The Jekyll and Hyde nature of Villanova's season is now manifesting itself within individual games, and it nearly led to a truly epic comeback and a win over No. 9 Marquette. Instead, it was close but no cigar as the Wildcats were left with another stinging loss, this time an 85-80 defeat to the Golden Eagles.

Villanova was unable to replicate the rare hot start it produced against Butler on Saturday, instead reverting to the slow starts that have plagued it throughout the season. The Wildcats missed their first six field goal attempts, didn't score their first point until the 14:58 mark and spotted Marquette an 11-0 lead.

The Golden Eagles were happy to take advantage of whatever it is that is hindering 'Nova at the start of games, and rode the early momentum to a truly dominant first eight minutes. By the 11:38 mark, Marquette had already built a 17-point lead, leaving the Finneran Pavilion crowd half stunned, half furious. Boos rained down as the 'Cats looked listless and lost and visitors ran roughshod over their hosts.

The game started eerily similar to the first meeting between these teams this season, except for the part where Villanova played good offense. Much like that first game, Marquette got off to a scorching hot start, hitting 10 of its first 12 shots and doing a considerable amount of damage in the paint.

Somehow, it kept getting worse for the 'Cats, who seemingly had no answers at either end of the floor, and the deficit ballooned all the way to 20 points with five minutes to play in the first half.

But then, as if somebody flipped a switch, the Wildcats roared to life, ripping off an 11-0 run to pull back within single digits. A TJ Bamba three stopped the bleeding, and then Mark Armstrong provided a huge spark with his speed and athleticism. Over the final 3:16 of the half, Armstrong pulled down three defensive rebounds and proceeded to push the ball up the court. The result was two fast break layups and a good shot for Justin Moore, which although it was missed led to an offensive rebound and eventually a Brendan Hausen jumper. Armstrong buried a three at the halftime buzzer for good measure, capping a 14-2 run over the final five minutes of the half and sending the 'Cats to the locker room with a manageable eight-point deficit. The team swarmed Armstrong after his buzzer-beating three, displaying about as much juice and emotion as we've seen from them all season.

“I thought Mark kind of sparked us a little bit, made some tough shots," Kyle Neptune said. "And really it was stops, we got some stops and got out in transition. We didn’t get stops early so it was hard to get out in transition.”

The second half began just as the first had ended, with Armstrong putting a three-ball through the net, and somehow the 'Cats, who were left for dead just over five minutes of game time ago, were within two possessions, 39-35.

The 'Cats would get within four before a 6-0 Marquette run pushed the deficit back to double figures. It was fair to wonder if they had run out of gas.

Instead, a four-point play from Justin Moore sparked the 'Cats anew, initiating a 14-0 run that would give them their first lead of the game. Yes, they erased a 20-point deficit in under 10 minutes of game time, and the Finn was rocking. Villanova, improbably, led 51-47 with 13 minutes to play.

Marquette was finally able to break the run, and did so with one of those plays that immediately has the feel of a game-changer. A strong defensive possession from 'Nova led to a late-shot clock three attempt by Chase Ross, who missed the shot but was fouled by Tyler Burton. The sophomore drained all three free throws to cut the 'Nova lead to one.

Marquette was energized, and after a Burton missed three on the ensuing possession, Tyler Kolek happened. First, Kolek drained a three off a Marquette offensive rebound. Then, he made another. Then, another. And ANOTHER. By the time his outburst was over, a one-point Villanova lead had turned into a seven-point deficit with just over nine minutes to play. The Golden Eagles pushed the lead to nine with 7:27 to play and 12 with 6:13 to go. This time, it really felt like the 'Cats were out of steam.

But again, they continued to fight, A 9-0 run pulled the 'Cats within three with 4:35 to play. But they would get no closer, with the final four minutes or so defined by two keys. One was two Stevie Mitchell offensive rebounds that led to three Marquette points, the first extending the lead to four and the second to six with just 1:37 remaining. It doesn't take a math major to figure out how different the game might have turned out had 'Nova been able to secure those rebounds. The other was a succession of questionable calls or non-calls, each of which went Marquette's way. First, a block on a Bamba dunk was deemed clean by the officials. Then, on Marquette's ensuing offensive possession, Moore was called for a touch foul. If both, or neither, had been called, we probably wouldn't be talking about it. But the seeming willingness of the officials to let them play at one end and call it by the book at the other, especially on back-to-back possessions, deservedly drew the ire of the Pavilion crowd. Villanova didn't lose because of the officiating, but that sequence and few other curious decisions from the officials certainly didn't help.

'Nova was able to get within three one more time, with 38 seconds remaining, but Marquette hit its free throws down the stretch and the comeback effort would come up short.

Let's get this out of the way first: Villanova deserves a ton of credit for fighting back. After the way the first 15 minutes went, the Wildcats could have easily folded, gone through the motions for 25 minutes and got the hell out of there. Instead, they not only fought back and made it a game, they completely erased a 20-point deficit and took the lead, and did so against a very good team. That's not nothing.

Unfortunately, the time for moral victories is long past and the great effort will to little to ease the frustration of what appears to be a second consecutive lost season. Instead, we have to ask how and why the team could come out so flat in a game in which it knew was a must-win, at home, against a top 10 opponent. Why couldn't/didn't the team play from the opening tip with the same intensity that it showed over the final 25 minutes? As much as we'll try to figure it out, there really is no acceptable answer.

“We gotta come out, set the tone and get stops," Neptune said. "We just couldn’t get stops to start the game, couldn’t get it done, couldn’t get rebounds, couldn’t keep them out the paint.”

It's a shame, because Villanova outplayed Marquette over those final 25 minutes, outscoring the Golden Eagles 63-48. Unfortunately, the 'Cats had spotted them a 20-point lead. That's something you simply can't do, especially against a very good team, and something that shouldn't happen at home.

Beyond the atrocious, inexplicable start aside, Villanova was also done in by Marquette simply making more plays down the stretch. The aforementioned Mitchell offensive rebounds really stand out, as does Kolek's two-and-a-half-minute outburst that Villanova could neither quell nor match.

The result is another near-miss, another what if, and essentially the end of the Villanova's tournament chances barring an unprecedented run over the season's final 10 games.

Nova will look to start that run on Sunday when it hosts Providence.