With 7.3 seconds remaining, as Marquette men’s basketball trailed Villanova 76-73, Nigel James Jr. crossed half court and Shaka Smart used his final timeout.
As the managers brought the stools onto the floor and Smart picked up his whiteboard to draw up a play with the hopes of sending the game to overtime, the 15,342 fans inside Fiserv Forum held their breaths.
Out of the timeout, after the huddle broke and whistles blew, Nigel James Jr. inbounded the ball to Royce Parham, who handed it to Chase Ross very far away from the basket at the Al McGuire Court logo.
Ross turned quickly and hoisted the final shot at that exact spot — with around five seconds still remaining — which bounced off the glass and prompted a scramble for the ball. Time expired and Marquette lost by one-possession.
FINAL: 76-73 Villanova
There is only so much one man can do.
Here is #mubb’s final possession. Certainly a choice to have Chase Ross take it. pic.twitter.com/nBV13tlphR
— Jack Albright (@JackAlbrightMU) January 10, 2026
“There were a couple different options,” Smart said. “They defended it well, the last play with 7 seconds left.
“We were down three. By that time, you could go for a quick two but it’s not enough time. So, a couple different options that they did a good job taking away.”
This was a familiar scenario for the Golden Eagles, who have experienced multiple crucial last possession opportunities in 2025-26, dating as far back as Nov. 19. All have ended the same as Saturday, with points left on the board.
Against Dayton, the game was tied 68-68 with under 10 seconds to go. Ross, James Jr. and Ben Gold found touches, but all were outside the 3-point arc and no one was able to get a shot off before the buzzer. Marquette would go on to lose that game in overtime.
Nine days later, against Oklahoma in Chicago, the Golden Eagles were down 75-74 with 17 seconds left. Marquette caught a lucky break when a Sooner slipped on the floor, allowing Smart to again draw up a final play. This time, James Jr. scrambled around before flipping the ball to Ross, the only pass in the possession. Ross dribbled around a defender for the remaining time before chucking up a fadeaway jumper that had a ghost’s chance of going in and hit only glass.
Less than a week removed from that, against Valparaiso, the game was notched at 65 with 22 seconds after a defensive rebound by Ben Gold. Nobody called timeout and Marquette was unable to get a shot off after a turnover by Ross. The Golden Eagles were able to squeak out a win, however, in overtime.
The Golden Eagles could not do that against the Wildcats on Saturday, though. After the buzzer rang, they walked off the court having again botched a final possession. It’s one more stark difference from the Marquette fans grew accustomed to with Smart as head coach.
The Marquette that two seasons ago in the Big East tournament quarterfinals — coincidentally against Villanova — executed a beautiful inbound play with 2.3 seconds left in regulation that ended with Kam Jones kissing in a shot off the glass. A lengthy review deemed the ball left Jones’ hands a fraction of a second too late, but the play was still ran to near-perfection and it came down to a 50/50 call.
KAM JONES WAS THIS CLOSE
INSTEAD, MORE OVERTIME
(via @MarquetteMBB)pic.twitter.com/JMuoZk2Aa2
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2024
Now, it’s been a complete 180-degree turn, leaving many wondering what happened.
“Over the course of the season, some of the plays down the stretch is a combination of execution,” Smart said, “and having a young team and some guys out there that are not quite maybe seasoned enough to do what exactly we need to do.”
On Saturday, the final five on the court in perhaps the most important possession of the game included three first-years and one sophomore along with Ross.
Smart did not pull all the eggs into that last play basket, though. He also mentioned a play out of a timeout with six minutes remaining, where Tre Norman was forced to chuck up a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired. And, on the second-to-last possession, when Michael Phillips II badly missed a wide open 3-pointer.
“He’s one of the best shooters on our team,” Smart said. “Man, if you told me Michael Phillips was going to get an open 3, we’ll take that all day long.”
Still, Smart did not shy away from his responsibility as the man at the helm.
“It comes back to me and us coaches finding a way to put them in a simple spot,” he said.
This story was written by Ben Ward. He can be reached at benjamin.ward@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @BenWardMU.