Jalen Brunson wasn't going to allow Marquette to upset Villanova again.
The junior point guard scored 31 points, including 15 in the second half, to lead the top-ranked Wildcats to an 85-82 victory on Sunday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Golden Eagles (13-8, 4-5 Big East) just didn't have enough firepower to take down Villanova (20-1, 7-1) for the second straight year. Persistent foul trouble didn't help, either.
Sophomore guard Donte DiVincenzo added 23 points for Villanova.
BOX SCORE: Villanova 85, Marquette 82
Senior guard Andrew Rowsey led MU with 27 points.
DiVincenzo scored on a layup with 11 seconds remaining after a Mikal Bridges offensive rebound to give Villanova an 85-80 lead and stave off a Marquette comeback.
The first half featured plenty of twists and turns.
The Wildcats went up 12 points with 9:03 remaining, their largest lead of the opening 20 minutes.
But the Golden Eagles hung around before ripping off an 11-0 run to take a 42-40 lead on Jamal Cain's three-pointer with 2:26 remaining.
But the methodical Villanova offense has able to close the half on a 9-2 run to take a 49-44 advantage into the break.
In the process of that run, the Wildcats also were able to draw the third personal fouls on both Rowsey and Harry Froling.
Both Rowsey and Froling were in the starting lineup in the second half. Rowsey scored six straight points to give MU the lead.
But then Brunson took over, going on a personal 10-0 run to give Villanova a 61-52 lead.
Foul trouble also continued, with Howard and Sacar Anim both picking up their third fouls in the opening minutes of the second half.
Howard picked up his fourth foul at the 13:03 mark. He played sparingly the rest of the way.
Froling made his first start at center and contributed 11 points. Matt Heldt had been in the opening lineup the first 20 games.