City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Villanova got back to its winning ways before the holidays, running away from Delaware for a 78-48 win on Tuesday evening.

At First…
Delaware came out gunning, hitting four 3-pointers in the first three minutes--three by Kory Holden--to jump out to a 12-2 lead.

Turning Point…
After that early burst by the Blue Hens, the next 38 minutes were all Wildcats. Villanova responded to that opening salvo with a 16-1 run of its own and didn’t look back. After missing four of their first five shots, ‘Nova responded by hitting 12 of its next 19; Jalen Brunson was 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc and Josh Hart went 4-of-4 during the first 16 minutes of the game, helping their team to a 47-26 lead at the half.

Standout Stars…
Hart had one of his best all-around games in a Villanova uniform, finishing with 18 points on an extremely efficient 7-of-10 from the floor while grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. Brunson finished with 13 points (5-of-9) while Ryan Arcidiacono added 11 for the Wildcats.

Holden, Delaware’s high-scoring sophomore, followed up on a career-high 35 point outing against Boston College with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including a spiffy 6-of-10 from 3-point range. That's his fifth 20-plus point outing of the season, including three with exactly that amount.

Noteworthy Numbers…
7: That’s how many healthy scholarship players Villanova had to finish the game with after junior wing forward Kris Jenkins sprained his right knee in the first half. That happens to be the same number of scholarship players Delaware has at its disposal thanks to season-ending ACL tears by sophomores Eric Carter and Chivarsky Corbett, combined with a foot injury to junior wing Devonne Pinkard that has him out another few weeks.

Villanova certainly doesn't need another injury, with Tim Delaney (hip) out for the season and freshman guard Donte Divincenzo (broken foot) sidelined for 3-5 more weeks from a roster that only had 10 eligible scholarship players to begin the year.

Up Next…
Villanova (10-2) vs. Penn (5-5) (Dec. 28, 7 PM; The Pavilion)
Delaware (5-5) @ Buffalo (6-5) (Dec. 29, 7 PM; Buffalo, N.Y.)