Quick Report: Villanova 72, Seton Hall 71

NEWARK, N.J.--Having just received their highest AP ranking of the season, no. 4 Villanova found away to eke out a close victory at the Prudential Center, taking down a scrappy, upset-minded Seton Hall team by a final score of 72-71.

At First…
After a tightly-contested first ten minutes, Villanova built up a comfortable yet short-lived eight-point lead, 27-17 following a Mikal Bridges layup. Khadeem Carrington made it clear that he didn’t intend to trail by that much for too long, as he scored eight points in three minutes to help Seton Hall pull within two at the half, 35-33.

Turning Point…
When Darryl Reynolds but the Wildcats up 56-47 eleven minutes into the second half, it looked like ‘Nova was well on its way to yet another Big East win, but the Pirates weren’t done yet, as they fought back to take a 69-67 lead in the final two minutes with an Isaiah Whitehead three.

That’s when Villanova’s seniors came alive; Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono made the next two baskets to go up 71-69.

Two missed free throws and a bad ‘Nova inbound turnover later, Seton Hall had the ball with just eight seconds left, but made their own turnover on the next inbound and watched the game slip through their fingers.

Shining Stars…
Josh Hart’s double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds highlighted a relatively spread out Villanova stat sheet, with four different players in double digits.

As for Seton Hall, Whitehead dropped 21 points as well as five assists. The prolific sophomore scored the last eight points of the game for the Pirates, but his last shot--an attempt to tie--came up just short in the losing effort.

Noteworthy Numbers…
22: Villanova has now won 22 consecutive Big East games; the Wildcats’ last conference loss came in a 20-point drubbing at Georgetown, who ‘Nova just knocked off a few days back.

10: ‘Nova, a team who thrives behind the perimeter, only attempted 19 three-pointers, but knocked down 10 of those attempts for a clip of 52-percent.

Up Next…
No. 4 Villanova (17-2, 7-0) vs. No. 16 Providence (Jan. 23, 12:00 p.m.)
Seton Hall (13-5, 3-3) @ No. 5 Xavier (Jan. 23, 2:00 p.m.)