offensive team and holding them to 70 points is an impressive feat. The Golden Eagles shot 42% from the floor and 41% from three. They committed 10 turnovers. Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey each scored right around their averages, but Sam Hauser had just four points and Marquette got very little from the rest of the rotation. The performance helped Villanova inch up the defensive efficiency rankings at KenPom, to 23.

The ‘Cats dominated the glass 37-26 and earned a slight advantage from the free-throw line.

The win was the 414th for Jay Wright at Villanova, making him the all-time winningest coach in Villanova history, passing Al Severance. Congrats to coach Wright.

It was an excellent performance and the perfect way to kick of postseason play. Now ‘Nova awaits the winner of Seton Hall-Butler for their semifinal opponent (Seton Hall leads 53-51 as of this writing). That game will be Friday night at 9.