Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Washington forward Quincy Pondexter, right, celebrates after beating Marquette on Thursday. Pondexter hit the game-winning basket with 1.7 seconds left.

Darius Johnson-Odom had 19 points and Cubillan added 14 for the Eagles, who also finished strong in the regular season to earn a surprisingly high seed. Even when Marquette was up 15 while racing up and down, coach Buzz Williams knew his team wasn’t safe.

“It was fool’s gold for us,” Williams said. “We weren’t doing what we needed to do defensively, and that was because the game was going too fast. (We) had to play our five best players too many minutes in the second half. With the game going that fast, it wears us down. That’s why it’s fool’s gold.”

Marquette’s loss completed an ugly 1-3 opening day for the mighty Big East, which put eight teams in the NCAA tournament, most of any conference. No. 2 seed Villanova posted the league’s only victory despite an overtime scare from 15th-seeded Robert Morris.

Washington’s win was a welcome development for the beleaguered Pac-10, which got just two teams into the NCAAs after a down season for the league.

Sporting new haircuts featuring patterns and uniform numbers etched in the left sides of their heads, the Eagles kept pace with the Huskies, but couldn’t execute their deliberate offense late. The Big East’s top 3-point shooting team went 12 for 19, but lost for the eighth time in an astonishing 16 games decided by four points or fewer this season.

Marquette jumped ahead with a 15-1 run shortly after halftime, getting eight points from Hayward while taking a 60-45 lead. Washington answered with a 13-2 run in less than three minutes, and eventually took a 72-71 lead on Turner’s 3-pointer with 5:20 left.

Marquette went back ahead on Cubillan’s 3-pointer moments later — but it was the Eagles’ final field goal. Hayward didn’t score in the final six minutes.

“I’ve always told my teammates to keep faith, and anything can happen,” said Thomas, who’s playing through pain in his injured left hand. “I’m in my teammates’ ears all through the game. We’re never out of it. Play defense, and we can come out of it with wins like this.”

More news

Jae C. Hong / AP

Is this rule working?

CBT: With all the hand-wringing the media does in regards to the NCAA and its rulebook, there may not be a rule in all of college basketball that has been able to unite the masses like the new early entry deadline

CBT: Will Michigan re-hang the Fab Five banners?

Headlines

• Label

CBT: Coach K gets a lot of bucks and bennies

CBT: ACC will include all 14 teams in tournament

Recruiting rundown: ‘Bama lands Jimmie Taylor

CBT: Nolan Richardson's son found dead

CBT: Please! Get rid of the on-court stickers!

CBT: How much pressure can 1 player feel at ASU?

CBT: Cincinnati players reportedly involved in bar fight

CBT: Florida State confirms interest in Big 12