City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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Villanova played its first game in program history ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches’ Polls on Tuesday night at DePaul. The Wildcats downed the Blue Demons in convincing fashion, winning their first meeting of the season, 86-59.

At first...
Villanova asserted itself early against DePaul. After getting off to a 16-2 start from opening tip, the Wildcats maintained their lead in double figures for most of the first half. However, the Blue Demons fought their way back into the game with a 7-0 run to make it 32-24 with 3:43 left before halftime.

Turning Point...
The Wildcats closed out the first half strong, taking a 41-29 lead at the break. They came out firing to begin the second half, using a 15-0 run that lasted 5:37. During that span, Villanova made three straight 3-pointers. The gap was too large for DePaul to overcome, as Villanova pushed its lead into the twenties.

Shining Stars…
Villanova’s Josh Hart scored a game-high 18 points and reached the 1,000 career points milestone.

DePaul saw most of its veteran players contained by Villanova’s stingy defensive effort but received a solid performance from freshman Eli Cain. Cain led the way for the Blue Demons with 15 points.

Noteworthy numbers…
Villanova outscored DePaul in the paint, 36-16… DePaul turned the ball over 19 times...Five different Wildcats scored in double figures: Hart (18), Kris Jenkins (13), Jalen Brunson (11), Daniel Ochefu (11) and Darryl Reynolds (14).

Up Next…
Villanova (21-3, 10-1) vs. St. John’s (2/13, 8:30 p.m.)
DePaul (8-16, 2-10) at St. John’s (2/17, 8 p.m.)