City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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With a number of upsets shaking up the college basketball world early in the season, Villanova looked like it was going to fall on its own court.

“I thought we were at a good spot,” Nebraska head coach Tim Miles said. “Then we got stuck at 23 for seven minutes.”

Down by seven late in the first half, Villanova started to turn things around. Ryan Arcidiacono knocked down a three to spark a fierce run to take the lead. Once the Wildcats got out in front, they never looked back. They went on to win 87-63.

“The way they came at us in the first half and took the lead, it was a good experience for us,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said.

The contest was part of the first-ever Gavitt Tip-Off Games, an eight-year deal between the Big East and Big Ten that will see eight teams from each league go head-to-head each season, with each team participating at least six of the eight years.

Most of the Wildcats’ shots weren’t falling to begin the game, in part to a hard-nosed perimeter defense by the Cornhuskers. Villanova opened the first 13 minutes of the game 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Nebraska’s defenders flew to the ball handler in seconds, giving the Wildcats very little room to work with. The Cornhuskers forced them to take difficult shots.

“We just weren’t making shots,” Wright said. “They were playing good defense, they’re a good defensive team.”

Once the Wildcats got off to a big 22-2 run to take the lead and close out the first half, they started using a balanced approach. Inside, outside – it didn’t matter. They found success doing both. The hot hand carried over to the second half, where they made an improved 56.7 percent of their shots (17-of-30).

Meanwhile, on the other end of the court, Villanova’s defensive effort was impeccable. Eight of the Wildcats’ 22 forced turnovers came during that hot stretch.

Nebraska broke down at the immense pressure that came its way.

The defense played a large part in bolstering Villanova’s lead. The Wildcats capitalized on the Huskers’ mistakes, creating 33 of their 87 points off of turnovers.

Daniel Ochefu was a big part of the victory. The senior center made his presence felt on both ends of the court, showing his versatility. He is continuing his growth on the offensive end, and has become the dominant post player that many expected him to be out of Westtown School.

“As a senior, coach is looking at me a lot more in the post and just in our offense,” Ochefu said. “That’s a responsibility I have to take on.”

He posted his second double-double in a row, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also notched three blocks.

Three other Wildcats scored in double figures. Josh Hart had a game-high 19 points and four steals. Arcidiacono chipped in 15 points. Phil Booth added 11 points.

As for the Cornhuskers, Andrew White III led the team with 18 points and six rebounds. He was one of the instigators early in the game to give Nebraska the lead, but his lone effort could not carry his team.

Despite the one-sided win, there were other causes for concern outside of the slow start.

The Wildcats were unimpressive from long range, making only 9-of-30 attempts.

The freshmen had their struggles on the floor tonight as well. After impressing in his regular season debut, Jalen Brunson did not seem to have a large impact. He was 2-for-6 on the floor with nine points, although he did have six assists.

Donte Divincenzo was scoreless and tallied four fouls in nine minutes of action.

The Wildcats resume action this Friday night, with a game against East Tennessee State. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.