Villanova was ruthlessly efficient on offense and used a balanced effort as the No. 2 Wildcats ran past Seton Hall, 92-70, on Saturday afternoon for a Big East road win. The win gives the Wildcats at least a share of the Big East regular season title, which they’ve won for four consecutive seasons.
Shooting 67 percent (33-for-49) from the field and 57 percent (12-for-21) from three-point range, the Wildcats had big days from Jalen Brunson (22 points), Kris Jenkins (22 points) Josh Hart (19 points) and Mikal Bridges (15 points).
Brunson was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor while Bridges helped close the game with three late three-pointers as he was 8-for-10 from the field.
This was the type of offensive showing that makes you believe that Villanova (26-2, 13-2) should be a No. 1 seed come March and if their offense plays this well then they’re going to be nearly impossible to stop. Brunson is the type of efficient and intelligent lead guard who is happy to run clock with any kind of late lead while Hart and Jenkins aren’t afraid to take big shots late in the shot clock. When others like Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo also provide offense then Villanova has one of the most balanced groups in the nation.
With home games against Butler and Creighton and a road game at Georgetown, it won’t be easy for Villanova down the stretch in conference play but they should also feel pretty good about getting the Big East regular-season crown.
Seton Hall (16-10, 6-8) missed out on a valuable opportunity to score a win over top-five opponent in this one. The Pirates were led by Khadeen Carrington (22 points) while big man Angel Delgado (19 points, 12 rebounds) registered another double-double.
While Seton Hall would have loved a win over Villanova after picking off Creighton at home, they do get more chances to score wins over potential NCAA tournament teams. Kevin Willard’s team still hosts Xavier and ends the regular season on the road at Butler before the Big East Tournament.