Next for 'Nova: Next tournament

NEW YORK - Villanova's constant term this season has been "next game," the idea of forgetting what happened in the previous contest and coming out focused on the one that follows.

After yesterday's 80-76 loss to Marquette in the Big East tournament quarterfinals, that saying for the 10th-ranked Wildcats has become "next tournament."

"Your goal in the Big East tournament is not to win one or two games; you want to win the whole thing," senior co-captain Reggie Redding said. "We haven't won the whole thing since I've been here. But we're going to keep our heads up and get ready for the next tournament."

The Wildcats have enough time to think about it. When they open the NCAAs on Thursday or next Friday, they will have played one game in an 11- or 12-day span.

But that's fine with Villanova coach Jay Wright.

"We want to go into our next game with confidence and I think that's one thing our guys will be able to do," he said. "No matter what happened in the last game, you've got to be honest with yourself. Where did we make our mistakes? We've got to fix those mistakes and keep getting better."

Stokes delivers. Junior guard Corey Stokes hit six three-point baskets, tying his career high, and scored 22 points, the most he's had in the Big East tournament. He scored 18 as a freshman against Syracuse and 20 last season against Marquette.

"It's the Mecca of basketball," Stokes said. "In Madison Square Garden, the lights are on. You're just going to come out and play hard. We played hard today, but Marquette is a great team."

'Nova notes. The Wildcats lost for the first time in their initial Big East tournament game since 2003, when they were defeated, 46-41, by Georgetown. . . . Reynolds' 10 points upped his career total to 2,194, 49 away from 'Nova's all-time scoring leader, Kerry Kittles.