Creighton University
(14-9, 5-5BE)
Villanova
(19-3, 9-1BE)
Men's Basketball Falls At No. 3 Villanova
2/3/2016 8:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Villanova gets hot from three-point range against the Jays
Villanova improved to 19-3 overall and is alone in first place in the BIG EAST with a 9-1 conference record. Creighton dropped to 14-9 and 5-5 in league action.
Both teams came out of the gate lethal from downtown. Each of the game's first eight baskets were from three-point range, with both teams making four shots. Creighton led by as much as 24-20 after a Toby Hegner trifecta, only to see Villanova answer with a 10-0 run that included six free throws. That was part of a stretch that saw the Wildcats score on 9-of-11 trips to end the first half.
Maurice Watson Jr. led Creighton with 14 points and three assists at the break, while Kris Jenkins had 14 points for VU. Starting in place of injured big man Daniel Ocehfu (concussion), Darryl Reynolds had five offensive boards and nine overall to contribute to a 12-0 lead in second-chance points at the break for VU. The Wildcats were also perfect on 12 free throw attempts while CU was 1-for-3 at the stripe in the opening stanza.
Villanova continued its offensive assault in the second half, scoring on five of its first seven trips to construct a 57-38 lead with just over 16 minutes to play. The Jays never got any closer than 18 the rest of the way and led by as much as 31 points during the second half.
Philadelphia native Watson paced Creighton with 16 points and five assists as he was the only player with at least eight points. CU shot an even 40 percent for the game (22-55), including 8-of-25 from downtown (32 percent), and were just 6-of-13 at the line (46.2 percent).
Villanova had four men in double-figures, led by 22 from Jenkins and 16 by freshman Jalen Brunson. Reynolds finished with a career-high and game-high 13 rebounds. The Wildcats made 26-of-54 shots overall and finished 15-of-17 at the line. VU also won the rebound battle 38-27, including a 17-6 edge in second-chance points.
Creighton returns to action on Saturday at 1:01 p.m. when it hosts DePaul.
NOTES: Zach Hanson made his ninth career start, and first of 2015-16, in place of Geoffrey Groselle. It's the third different starting line-up combination used in 23 games this year by Greg McDermott ... Maurice Watson Jr.'s three 3-pointers tonight were a season-high, and tie his collegiate high first done vs. Albany in 2013 ... Among those in attendance were Villanova great Kerry Kittles and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg ... Isaiah Zierden has made at least one three-pointer in 11 straight games.
Postgame Villanova Quotes
Head Coach Jay Wright Opening Statement
Good game for us tonight, very good Creighton team. I think they were a little shorthanded, I do not think Groselle was 100%. He is a force inside, so it made them a perimeter oriented team. So we were able to do a good job after some time. I think they had seven threes in the first half and only one is the second, so I think we got better defensively as the game went on.
I think with Groselle out Darryl (Reynolds) took advantage of that on the glass, and was a great force in the middle. Kris just continues to play well in all areas. He has been rebounding, good defense, and also good offensively tonight.
What about your three point shooting, they were all going in tonight
Wright: It is nice to be home in the Pavilion. I also think we have been out of synch a little bit, usually if you are a good shooting team it's not just being off, it is that you aren't getting into a rhythm. We moved the ball well, made the right shots, and made the extra pass tonight. Last four or five games we haven't been doing that well but tonight we did.
With Watson hitting those threes early, were you happy about how the defense slowed them down
Wright: We were not that bad offensively in the beginning, they hit some tough shots. Watson banked one in, he hit a couple tough ones, and we knew they were capable of that. But I am happy with the way we just stayed consistent. Towards the ends of the first half we just kept defending kept defending, rushed the shots a little bit. At the start of the second half containing Watson and not over helping on him I thought we did a good job.
Darryl take us through your game today, it seems that you are getting more confident
Darryl Reynolds: Yes the confidence is growing, being out there and getting to see different situations on the floor helps me develop with my decision making. Also my trust grows with my teammates, which makes it much easier to be out there.
Coach talk about Darryl's defensive effect on Watson tonight
Wright: He did a lot of good things tonight but there were a number of situations where he got switched onto Watson and did a great job. He kept him in front of him and then we didn't' to help. I thought there was a huge play early in the second half where Watson got stuck under the basket, shot it, and we got the ball back. That is impressive when your five man can switch onto a point guard who is that quick and keep him in front of him. He has that ability, and we knew that, we aren't surprised. Just like Darryl said you just have to get in there and see it live and he did a great job.
Kris what did it feel like when those shots were falling
Kris Jenkins: I have to give credit to my teammates; they did a great job of making plays and making the right play. Today the right play just happened to be for me to shot the ball and they helped me, so all of the credit goes to them.
