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Quick Report: Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55

12/07/2015, 10:15pm EST
By Jeff Griffith

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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HONOLULU, Hi.--In their first loss of the season, the ninth-ranked Villanova Wildcats (7-1) struggled to shoot the ball against their first ranked opponent, the no. 7 Oklahoma Sooners (6-0), falling by a final score of 78-55 in a game celebrating the 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

At First…
It was clear out the gate that Oklahoma was going to be on fire from long distance, as their first six made shots were all three-pointers, en route to an 18-8 lead early on. The ‘Cats fought back to tie it once but would not lead for the rest of the half, as they entered the break down 32-26.

Turning Point…
Out of the break, Oklahoma pulled out to a 15-point lead, but allowed Villanova back within single digits; the Wildcats cut the lead to nine with 11:36 left on a Josh Hart three-pointer.  From there, the Sooners’ lead slowly grew to twenty by the three-minute mark, and the Wildcats could not claw themselves back again.

Shining Stars…
The Wildcats had three different leading scorers with ten apiece, but their best performance came from senior center Daniel Ochefu who went for a double-double with eight points and ten boards.

Oklahoma’s shooters were dropping bombs all night, as senior guards Isaiah Cousins and Buddy Hield dropped nineteen and eighteen points respectively.

Noteworthy Numbers…
Cousins’ and Hield’s nights were part of a fantastic shooting performance for Oklahoma, which went 14-of-26 from three-point range. Villanova, on the other hand, couldn’t get a shot to fall, shooting just 4-of-32 from deep.

Up Next…
No. 9 Villanova (7-1) vs. La Salle (12/13, 5:00 p.m.)
No. 7 Oklahoma (6-0) vs. Oral Roberts (12/12, 2:00 p.m.)

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