HARTFORD, Conn. _ Everything that concerned Jay Wright when he was studying film of Purdue for Saturday night's NCAA Tournament game against the Boilermakers was realized, and the result was one of the ugliest postseason losses in Villanova history.
The Wildcats fell behind under a blizzard of 3-pointers by Carsen Edwards, scored two points in a stretch of 11 minutes spanning the first and second halves and trailed by a season-worst 35 points to end their season with an 87-61 loss to Purdue at XL Center.
The defending national champions, who were led by Eric Paschall with 19 and Phil Booth with 15, finished the season with a 26-10 record. They suffered their first 20-point loss in the NCAA Tournament since 1970, when they lost to Bob Lanier and St. Bonaventure, 97-74.
Edwards finished with 42 points, fueled by nine 3-point baskets, to lift the Boilermakers (25-9) into their third straight Sweet 16 and will play in the South Region semifinals on Thursday night.
Going in, Wright felt that Edwards had the capability to take a game over, and Purdue's junior guard set the tone with four 3-point baskets in the opening 5{ minutes and 17 first-half points that helped the Boilermakers to a 43-24 halftime lead.
Another worry was Purdue's rebounding. The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats 21-11 in the first half, with 10 offensive rebounds leading to 10 second-chance points. The final count on the boards was 42-24 in favor of the Boilermakers.
Edwards' early flurry enabled Purdue to get out to a 25-12 lead before the first half was nine minutes old. Paschall's conventional three-point play reduced the deficit to 27-20 with 7 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the half.
But after Booth's basket with just over 5 minutes to go made it 32-22, the Wildcats made just one of their last five shots in the first half and started the second half 0 of 8. The Boilermakers scored 16 consecutive points to in the opening 5:42 of the second half and took their largest lead, 59-24.
The 35 points was the largest deficit the Wildcats had faced all season, topping the 32-point gap in the Michigan loss last November.
The Wildcats never stopped playing but the distance was too great. They narrowed the gap to 22 with a 10-0 run that made it 64-42 with 9:40 to play, and a 3-ball by Jermaine Samuels made the score 77-56 with 3:27 remaining. The last loud applause came when Wright lifted Booth and Paschall with 57.6 seconds left.
