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 Between last year's Big East Tournament quarterfinal and an
earlier regular-season matchup back in January, the Pirates had held
the Wildcats to just above 20 percent from beyond the arc, a
dangerous number for a team that thrives off the long-range shot.
Doing so a third time in a row proved to be an impossible task.
Villanova dropped a dozen triples on Seton Hall in the rematch on
Monday night, running away with an 80-54 victory.
The sixth-ranked Wildcats, who earned their seventh win in a row
Monday, lost 66-61 in overtime to the Pirates on Jan. 3.
"I think we played harder, I thought we defended better," Villanova
coach Jay Wright said. "Much more focused defensively today."
After a 16-point halftime lead was trimmed to 10 in the first six
minutes of the second half, Villanova used the long ball to pull
away for good. A 3-pointer by sophomore forward Kris Jenkins
extended the lead to 14, one by junior guard Ryan Arcidiacono made
it 17, and a few minutes later, one by freshman guard Phil Booth
made it a 66-41 game with 7:16 remaining and put the game out of
reach.
After shooting just 9-for-43 (20.6 percent) from 3-point range in
losses to Seton Hall in last year's Big East quarterfinals and last
month, the Wildcats finished 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) in the win,
with six different players connecting from beyond the arc.
"I think we were just aggressive on the catch-and-shoot, and we just
had good spacing throughout the game," Arcidiacono said. "We didn't
change anything up."
Seton Hall coach Kevin Williard saw it boiling down to one simple
fact.
"We played here," he said. "They've done this to everybody. I think
Georgetown was down 37 at one point. ... They are tough at home."
Villanova guard Darrun Hilliard led the way with 18 points, as the
senior shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Four other Wildcats scored
in double figures, including Arcidiacono, whose 10 points made him
the 60th Villanova player to reach 1,000 in a career.
Freshman guard Isaiah Whitehead had 15 points for the Pirates.
Junior guard Sterling Gibbs added 12 before getting ejected for
elbowing Arcidiacono in the head on a loose ball with 4:38
remaining.
"I didn't see the play, so I can't comment," Willard said. "We'll
review it, I'm sure the league will review it, and then we'll go
from there."
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The loss continued a free-fall for the Pirates (15-11, 5-9 Big East)
since they were 12-2 and ranked No. 19 in the country after the win
over Villanova. Seton Hall took its fifth defeat in a row and eighth
in 10 games.
"There's a lot of finger-pointing going on, a lot of talk going on.
... At the end of the day, this is a young basketball team that's
going through the ringers of the Big East for the first time,"
Willard said. "There's no chaos outside the program."
Villanova (24-2, 11-2) is unbeaten since a 78-58 loss to Georgetown
on Jan. 19. The Wildcats hold a two-game advantage in the conference
standings with five games left in the regular season.
Villanova led early, but a 9-0 Seton Hall run cut the lead to one
point. The Wildcats responded with a 12-0 run that ended with them
up 26-13.
Strong defense keyed Villanova's surge, as Seton Hall missed eight
consecutive shots during the stretch. The Pirates shot just 26.7
percent (8-for-30) from the floor in the opening minutes, while
Villanova hit 46.2 percent (12-for-26) to take a 36-20 lead at the
half.
NOTES: Seton Hall sophomore PG Jaren Sina abruptly left the program
last week. The New Jersey native had started 23 of 24 games for the
Pirates this season, averaging 7.0 points. ... The Pirates also were
without the services of senior F Brandon Mobley (knee). Freshman F
Desi Rodriguez earned his second career start. ... Villanova senior
SG Darrun Hilliard was coming off a career-high, 31-point
performance against Butler, including the game-winning 3-pointer in
a 68-65 road win. His eight 3-pointers tied a Villanova record set
by Allan Ray in November 2005 vs. Lehigh. ... Villanova won its 25th
consecutive game at its on-campus Pavilion, dating back to a 55-52
loss to Providence on Feb. 3, 2012.
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